High School Football Midseason Review

Week 4 of the high school football season is arriving this weekend and with the new state playoff system in place, the regular season is just eight weeks instead of the previous nine of years past.

Let's take a look around Berkshire County at how each team is faring so far and what games we should be looking forward to in the second half of the year.

HOOSAC VALLEY HURRICANES (3-0 overall, 1-0 county)

After outscoring their opponents 100-12 in their first two games of the season, Hoosac Valley got a huge road victory last Friday night over Berkshire County rival Mount Greylock with big plays by their defense. It was their first victory over the Mounties in five years. The Hurricanes will play their first home game of the season up at their high school field this Saturday afternoon against visiting Monument Mountain. Games to look forward to for the Hurricanes are an Oct. 26 matchup with archrival Drury at home and next Saturday night when they travel to Dalton to face the defending Division II Super Bowl champion Wahconah Warriors who are also undefeated on the season so far.

 
WAHCONAH WARRIORS (3-0 overall, 1-0 county)

The defending Division II Super Bowl champion Warriors have carried last year's winning ways with them as they are 3-0 heading into a week four matchup with the visiting Lee Wildcats. Wahconah opened up the season with a 14-7 win over rival Northampton in the Route 9 Rumble. Then in back-to-back games they have posted 30-plus points in comfortable wins at Chicopee Comp and at home against Drury. The passing game has especially looked nice for Wahconah. Seven of their past nine touchdowns have come from the air. Next Saturday looks to be a good one when they host Hoosac Valley as well as the last game of the regular season when they travel up to Williamstown for a rematch of last year's Berkshire County championship against Mount Greylock.

 
PITTSFIELD GENERALS (3-0 overall, 1-0 county)

This year's General football team is stacked with juniors and seniors, and it shows early on as they are undefeated through their first three games. There is no lack of offense for Pittsfield especially as they have scored at least 30 points in all three of their games. They opened up with a come-from-behind victory on the road at Monument and then sealed up two wins at home over independent opponents Burke-Dorchester and Chicopee Comp. This weekend will be a big test for the team as they host Mount Greylock on Friday night. Games to look forward to for the Generals include matchups with perennial Berkshire County powerhouses Wahconah, Hoosac Valley and Mount Greylock. Their last game of the regular season looks to be an intriguing game when they take on city-rival Taconic.


MCCANN TECH HORNETS (2-0 overall)
 
The McCann Tech Hornets of North Adams no longer face any Berkshire County opponents during the regular season but they hope to have a chance by making the Division VI state playoff. They are in good shape now as they currently lead the power rankings for their division with 13 points. The defense has been key for the Hornets as they have allowed just one touchdown to their opponents so far. Games to look forward to are their last two home games of the season against Palmer and Pioneer. The Hornets were down 13-0 to Palmer last year when they had a comeback that fell short by one point. Pioneer defeated McCann two seasons ago in the Division VI Super Bowl so it will be interesting to see these two tough Tri-County opponents square off.
 

MOUNT GREYLOCK MOUNTIES (2-1 overall, 1-1 county)

Expectations around the Mount Greylock football team are set high as they have won the past three Berkshire County championships and the past three Western Mass Division III Super Bowls. Even though they lost some key players to graduation, the Mounties have looked good in their first games of the season. They opened up the season with two convincing wins before falling last Friday night at home to Hoosac Valley. Despite being down 20-0 in the first half, Greylock fought back to make it a game but more turnovers in the passing game doomed their chance to tie. Games to look forward to for the Mounties are this weekend against Pittsfield as they look to bounce back from their loss to the Hurricanes and on Oct. 25 when they host Wahconah in the rematch of last year's Berkshire County championship.
 

LEE WILDCATS (2-1 overall, 1-0 county)

Lee opened up their season with a loss on the road against Old Rochester but has bounced back with two nice victories at Greenfield and at home over Taconic. The Wildcats are playing physical football, which has always been their style. Winning their past two games with defense and smash-mouth running offense, they will have a big test Friday night when they travel to play the Wahconah Warriors. Games to look forward to include home games against Pittsfield, Drury and Monument Mountain.
 

DRURY BLUE DEVILS (1-2 overall, 1-1 county)

Drury opened up their season with a tough loss to visiting Greenfield in which the team made a host of mistakes that erased any chance of them winning the game. But they bounced back the next weekend with a 32-8 victory at home against Taconic that saw all four of their backs find the end zone. This past Friday was tough though as they went down to Dalton to face a very tough Wahconah team. The Blue Devils will look to right the ship as they take on a very young St. Joseph squad this Saturday. Games to look forward to include games at Lee and at home against Monument Mountain before they take on archrival Hoosac Valley on the road Oct. 26.

 
MONUMENT MOUNTAIN SPARTANS (1-2 overall, 1-2 county)

Besides a tough loss on the road to Mount Greylock, the Spartans have started their season off well. In their opening game against Pittsfield, Monument lead after halftime but fumbles ended up swinging the game in the wrong direction as they fell 30-22. Most recently, the Spartans were able to build confidence with a 68-0 blowout over St. Joe's. This weekend Monument heads north to take on Hoosac Valley on Saturday afternoon. Games to look forward to include on the road at Lee and at home against Taconic.
 

TACONIC BRAVES (1-2 overall, 1-2 county)

The Braves opened their season with a nice victory over city rival St. Joseph, 18-6. Since then it has been tough sledding for Taconic as they have dropped their last two tilts at Drury and at Lee. The Braves are a very young team in the process of a culture change. They will look to get back on track when they travel to Great Barrington on Saturday to take on Monument Mountain. Games to look forward to include this weekend against Monument Mountain and the last game of the season when they face city rival Pittsfield at home.
 

ST. JOSEPH CRUSADERS (0-2 overall, 0-2 county)

For St. Joe's it has been a big change from past seasons as longtime coach Gary Bianchi stepped down and assistant Ben Kline stepped up. The Crusaders also graduated a solid core of some of the most talented players in Berkshire County so this season is going to be a learning experience for them. The Crusaders opened up the season with losses to Taconic and Monument so far but they have seem some good things from some of their young and new players. Games to look forward to are against Seekonk and Easthampton as the Crusaders face some different opponents than in past seasons.
 

PLAYOFF RANKINGS (includes all games played through Sept. 23)

Seeding: Teams will be seeded by the WMass Power Rating System, as posted by the MIAA, below:



Full MIAA rules can be found here.