H.S. Football: Amherst dominates Putnam 48-18 in Suburban South league clash

AMHERST — The Amherst Regional football team returned to the win column in emphatic fashion on Friday night, steamrolling over Putnam, 48-18, in a Suburban South league contest at Amherst’s Community Field.

Brady Klaes cashed in with three rushing scores to lead the Hurricanes offense on a trio of TD runs that totaled nearly 150 yards. Amherst’s sophomore running back secured its first score of the game about four minutes into the opening quarter, which kickstarted a string of five consecutive touchdowns for the home team.

“Brady ran well,” ‘Canes head coach Jack Putala said. “We’ve been talking to him, trying to get him to have some better vision, run a little meaner. He definitely ran that way tonight. That’s what we need from him the rest of the way.”

Klaes shifted the credit to his offensive line as the reason for Amherst’s success running the ball in this one.

“O-line has been putting in a lot of work since the beginning of the season and I can’t thank them enough for that,” Klaes said.

Gregory King (two), Jonathan Aviles-Roman (one) and Travis Isabelle (one) accounted for the Hurricanes’ other TDs, which all came via the ground game against the Beavers.

Amherst’s victory snapped its two-game losing streak, plus strengthened its home record to 2-0.

“We regrouped really well this week,” ‘Canes head coach Jack Putala said. “We practiced hard, we stayed together as a team. We preached all week that we had to win this game as a team and all four quarters, we stayed together.”

Save for a second half that saw Putnam outscore Amherst, 18-14, the Hurricanes defense started just as strong through 24 minutes, snatching three interceptions. Raymond Anthony Colon grabbed a pair of picks, while Dane Coy nullified a Beaver touchdown chance with an interception in the end zone to highlight Amherst’s defensive performance.

“He works all summer, ” Putala said about Colon. “He wants to get better, he wants to be one of the best corners in the area and I think he has been. He does what he’s supposed to do, he gets to the spots he’s supposed to be and when you’re in the right spot, he can make some plays.”

Klaes put the first six points on the board in the affair against Putnam with a 43-yard trot up the middle. A successful extra-point gave Amherst a 7-0 lead on the first of Klaes’ three TDs with eight minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the first.

“We definitely had the momentum straight off the bat and that definitely helped us in the first half,” Klaes said on his first-quarter touchdown. “It kind of got [lackadaisical], but we got the win in the end.”

The Hurricanes punched in a 1-yard quarterback keeper on a scamper from Isabelle later on in the frame, before Colon’s first interception set up Amherst’s third touchdown of the game as time expired in the quarter.

King galloped up the right sideline for a 14-yard score and a 20-0 ‘Canes lead after the initial 12 minutes were through.

The second quarter began with Amherst recovering an onside kick attempt and less than two minutes later, it translated into more points on the scoreboard. King powered past the Beaver goal line with a 1-yard score with 10:27 to go in the first half and a good extra-point pushed the Hurricanes’ advantage to 27-0.

Colon came down with another interception during the later stages of the half, which gave Amherst another opportunity to let its talented runner go to work and pile on more points. Klaes did exactly that, reaching the end zone on a 35-yard TD to make it 34-0 Hurricanes.

Putnam appeared to be pressing for its first touchdown of the game, but Coy’s interception sent Amherst to the break with all the momentum.

“A big thing that we talk about too, is talking advantage of mistakes and capitalizing on them,” Putala said. “They made a couple mistakes that we capitalized on. I was proud of us for grinding it out.”

Two running touchdowns from Beavers’ Dom Sobers decreased the ‘Canes lead down to 34-12 during the third quarter.

Luckily for Amherst, Klaes decided he had one last rush in him, scoring on a 76-yard sprint immediately after Putnam’s second TD to essentially lock up the win for the Hurricanes as the score read 41-12 with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter.

Each team traded touchdowns in the final frame to secure the 48-18 final score in favor of Amherst.

Putala’s first season at the helm of the Hurricanes is halfway complete following Friday’s win. Amherst (3-2) has a realistic shot to claim five or more wins this year, which would serve as its best season since 2023-24 when it went 8-2.

Two of its final three games will also be home games, with the first coming next week when the ‘Canes host Wahconah on Friday, October 17 at 7 p.m.

“He came in, stepped up, he’s been a great leader and I think everybody loves him” Klaes said regarding his coach.