BILLERICA — Nothing Belchertown had seen so far this season could have prepared the Orioles for the major step up in class and competition they faced Friday night.

Shawsheen Valley Tech piled up three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters en route to a 42-0 halftime lead and hardly ever let its foot off the gas. Belchertown managed one late fourth-quarter score of its own, but that was minor consolation in the Orioles' 49-8 loss to the Rams in the first round of the MIAA Division 5 state football playoffs at Cassidy Field.

"I think the speed, the size, the physicality, it's all just different," said Belchertown coach Dan McCarthy. "That's a complete football team. Football comes down to blocking and tackling, and I don't think we executed too well at those two phases of the game. Fundamentally, we weren't there. We might have thrown too much at them this week, and there's a lot to work on.

"Getting out here, witnessing what it's like to compete, it's going to pay dividends for the future of this program. This ain't the last time we'll be out east playing football."

Zach Timmons and Caleb Caceres each ran for a pair of first-half scores, multi-sport standout Sid Tildsley connected with Dyllon Pratt on a 64-yard TD pass, and Tildsley ran a punt back 46 yards for six more. Meanwhile, Jared Bishop booted all six extra points before the half for the third-seeded Rams.

Shawsheen improved to 8-0. The Rams were 12-1 finishers and Division 5 state finalists in 2022 — losing to neighboring North Reading 44-28 in the state championship — and now advance to host No. 6 seed Old Rochester (5-4) in next Friday's quarterfinal.

Trailing 42-0 and with running time in effect, the Orioles mounted a 12-play, 92-yard drive starting late in the third quarter. Chris Daskam ran for 32 yards during the drive and Landon Andre finished it off with a 26-yard strike on a crossing route to Nico St. George, who turned up the left sideline and went the distance. Daskam added the two-point conversion run to make it a 42-8 game.

"I said 'Guys, let's put some points on the board, let's drive down the field and play Belchertown football,'" said McCarthy. "The last drive, they did just that. Nothing but respect for the way they did that."

The Rams capped off the game with a 67-yard TD burst from Tyler Hall, who ran for a game-high 96 yards in his brief outing. Shawsheen racked up 335 yards of total offense Friday.

From a 20-yard offensive output in the first half, Belchertown finished the night with 152 total yards. Daskam ran for 52 yards on 16 carries and Andre went 6-for-19 through the air for 104 yards with a touchdown and an interception. St. George caught two passes for 66 yards, while Josh Grillo and Brian Fuller each had a pair of receptions.

Belchertown, the 14th seed in Division 5, fell to 7-2 entering its Week 10 assigned game. This was the Orioles' first appearance in the redesigned state tournament, now in its third year of existence, and their first postseason game of any kind since 2012, when they lost to Mount Greylock 24-0 in the Western Mass. Division 3 championship.

"My boys are fired up, and we want to finish strong," said McCarthy. "After the loss to Hoosac, I think we did just that. I think we're going to rebound from this next week, and whoever we have Friday, be ready, because we want some revenge.”