Whiteley Powers Taconic to Third Straight Win
LEE, Mass. -- After losing in overtime to rival Pittsfield in Week 1, the Taconic football team could have gone in the tank, but it responded with a big road win.
After knocking off defending Western Mass chamion Wahconah in Week 3, Taconic could have gotten swelled heads.
Instead, it went out Friday night and beat Lee, 50-13 to improve to 3-1.
For a team with just a few seniors on its roster, Taconic is playing with maturity beyond its years.
"Coach has been keeping our heads straight," junior defensive back and receiver Zach Gage said. "He's making sure we go out in practice and bust our butts -- don't let our guard down, because the second we do that, we're going to start losing games.
"We've been doing a good job keeping the momentum going."
Anthony Whiteley ran for 221 yards and three touchdowns, and Jake McNeice threw for 84 yards and three scores as Taconic won its third straight.
Head coach Jim Ziter said that the Week 3 win over Wahconah made for an interesting week of practice.
"It was a challenge all week to keep their mind in it -- to keep them mentally fit," Ziter said. "Last Friday, we didn't want it to be their only game of the year.
"They're jelling. Every week, they're jelling."
Things really came together in the second quarter on Friday night in Lee.
Helped by two fumble recoveries and Gage's second interception of the first half, Taconic scored 29 points in the second quarter to take a 29-6 lead into half-time.
Whiteley scored the game's first points with a 3-yard run, three plays after a fumble gave Taconic the ball at the Wildcats' 32.
Gage picked off a pass on Lee's first play after the kickoff, and Taconic went 31 yards for its second score, a 5-yard run by McNeice. McNeice then hit Devon Walker for a 2-pointer to make it 15-0.
Lee cut into that lead when Lukas Loehr took the ensuing kickoff 92 yards the other way to make it 15-6 with 4:52 left in the half, but Taconic scored on its next two possessions.
First, McNeice directed a 65-yard drive that ended when he hit Walker on a fourth-and-15 for a 35-yard score. Brandon Peaslee's PAT made it 22-6.
"We trust Dev," Ziter said. "We trust Dev and Jake. And any time we roll out to pass, Jake has the option to run or throw."
Lee (2-2) fumbled the kickoff, and Taconic went 40 yards on three runs, the last a 26-yard scamper by Whiteley.
In the third quarter, Taconic went the distance on possessions that consumed 65 yards and 67 yards to make it six straight touchdowns. McNeice hooked up with Gage for TDs to cap both drives, which left it 43-6 going to the fourth.
Taconic made it seven straight scores when Whiteley busted out an 81-yard drive on Taconic's first play of the fourth quarter.
Lee's offense produced its first score with 5:06 left in the game, a 36-yard completion from Cam Abderhalden to Michael Hurley.