Hoosac Valley Thrashes Rival Drury
ADAMS, Mass — Hoosac Valley got out to an early lead thanks to some excellent running by senior Judge Duval and went on to thrash rival Drury 27-6 at Renfrew Field on Saturday afternoon."This runs back to last year's Drury game where we took it on the chin up there on the hill and we had a really bad feeling leaving that game", said Hoosac Valley head coach John Duval, "The kids remembered that and were the most focused team I've seen on Drury week in a long time."
The game was all about the run as neither team was able to complete a pass on the day. The Hurricanes tripled the amount of rush yards that Drury(5-4) put up as they totaled 338 yards in the game and that really told the story as Drury couldn't get any offense going. The Blue Devils didn't get any help when starting running back Alex Bush went down with an ankle injury and never returned after carrying the ball only two times in the game.
The Hurricane's run game was the opposite and running back Judge Duval was the driving force. On their first possession Duval needed just four carries to bring the Hurricanes 59 yards for their first score of the game. Ian Hill sent the extra point though to make the score 7-0 after just a minute and 50 seconds into the game. Drury went three and out and Hoosac took back over on their own 38. On Hoosac's next play, Duval took a pitch off the left side and rumbled 62 yards to paydirt. Hill sent the extra point through and the Hurricanes took the lead 14-0 just four and half minutes into the game.
Drury quarterback Jake DiLego was intercepted by Sean Oswain on the Blue Devil's next possesion and the Hurricanes took over on the Drury 42. This time Duval took the first snap for a 36-yard run down to the Blue Devil six-yard line. After a four yard run, Duval finished the drive with a touchdown from two yards out. The extra point was no good but the Hurricanes went into the half with a comfortable lead, 20-0.
Duval finished off the day with a fourth score and only needed three carries to get it. He took the first for 43 yards, the second for eight, and finished it off with a six-yard score. Hill connected for the extra point to push the score to 27-0.
The Blue Devils ended up putting a score on the board with a two-yard run by senior Robert Jutras to make the final score 27-6.
Duval ended his sensational day with 237 yards rushing and four touchdowns. He was elected winner of the Mike Rysz Award, a trophy given to the top performer in the annual Drury versus Hoosac battle. "The trophy is okay, but just beating Drury is the greatest feeling in the world" said Duval after the game. When asked after the game about the reason for his success in the game he said, "The line. They work hard every weekend and everyday, I give all the credit to them."
After the win, the Hurricanes move to 8-1 on the season and will play Mount Greylock for the Berkshire County championship in two weeks. Hoosac lost 6-0 to the Mounties earlier this year despite having some opportunities to win the game.
"Greylock got away with one the first time and I think we're going to come back in the championship and play a great game" said senior Zach Lancia.