Game of the Week: Hoosac, Mount Greylock Prep for Mid-Year Clash
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As North County high school football rivalries go, the season-ender between Drury and Hoosac Valley is second to none.But Friday's mid-year clash between Hoosac and Mount Greylock is pretty darn good.
The Mounties (3-0 league, 3-0 overall) and Hurricanes (2-1, 2-1) have met in the last two Berkshire County Championship games and have combined to win three county titles and three Western Massachusetts Super Bowl titles the last three years.
Including the two county title games, Mount Greylock has a slim, 6-4, lead in the last 10 meetings and has won the last four going back to the 2010 game that snapped a 13-game winning streak for the 'Canes.
And although the 21st century has seen a few routs in the series, last year featured two beauties: a 6-0 regular season Mounties win in Adams and an 8-0 Mounties win in the county title game in Williamstown.
The two schools on Friday will clash again under the lights on John T. Allen Field as the Hurricanes look to stop a 29-game winning streak for the host Mounties.
"We look at this as a cross-town rival," Greylock coach Shawn Flaherty said. "We've had some great games against them in the past. It always gets everybody excited. It's always been a good game.
"Mount Greylock-Hoosac is always an important game for us."
For Hoosac fans, nothing will supplant the passion of their annual battle with Drury, but first-year Hurricanes coach Poirot agreed that this week is not just another game.
"Mount Greylock's been the best team in the league the last couple of years," Poirot said. "They're No. 1. We have to be excited to play the best team in the league. Until someone beats them, they’re still the best."
Despite graduating a ton of seniors after last year's second straight Division 3 Super Bowl win, Greylock has shown no sign of slowing down.
The Mounties have won their first three games this fall by a combined margin of 110-22. Last week, they shut out Taconic, 36-0.
"We lost nearly the entire line from tackle to tackle and then obviously losing an MVP caliber player in [quarterback] Kent Hanson, there's a lot [gone]," Flaherty said. "But you look at the skill positions, and I thought we could put together a really powerful, strong team. And knowing Hank Barrett was in the wings behind Kent for a couple of years helped.
"I really thought that given the opportunity to play, he would do well."
Barrett has thrown for 294 yards and four touchdowns in his first three games under center, complementing a Mountie rushing attack led by former Hoosac Valley student Ethan Ryan (314 yards rushing, county-best eight TDs).
"I think they've shown they have a great running game," Poirot said. "[Daivon] Clement and Ethan Ryan have both done a good job running for them, and the line has done a good job filling in.
"Hank Barrett has done a good job getting to the edge. ... He's just a great athlete. He's a great basketball player. We've seen him step up and play lacrosse."
And, Flaherty said, his senior QB was a great student when he was asked to take a step back last fall.
"We used [Barrett] very sparingly [on the varsity]," Flaherty said. "He took some snaps for us. ... But there was a point where I wanted him to come to the film sessions instead of playing on Mondays. Last year, he played maybe two or three JV games. We wanted him to see the tapes on Monday instead of playing."
This week, Barrett will face a Hoosac defense that already has a shutout to its credit and held Monument Mountain to just one score in a 19-6 win last week.
The victory over the Spartans was a nice recovery for Hoosac after Week 2's setback against St. Joseph (1-1, 2-1).
"I just think we have a lot of guys on our team who want to win and are committed to doing the right things," said Poirot, a longtime Hoosac assistant who took over the top job this summer. "We came out and tackled harder and stayed focused."
Flaherty knows his team will have to be focused on slowing down Hoosac’s powerful rushing attack on Friday.
"They're still a classic Hoosac Valley team," Flaherty said. "They are pretty big. They're extremely physical. They don't fool around with a lot of formations and things like that. They come right at you.
"They have a nice complement of backs. You definitely have to be ready for all facets. ... (Junior) Ian Hill is a real powerful, classic type of fullback, but then the guys they've been interchanging at the running back spot - some are gifted with speed and others have great vision and make great cuts."