Rodriguez Scores Four Times in Pittsfield Football's Win
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- With an eight-point lead, time running out and the opponent running out of timeouts, Pittsfield High’s Edwin Rodriguez needed to make just three yards for a first down that would have sealed Friday night’s game at Wahconah Park.
Instead, he got 59 and his fourth touchdown of the night.
It seemed only fitting that the Generals’ last offensive play of the night would yield a touchdown in a 58-36 shootout with Connecticut’s Woodstock Academy.
Rodriguez ran for 237 yards and caught a 74-yard touchdown pass from Tyrell Boire. Boire finished with 156 yards passing and 72 yards on the ground as Pittsfield improved to 3-0 heading into next Friday night’s showdown with Wahconah (3-0), a 29-14 winner at West Springfield on Friday night.
After accounting for more than 300 yards of offense, Rodriguez gave props to his offensive line.
“They had a huge impact on the game,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have had four touchdowns. They did everything. Hard work -- that’s what we do. Coach believed in us.”
Pittsfield coach Brian Jezewski also believed his team was in for a stern test against the visitors from the Nutmeg State, who last week put up 40 points in a loss against perennial power Turners Falls.
After 22 minutes, it did not look like the Centaurs (1-3) had come to play.
Rodriguez opened the game with his first long run of the night, a 75-yarder on Pittsfield’s first play from scrimmage. Boire ran in the two-point conversion, and PHS had an 8-0 lead before the game was a minute old.
Woodstock answered immediately, but the Generals scored the next 24 to take a 32-6 lead into half-time.
At that point, Jezewski reminded his club about Woodstock’s capabilities.
“They scored a bunch of points against Turners Falls, which is a good football program,” Jezewski said. “We knew offensively, we would be OK. We knew defensively, we would have to work. [Kameron Janice] and [Jared Bouten], those are grown men. Those guys are good football players.”
True to form, the Centaurs, who committed two first-half turnovers, got their offense going after intermission. Woodstock scored the first four time it touched the ball in the second half to make it a one-score game, 44-36.
Janice finished with 204 yards on the ground, and QB Bouten threw for 185 yards and ran for 48. When Janice scored from the 40 with 5 minutes, 22 seconds left in regulation, he got his team within eight points for the first time since Pittsfield went up 16-6 in the first quarter.
After PHS recovered an onsides kick, it took over on the minus-48. But Woodstock’s defense, which gave Pittsfield fits much of the second half, refused to give up a first down.
Rodriguez was stopped behind the line on a fourth-and-1 play, and Woodstock took over at its 43 with 3:04 on the clock.
Bouten directed his offense to a first-and-10 at the Pittsfield 29. But the Generals stiffened.
After Janice was stopped on runs of 1 and 5 yards, Bouten went to the air. But two straight throws were incomplete, and Pittsfield took over on downs.
Three plays later, Rodriguez was able to break through the line, and with Woodstock selling out to try to prevent the 3 yards PHS needed, he had clear sailing to the end zone for the game’s final score.
“We got the stop we needed,” Jezewski said. “Our kids fought. One thing, our guys made a huge effort. They understand: It’s not about the name on the back of the jersey; it’s about the name on the front of the jersey. And our guys truly believe that they can play with anybody.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next week against Wahconah, but I know this week our guys came through. They got punched in the face in the third quarter, and they did a very nice job.”