H.S. Football: Frontier edges Easthampton 12-0 in inaugural western Mass. Class B title game

SOUTH DEERFIELD — In the first ever Western Mass. Class B title game, the Frontier Regional football team defeated , 12-0, on Friday night.

The Redhawks (9-1) closed out their season with a new brand of postseason glory in Western Mass. There was no trophy present at the game. Frontier will have something made internally to commemorate the win.

“They are excited,” Frontier coach Scott Dredge said. “We are happy to win the inaugural one. That’s nice. It feels good. It makes this game meaningful. We are glad it was against Easthampton. We are familiar foes. It was a hard-fought win. That was a tough game.”

In the future, these games could have trophies and be played at a neutral location to give it a solid postseason feel. Similar to how the PVIAC runs sectional tournaments in the other sports. Giving the game a specific name is another idea.

“I think that’s the goal as coaches,” Dredge said. “To make this sort of like what the Western Mass. Super Bowl used to be. I think that makes sense. Now that we kind of piloted it this year I think those of us who voted for it, who pitched the idea … we have to promote it in the media. I think it has to be at a neutral site. It makes it feel like a Bowl game.”

In the low scoring affair, points were at a premium. The Red Hawks lost both their starting running backs to injury. Both Garrett Dredge (knee) and Brady Poreda (ankle) had to leave the game. Enter Fullback Jacoby Merrill, who rushed for a 33-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 3 seconds left in the third quarter. The touchdown gave Frontier a 6-0 lead.

“I can’t take all the credit,” Merrill said. “My line was amazing. If it wasn’t for them, I would have no chance. That front five, they did all the work. We found their weak point, up the middle. We had to punch it through.”

Merrill also went over 100 tackles in the game. The Frontier defense did in fact blitz Merrill heavily to help him reach the milestone.

“It felt amazing,” Merrill said. “100 tackles is something I’d never even dream of. To hit that. It’s unreal. Our entire defense was on point.”

The game did have a different feel to it for Merrill.

“We have to treat all our games the same,” Merrill said. “But it had some weight to it. A lot of us it’s our last game. It’s a pretty big thing for us.

Noah Poreda watched his brother get helped to the sideline and promptly scored a 12-yard touchdown to give Frontier a 12-0 lead with 4:20 left in the game. Poreda (eight carries, 73 yards) had a 34-yard carry on the drive that helped put the game away.

“This was my first time stepping up,” Poreda said. “Overall, I felt great and I am prepared for next season. It felt really good, especially after my brother getting injured. I really wanted to win it for him. That’s what I was thinking while I was running the ball.”

Easthampton (5-5) had difficulty moving the ball throughout the game. Patrick Larson had 14 carries for 37 yards and added two catches for 43 yards. In the final minutes of the game the Eagles drove down to the Frontier 1-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.

“The way the kids were battling out on the field tonight,” Easthampton coach Kyle Dragon said. “It kind of brought back that championship feeling. That was something we talked about all week. These two teams, they play each other like this all the time. It was a great match up.”

More communication about the new playoff format could improve the overall product next year.

“It wasn’t well publicized,” Dragon said. “We can look to make it known more. To make it feel like more of a championship.”

League winners will now compete against each other in three different classes for Western Mass. supremacy. Easthampton was third in the Suburban North, which prompted the invite to the championship game. Hoosac Valley and Lee finished higher in that league but are still playing in the statewide tournament. Frontier won the Intercounty South, leading to the showdown against the Eagles.