North County Gridiron Champs Prep for Friday Night Dogfight

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock and Hoosac Valley.

Local Berkshire County football fans get a tingle on the back of their necks when they hear that these two teams are due for battle on the gridiron this Friday night.

Considering that both have faced off in two of the three past Berkshire County championship games and have combined to win four Western Massachusetts Super Bowl titles in the last four years, it's definitely one of the most exciting games of the regular season.

Visiting Hoosac Valley comes into the contest with their offense firing on all cylinders as they have outscored their first two opponents, Athol and Mahar, by a combined score of 100-12.

Despite their early success, Hurricanes head coach Dayne Poirot said, "I think we realize that Greylock is a different team then the first two teams we played. A lot of people have been saying that Berkshire County football is a lot of hitting and we went over to the Monument at Greylock game Monday night and it was a really physical game.

"That was the first thing I took out of the game. It was a lot more physical then our games have been and we got to be ready to whack because we know Greylock is going to be."

Mount Greylock comes into Friday night's game off a very weird past two weeks. School was dismissed early last Wednesday, canceling practice, and thunderstorms on Thursday canceled their home game against Monument, pushing it to Monday night. Then with a Monday night game, that meant Tuesday would be needed for rest, giving the Mounties just Wednesday and Thursday to prepare on the field for the Hurricanes and their high-powered offense.

"These last two weeks have been really tough," Greylock head coach Shawn Flaherty said. "From our first game against Commerce, from that Saturday until our next game on Monday, we only had two practices with two days of rest in between. It is what it is and it was what it was. It's been an awkward two weeks for us. It's been a real grind but I think the kids have handled it extremely well and Friday night we'll be ready."

The Mounties defense will have a tough task ahead of them, as they take on Hoosac Valley's new pistol offense.

"It's exciting where Hoosac has gone away from their traditional double-tight, wishbone, old-school type of football and are running the pistol. But again, I still think they have got some great backs. They are still going to be a run team but it's a totally different feel than all the traditional Hoosac Valley teams in the past," said Flaherty. "They're in the pistol shotgun. They've got great receivers, you know obviously with John Lewis, Tyler Mach, Ian Hill, Brandon Tworig and their tight end. They are guys that can run, can run hard, have explosive speed and they have receivers that can make great catches and go deep. They are a really balanced team and have a really balanced attack. It's going to be a real test for our D."

Flaherty spoke about having a combination of all levels of the defense playing well.

"You always want to have all levels, the line, linebackers, and secondary to play as well as they can. But I think with what we are running, our linebackers and secondary have really got to make plays this week," he said. "I think Hoosac likes to attack the edge a lot and that's going to be one of the keys to this game is maintaining their onslaught at the outside."

For the Hurricanes, Poirot talked about what his team was preparing for on Friday night.

"Greylock's always coached great up front. They are fast and disciplined up front," said Poirot. "They have Daivon Clement who has been getting the ball a lot and has been running well with it. We saw on Monday night, they threw a bunch of balls to Mike McCormack. Quarterback Brodie Altiere is playing well. He has that experience from last year under his belt. Really they just play well together like a team. They are hard hitting and get to the ball quickly. We took a lot out of seeing them Monday night and just knowing what type of team they've been the past few years. You don't win those games with just talent. You win those games with discipline and fundamentals."

Poirot stressed tackling as a key to their success. "We need to tackle well. We need to be squared up and make sure tackles. We have to increase the physical part of our game." Poirot said there was noone specific he was looking to have step up, "No, it's going to take a group effort to beat this team."

Friday night's game will kickoff at 7 p.m. at John T. Allen Field in Williamstown.

"We're playing one of the top teams in Berkshire County," Flaherty added. "This is huge. I think it's going to be a classic dogfight and we've got to be ready."