NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The McCann Tech football team lost a tough one to Mahar, 22-8, Friday night, at home.
This was a great football contest between both teams that was overshadowed by a key injury to the Hornets (0-2). Starting running back Parker Hart was carted off the field late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury after a big run that set McCann Tech up with good field position.
“Parker is a huge leader for this team both on and off the field,” McCann head coach Jonathan Rochelo said. “He’s one of the most positive kids you’ll ever meet, and I feel for him, but he will be a big piece for us on the sideline in any way that he can going forward.”
One bright spot in the game for McCann was their defensive pressure doing a great job containing a very good Mahar team.
Early on, the Hornets had Mahar in a third and long before letting up a 70-yard rush into the redzone. After that Mahar punched it in for six points, but McCann was able to keep them at bay for a good portion of the game. They finished the first quarter only down 6-0 and were still fighting.
On the offensive end McCann struggled to finish off drives with Hart totaling 83 yards on the ground, while Musa Thompson had 46 yards and the lone score of the game for McCann. Mahar tacked on one more touchdown before half forcing McCann to regroup during the break.
McCann continued with the stingy defense in the third quarter, keeping Mahar scoreless while Thompson’s touchdown brought McCann within six as they looked like they were finally starting to build momentum. McCann later had a chance to take the lead by converting on a fourth down play deep in Mahar territory, but the visitors recovered a fumble to end that chance. The Senators then scored at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 14-point lead.
“Mahar did a great job disguising plays, but we were prepared and watched a lot of film every day,” Rochelo said. “Guys outside of practice on their own time were watching game film and going through scenarios so we were definitely prepared.”
McCann will look to regroup from this hard fought battle and see if they can continue to improve against Nashoba Tech next Saturday, at home.
