Details Announced for Monday's Western Mass Title Game at Wahconah Park

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- For the second time in two years, a high school championship will be decided at Wahconah Park on Monday afternoon.

 

This time, a city school is guaranteed to be smiling when it is over.

 

A year after winning at state championship at its "second home," the Taconic Thunder is the top seed in the District 1 Western Massachusetts tournament.

 

On Monday at 2 p.m., Taconic will host rival Pittsfield, the tournament's No. 2 seed, for a Western Mass crown.

 

Tickets will be sold at the gate, and only cash will be accepted. An adult admission is $7; students and senior citizens will be admitted for $5.

 

Limited bleacher seating is available as the historic stadium undergoes repairs. Spectators are welcome to bring their own chairs, according to the Pittsfield Athletic Department.

 

Gates will be open to the public at 1 p.m.; starting line-ups will be announced at 1:50.

 

Pittsfield and Taconic teams met once during the regular season, a 10-0 Taconic win at Clapp Park back on April 30.

 

Since then, Pittsfield (11-8) has gone 7-2, including four straight wins heading into Monday's rematch.

 

Taconic (18-1) has not lost since a 4-1 loss to Westfield back on April 11 that the Thunder later avenged with a 5-0 win two weeks ago.

 

That loss to the Bombers was Taconic's first defeat since 2019. The Thunder went undefeated on the way to last year's Division 3 state title after the 2020 high school sports season was canceled at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Taconic has won state championships the last two times they've been awarded and gone to the state final the last four seasons, winning it all in 2017 (D1), 2019 (D3) and 2021 (D3).

 

Monday's game will not count toward the seedings for this year's Division 3 state tourney, even though the seedings are not set to be released until Wednesday. District 1 designed its regional tournaments so that the title games are exempted from the MIAA's regular season limits for games played.

 

According to scores reported to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association as of early Friday morning, Taconic was ranked third in D3; Pittsfield was ranked 26th.