Messina, Wellspeak, McCormack Put Up Big Numbers in Mount Greylock Win

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- Michael Wellspeak threw for 191 yards and four touchdowns, and Cal Messina ran for 168 yards and a score Saturday as the Mount Greylock football team beat Monument Mountain, 38-8, for the Mounties’ fourth-straight win.

 

Sean McCormack caught three of those scores, including a 45-yarder down the right side to give Mount Greylock a 24-8 lead going into half-time.

 

“We planned on passing a lot tonight,” McCormack said. “It makes a big difference when we’re running the ball as well as we do because they’re preparing for the run, and we can hit ‘em with passes.”

 

The Mounties looked to get off to fast start when  a 42-yard McCormack punt return gave them the ball at their own 45 on their first possession.

 

But a drive to the 7 ended with a fumble.

 

The Spartans (3-1) answered with a couple of first downs to get out to the 28, but 15 yards in penalties and a Hoby MacWhinnie sack stalled that effort, and a 23-yard McCormack punt return gave Mount Greylock’s offense a short field.

 

A 5-yard run by Messina and a 17-yard TD completion to McCormack in the corner of the end zone on the first play of the second quarter made it 6-0. Messina’s 2-pointer pushed the lead to 8-0.

 

Monument’s next possession ended in one of its two second-quarter fumbles. The miscues nullified the strong Spartan ground attack, which got 94 yards from Max Buffoni and 79 from Tyrell Beverly.

 

“We work on tackling, too, but we always talk about, ‘Second guy, third guy, get the ball,’ “ Mount Greylock coach Andrew Agostini said. “First guy wrap. The other ones go for it. We’ve ripped a lot of fumbles out of guys’ hands this year. I don’t think that’s by accident.

 

“It’s tough when it’s an 8-yard gain, but we’ll take the ball back, definitely. Give us the ball and give our offense a chance to score.”

 

It converted this chance in one play when Wellspeak and McCormack hooked up on a 52-yard score.

 

The Spartans answered immediately when Beverly raced back 83 yards with the ensuing kickoff. The two-point conversion cut Mount Greylock’s lead to 16-8.

 

But from there, it was all Mount Greylock.

 

First came the 45-yarder to McCormack.

 

Then the Mounties opened the second half with a 60-yard march from their 38 to the Monument Mountain 2. The Spartans’ defense stiffened, but their offense managed just one first down coming out, and after Monument’s punt, Mount Greylock st up shop on the plus-32.

 

A four-play drive ended in a 5-yard Messina run to make it 30-8.

 

Mount Greylock’s next possession went 62 yards, the last 35 when Wellspeak hit Cole Wojtokowski on a slant route to make it 36-8. Wellspeak threw to Zeke Locklear for the conversion and the game’s final points.

 

The lone sour note on the night for Mount Greylock came midway through the second quarter, when senior Jude Rorke was injured on defense. He was taken away from the field by ambulance.

 

“It’s tough,” Agostini said. “We’ll see what the prognosis is. He’s obviously a senior and one of the leaders. I’ve coached him in baseball for five years. I coached in football for four. Seeing him go off like that, it was really tough.

 

“But his message right before he left was, ‘Finish the game and the get W.’ I think that shows the type of kid he is and the type of teammate he is.”

 

So does the fact that as the Mounties celebrated their “W,” Rorke was very much on their minds.

 

“We all love that guy,” Messina said as Mount Greylock walked off the field.