Game of the Week: Saturday Must Win for McCann Tech
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The calendar says it is only the first weekend of October.The schedule says there are five more weeks of the high school football regular season after Saturday.
But for teams like McCann Tech, the postseason starts now.
Last week's six-point loss dropped the Hornets to 1-3 this fall (1-2 Tri-County) and dropped them squarely on the "bubble" for consideration in the Western Massachusetts Division 4 playoffs.
McCann coach Bob LeClair knows his team has little margin for error if it wants to repeat last year's magical run to a Western Mass Super Bowl. That makes Saturday's contest against Easthampton (2-0, 2-2) a must win.
"Like us, [the Eagles] have to run out the string of their games to qualify for the playoffs," LeClair said this week. "The loser of this game is going to be in trouble."
Easthampton is fourth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 4 power rankings; McCann is eighth out of 10 teams. The top four teams make the post-season.
McCann hopes an improving defense and diverse offense will keep it on the winning side of the ledger on Saturday in the Hornets Nest.
After allowing more than 30 points per game in Weeks 2 and 3, McCann held Franklin Tech to just two scores in a 14-6 loss in Week 4.
"We did pretty well on defense," LeClair said. "We weren't exploited like we were the week before with one player going crazy on us. We allowed only 14 points, which is a good sign. But we can still even get better.
"The big thing is generating more offense, finishing plays and working to get more points on the board."
The Hornets felt like they left some points on the field against Franklin.
"We are probably our own worst enemies in terms of the offense," LeClair said. "It's little subtle things: not holding blocks long enough, maybe bouncing to the wrong hole or something.
"Maybe more reps at practice is going to help."
LeClair said the Hornets did have to fight through some injuries early in the season, but they have been at full strength the last couple of weeks.
That paid some dividends in the passing game, in which Justin Cote completed 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown against Franklin. But McCann also dropped some passes in that loss, and if it can clean up those mistakes, it will look more like the team that scored 18 in a Week 1 win against Ware.
LeClair will be looking for balance on offense with the senior Cote leading the way on the ground and the air. In addition to 288 passing yards, Cote has 200 rushing yards to provide a one-two punch with classmate John LeClair (186 yards). T.J. Therrien has been a big play threat for the Hornets, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and leading the team in receptions (five) and receiving touchdowns.
Easthampton counters with the duo of Shane Andrews and Lucious Burrell coming out of the backfield. The tandem has amassed 744 yards and nine touchdowns in four games for the run-oriented Eagles.
"This will be my eighth year going against them, and it's been the same offense all eight years," Bob LeClair said of Easthampton. "They have new personnel of course - a couple of new running backs and one (Andrews) who has been around since he was a sophomore as a tailback.
"They're running the same things they've been running all along. Hopefully, their tendencies are what we're used to for down and distance."
Easthampton threw the ball just 13 times in September, but sophomore quarterback Nathan Laplante does have a couple of TDs through the air.
The Eagles and Hornets have just one common opponent so far this fall. Each has a win against Ware (1-2). Last week, Easthampton beat Ware on a last-second, 21-yard field goal.
"That's something we have to be concerned with: the fact that they have a kicking game," LeClair said. "It's something that can give them confidence. They know they can pick up three if they just get close enough to give their field goal kicker a chance."