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Joe Kocot

HOLYOKE - It was as though the Easthampton football team couldn't wait to head back over the mountain for Thanksgiving dinner, as it rushed its way to a 37-0 victory over Dean Tech at Holyoke High School Thursday.

The Eagles (5-6, 4-4 Tri County) shut out the Golden Hawks (0-10, 0-8) in convincing fashion with impressive work from running backs Tyler Phillips and Shane Andrews, who both carved through the Dean Tech defense with quick feet and swift jukes for a combined 136 rushing yards. The senior Phillips, however, rushed for three touchdowns in his final high school football game.

"We've been expecting that all year," said Easthampton coach Joe Kocot. "He's a good athlete, he's been banged up and stuff (and) he's the fastest kid on the field. But he's been banged up, so good for him."

"I know I had speed and I just did what I was taught to do," Phillips said. "I just did what I could do."

It was the final high school game for 10 Easthampton seniors: Pat Baker, Adam Beaupre, Paul Bergeron, Chris Burrell, Andrew Bzdel, Andrew Glosick, Joe Katusich, Calvin Lachowicz, Peter Lawson and Phillips. Kocot said he wants his players to move on from the game and enjoy what comes next.

For Kocot and assistant coach Steve Dion, next season will be their last on the Eagles' sideline. The pair have been coaching the program since its inception in 1998. They have two Super Bowl titles, including one last season.

"I want them to leave," Kocot said of his seniors. "I want them to go out to the next step of their lives. I want them to go to college, I want them to get degrees, I want them to get good jobs, I want them to get married, I want them to buy a house, I want them to come back on Thanksgiving and wish us well."

Phillips' performance included a 20-yard run in the first quarter to open up the scoring. Phillips even had an 83-yard rush for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but it was called back because of a penalty, one of four that Easthampton committed.

For both teams, the flow of the game was dictated by the rushing attack as Eagles quarterback Kyle Sullivan was 0-for-2 with an interception and a fumble. On the other side of the ball, Dean Tech quarterback Pablo Gonzalez didn't fare well either as he went 8-for-16 for 48 passing yards and three interceptions.

Gonzalez often handed the ball off to Dominique Oquendo, Jacob Colon and Eddie Perez. Perez finished with 25 rushing yards and Oquendo finished with 11 rushing yards.

"They really don't give up," Phillips said. "They're still hard hitters. We've always known their good guys. It's fun playing them and fun playing against them and it's a good time."

Easthampton has outscored Dean Tech 137-6 in the young Thanksgiving Day series, which it leads 3-0. Kocot wasn't doubting the skill of Dean Tech, indicating that the 17-player team is much better than the score might show.

"The seniors on our team during the week talked about how Dean always plays hard and a lot of the time, the way they play isn't indicative of the final score," Kocot said. "When you only have 17 guys, it's tough on the coaches on their side. With 17 guys, your talent pool goes down a little bit. They did as good as they could, you've got to give them credit."

Even though Easthampton's playoff hopes were deflated on Nov. 18 with a 21-0 loss to Pathfinder, Phillips said there was still a good vibe coming from the team.

"It was great, it's an emotional time. (It was the) last time out here (and) everyone just had to go full speed and do whatever they could to get this win," Phillips said. "We just kept stressing that it was our last game and that was basically our motivation. We didn't play to our full potential last week, so we just had to go out with a bang."