30 Magic Number For Mounties: 30 Points, 30 Victories
.jpg) Hoosac Valley couldn't arrest the champion Mounties offense, losing 30-0 on Friday night. |
They come in 30s.
The Mounties blew by Hoosac Valley, 30-0, on Friday night for their 30th straight victory, their second straight shutout and their fourth game this season scoring 30 or more points.
Mount Greylock senior Ethan Ryan rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and the Mounties held Hoosac (2-2 Berkshire County, 2-2 overall) to 83 yards of offense in improving to 4-0 to stay atop the league standings along with Wahconah (3-0), which has a non-league game at Northampton on Saturday afternoon.
After Friday's win, Ryan flashed all 32 teeth and raved about the offensive line that paved the way for him and running mate Daivon Clement (97 yards, one TD).
"I think our line came out and just moved the guys out of there," Ryan said. "I can't ask more of them. They move everyone out of the way. All I have to do is hit the hole.
"I think [the Hurricanes] definitely do have size on us and poundage. But I think our guys are quicker and they're fundamentally better. I think that set the tone tonight."
The Mounties scored the first three times they touched the ball. And if you discount a possession that began at the Mount Greylock 35 with 32 seconds left in the first half, the home team scored on its first four possessions.
Meanwhile, Hoosac managed just four first downs in the game and 15 yards of offense in the second half.
The Hurricanes were playing without a handful of players they counted as starters at the beginning of the season but fought to the end against the two-time defending county champions. A 55-yard Greylock drive that consumed 9 minutes, 26 seconds of the third and fourth quarters ended when Hoosac's line denied Mountie quarterback Hank Barrett on fourth-and-goal at the 3.
"The kids that were out there on the field tonight, I'm very proud of them," Hoosac coach Dayne Poirot said. "They all worked hard.
"
.jpg) See more photos of the game here. |
|
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
Junior Colby Gage was the latest Hoosac player to step up, getting more carries than usual with last week's iBerkshires.com Athlete of the Week Tyler Mach out with an injury.
Gage gained 47 yards on 14 carries to lead the Hurricanes.
Ryan had 41 yards rushing on Mount Greylock's opening possession.
He finished that drive on a pitchout to the left side from the 1 and ran in the conversion to make it 8-0 with 1:54 left in the first.
Midway through the second quarter, Ryan's 35-yard scamper down the right side set up a 3-yard plunge by Clement to make it 14-0.
Later in the quarter, a blocked punt by Eric Leitch gave Greylock a short field, and Barrett found Brett McCormack in the end zone for a 26-yard completion; Ryan's run tacked on 2 to make it 22-0 at half-time.
The Mounties took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 75 yards on three straight running plays: Ryan for 11, Clement for 27 and Ryan for 43 for the game's final touchdown.
"I hit the corner and saw that the outside was open, so I made the juke, and that guy missed, and I just lowered my head through two kids," Ryan said of his 10th touchdown of the year. "Right as I did that, I picked my head up, and there was daylight so I just sprinted in."
With Ryan playing the role of Mr. Outside and Clement serving as Mr. Inside, the Greylock offense is firing on all cylinders heading into next week's game at Lee.
"That's what I was hoping to see," Mount Greylock coach Shawn Flaherty said. "I think that's almost from Day One. It's a big reason why we had Daivon (Clement) at that fullback spot. I just think it's a nice luxury to have with those guys, and tonight they both had great games."