DALTON – The South Hadley football team was given the unenviable task of opening its season on the road against a Berkshire County powerhouse.

Host Wahconah held just a one-score lead at halftime, but the Warriors kept the Tigers off the scoreboard in the second half en route to a 26-6 victory on Friday night.

“It was a great game until the end,” South head coach Brian Couture said. “It’s South Hadley, we have to play iron man football… We’re young, so we have to get some of those young guys ready to come out. Special teams was incredible. Our punter was doing [a] great job and we’ve got a new kicker for kickoff and the squib kick was a home run.”

The Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 208 yards. Senior West Dews led the way with 148 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving).

The Warriors defense was also active, sacking Tigers quarterback Griffin Soderbaum five times.

“I’m just proud of the way all the team stepped up and played a team defensive game,” Wahconah coach Gary Campbell Jr. said. “Especially because we kind of gave up the ball a couple of times… Our defense had to stand tall and they did a good job.”

Dews started the scoring when he caught a pass and took it 74 yards to the house. Jerry Beaubrun capped off the drive with a 2-point conversion to give Wahconah an 8-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, Dews added to his highlight reel with an 80-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0.

South Hadley took advantage of a muffed punt later in the second quarter, scoring on a 16-yard run from sophomore Noah Hambley to get into halftime trailing just 14-6.

The Wahconah defense attacked a young South Hadley offensive line in the third quarter, sacking Soderbaum twice and forcing a fumble. Wahconah capitalized on the turnover with a quick three-play drive, capped off by a run from 7 yards out by Beaubrun. 

Wahconah kept its foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, holding the Tigers scoreless. The Warriors offense continued their balance attack, and Dews capped off his three-touchdown night with a run from 8 yards out.

“We got a new offense in there too, so we’re still learning a little bit,” Couture said. “The fact that we were only a touchdown behind at halftime… I was ecstatic. The boys played well.”

Hambley paced the offense with 50 yards rushing on nine carries, and also caught a pass for 33 yards. Soderbaum was 3-for-9 for 74 yards through the air, and also racked up 48 yards rushing. Julius Hebenth totaled 55 all-purpose yards for the Tigers, which will host Greenfield next Friday.