Published: 4/10/2021 6:47:26 PM
SOUTH HADLEY — It wasn’t the start the Northampton football team was looking for on Saturday against Belchertown.
The Blue Devils coughed the ball up on their first two possessions of the game, despite driving it into Orioles territory both times.
There was no give-up from Northampton however, as the club scored on its next four possessions of the first half to take a 28-8 lead into the break, ultimately paving the way to a 34-8 victory.
“We’re improving and as a coaching staff it’s great because that’s all you can ask for,” Blue Devils coach Joe Kocot said. “We’re building something here.”
It was a big punt return that set up Northampton’s first score of the game.
Belchertown was forced to punt from its own 6, and Blue Devil Trey Rios fielded the kick at the Orioles 35. He used his speed to take it all the way back to the Belchertown 3, where Trevor Maslowski powered it in on the next play to put Northampton up 7-0 with 4:02 to play in the first after Jonathan Marshall’s extra point.
“We practice special teams all the time,” Kocot said. “To see it work during game day, it looks good. We’re always tweaking it and now we have to make sure it stays just as good or better.”
The Blue Devils struck again with 28 seconds left in the quarter, as quarterback Benjamin Sledzieski hit Rios on a pop pass. Rios then broke a tackle before taking it 39 yards into the end zone to go up 14-0 with 28 seconds left in the first.
Belchertown quarterback Owen Sedlacek rallied his team back, blazing down the sideline for a 69-yard run to set Belchertown up inside the Northampton 10. Two plays later, Tyler Laramee went in untouched on a counter from seven yards out and convered the two-point try himself to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 10:58 to play in the half.
On the ensuing drive, Northampton played power football, running for seven and eight yards nearly every play before a 23-yard scamper by Brett Holden set it up at the 1. Dominic Badorini pushed his way in from a yard out to put the Blue Devils up 20-8 with 6:02 to go in the half.
Following a Belchertown punt, Northampton found itself facing a second-and-four from the Orioles 28 with just 11 seconds left before the half.
Sledzieski dropped back and tossed out a perfect pass to a streaking Marty Maslowski, with the ball dropping into his hands in stride in the end zone. Braeden Tudryn converted the two-point conversion to extend the Blue Devil lead to 28-8 at the break.
“What’s good is we called the play and the kids executed,” Kocot said. “Any score right before the half is great and any score against you right before the half is awful.”
Holden had the lone touchdown of the second half, running it in from 12 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to put Northampton up, 34-8.
The Blue Devil defense was strong throughout, with Holden and other Northampton defenders blowing things up inside and getting in the backfield to halt the Belchertown run and pass game.
“Brett Holden is impossible to block,” Kocot said. “Teams think they know what to do when they see it on tape but he’s got the will, he’s got the motor and is the strongest and fastest kid on the team.”
The Orioles were held to just six first downs on offense, two in the first half and four in the second half.
“We came out and knew they were tough but we had confidence in our guys,” Northampton cornerback Ahmed Elfawai said. “Our defense played great to come out on top.”
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