Wahconah's Pickard Throws Five TDs in Win over Amherst
DALTON, Mass. – Wahconah senior Lucas Pickard put on a show on Senior Night.
Pickard threw for 168 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Amherst.
All five of those touchdown throws came in the first half, when the only thing that could stop the Wahconah offense was the clock.
In fact, the first string Wahconah offense was not stopped all night, and the Hurricanes did not manage a first down against Wahconah’s defense until the third quarter, with the game being played under a running clock and the Wahconah starters relegated to observer status.
The tone was set early when Amherst took the opening kickoff and went three-and-out, and Wahconah answered with a 59-yard drive that ended in a 21-yard pass play from Pickard to Jayden Speth.
“He threw the ball really well tonight,” Wahconah coach Gary Campbell Jr. said. “I don’t care what the competition is, you’ve still got to get back, take your steps and throw the ball. And he put it on guys tonight.
“Really well played by Lucas tonight, because sometimes on Senior Night, you can force it a little bit. You can kind of press a little bit. And he didn’t. He looked smooth throwing the football. And it was a beautiful night to throw the football, so he did a heck of a job.”
Pickard found classmate Jesse Chapman for an 11-yard TD completion on Wahconah’s second possession, which went 67 yards and included a 15-yard scamper by senior Doug Collins (57 yards, one touchdown).
Pickard went back to Speth for TD No. 3 at the end of the first quarter.
Wahconah’s longest possession came in the third, when Pickard directed the offense 81 yards in eight plays, ending in a 30-yard pass play to senior Owen Salvatore.
Yet another senior, Zander Walton, caught a 10-yard TD late in the second.
“It’s certainly purposeful tonight,” Campbell said of Wahconah’s highlighting the senior class. “We were able to do well offensively. So, because of that, you certainly can dictate things here and there. Certainly purposeful for me to get those seniors some touches, especially around the goal line.
“I just really wanted to make sure that they got there on their night tonight, because you’re not guaranteed anything. This could be their last game here. Hopefully we make the playoffs and hopefully we get a home game, but that isn’t guaranteed you.”
Wahconah got the ball back one more time before half-time in pretty good field position after senior Owen Salvatore returned a punt 20 yards to the plus-33. But with 31 seconds left until half-time, Campbell was content to run one running play before running out the clock.
A 5-yard run by Collins and a 22-yard run by Salvatore (76 yards rushing) accounted for Wahconah’s scoring in the third quarter to open up a 45-0 lead with 19 minutes left in regulation.
Wahconah (5-1), which started its Suburban South schedule with a loss to East Longmeadow, has now improved to 2-1 in league play and controls its own destiny for a share of the league crown after the Spartans stumbled at Northampton on Friday night.
Wahconah finishes the regular season at Hamp (5-1) next week and at West Springfield (2-4) on Oct. 28.
“It’s the Route 9 Rumble,” Campbell said of the next challenge for his squad. “That’s one of our old rivalries. I mean, if you talk about Wahconah’s history in football, it’s Pittsfield High, it’s Hoosac Valley, it’s Northampthon. Those are rivalries that go way back that their parents and grandparents and everybody has played in. That I’ve played in.
“So it’s meaningful. Northampton is all we are concerned about right now.”