GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Monument Mountain’s infantry was superior to Pathfinder’s air force.
The Spartans’ powerful running game Friday did all the damage it needed to take a 50-34 win from the Pioneers in a Tri-County tilt at Spartan Stadium.
Shaun Frank ran for 265 yards and four touchdowns, and Isaiah Keefner ran for 162 yards and two scores as Monument Mountain moved over the .500 mark at 3-2 and improved to 2-0 in league play.
The home team needed that kind of offensive production against a high-scoring Pioneer team that got 363 yards through the air from quarterback Anthony Arventos, who threw for all five of Pathfinder’s touchdowns.
For the Spartans, Frank and Keefner each had a couple of breakaway scores: the former a 65-yarder in the first half, the latter a 70-yard dash in the second half.
Frank said the pair complement one another in the backfield.
“When I just put my head down, they all focus on me,” he said. “Because it takes two or three people to take me down. And then Isaiah just runs. He’s got that speed, you know. He just gets to the outside and does his thing. That’s all he needs to do.”
Keefner agreed that the pair work well together.
“We just tell each other to keep going through the holes, block for each other, block strong,” Keefner said. “Stay with each other, make sure we’re next to each if we’re running, make sure the blocks are all the way through and complete.”
The second-highest scoring game in Berkshire County football this fall started a bit methodically.
Pathfinder took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in 11 plays. The Pioneers actually ran more than they threw in the opening possession, but it ended with a 35-yard Arventos touchdown toss with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left in the quarter.
From there, it was off to the races.
Frank ran for 37 yards on three carries on Monument Mountain’s first possession, which ended in a 23-yard scoring run by Keefner and a two-point conversion from Dominic Calautti to give the Spartans their first lead at 8-6.
Pathfinder went 65 yards on its next possession – 55 through the air, to take a 12-8 lead early in the second quarter.
But Monument answered on its next play from scrimmage when Frank scampered 65 yards and then ran in the 2-point conversion to grab a 16-12 lead.
Pathfinder’s next drive took it from the plus-49 to the Monument Mountain 7 before Keegan Dargie picked off a pass in the end zone.
The Spartans then flipped the field, going from their 20 to the Pathfinder 29 before an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the drive.
The Pioneers then went 72 yards in 3:14, finishing with a 5-yard Arventos completion on fourth-and-goal to take an 18-16 lead into half-time.
Monument Mountain coach Chris Tucci was not surprised to be in a dogfight with Pathfinder, which fell to 0-5 (0-2 Tri-County) with Friday’s loss.
“Pathfinder gives us trouble every year, because Pathfinder is an extraordinarily well-coached team,” Tucci said. “They have hard-nosed kids who know how to play football and play the right way. So anytime you get a win over Pathfinder, you’re happy.
“So in that half-time, we knew what was working for us. And we knew it was big plays and yellow flags that were holding us back. We just needed to reduce those. We were able to reduce those in the second half. I’d still like to see less yellow, a little bit more disciplined play. But I’m happy with the way we rallied around, that we’re able to get first downs when we needed them.”
Monument went 52 yards on its first possession of the second half to take a 22-18 lead on a 5-yard Frank carry.
And after the Spartans’ defense forced a four-and-out for the Pioneers at midfield, Keefner raced 49 yards for a score on what would turn out to be his second-longest run of the night.
The longest came on the Spartans’ next possession, which was preceded by a Keefner interception a the Monument Mountain 20. After a 10-yard run by Frank, Keefner took the ball the rest of the way on the next play to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the game at 34-18.
The teams traded touchdowns from there.
Pathfinder made it a one-score game at the end of the third quarter, but Frank scored from the 7 early in the fourth to push the margin back to 42-26.
On the ensuing possession, the Pioneers marched 93 yards to get within eight points at 42-34 with 4:11 on the clock. But Monument Mountain went 77 yards on eight plays, including seven carries by Frank, to re-establish the 16-point margin with 35 seconds left.
Both Friday’s opponents will be in North Adams next week. Monument Mountain visits McCann Tech on Friday night; Pathfinder will be at Drury on Saturday as Tri-County play continues.
