WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- After fumbling away the ball on its first play from scrimmage on Friday night, the Mount Greylock football team had plenty of offense.
And the Mounties played just enough defense to hold off Ware in a 38-29 win that kept Mount Greylock’s perfect season alive and sent it to next Friday’s Western Massachusetts Division 4A title game.
Sophomore quarterback Michael Wellspeak threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns, and Devin Pelletier ran for 153 yards to set up a clash of unbeatens in the division next week when the Mounties face Turners Falls (9-0), a 30-7 winner over Pioneer on Friday night.
Wellspeak took full responsibility for the miscue on Mount Greylock’s opening possession and admitted to some pregame jitters.
“All day, I had that pit in my stomach,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this game all year. I’ve been waiting for this game since the off-season. It was a great experience. It was my first start in a playoff game, and it felt really good. It feels great to be going and playing for the Western Mass championship next week.”
After Ware (6-2) got the ball on the plus-32 to start the game, Mount Greylock’s defense held the visitors without a yard and gave the ball back to Wellspeak and the offense.
He directed a 68-yard drive capped by an 18-yard TD down the left side to junior Sean McCormack. Pelletier hit McCormack for a 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 with 6 minutes, 57 seconds off the clock.
Mount Greylock then benefited from a short field when Cameron Hadley recovered a Ware fumble at the 29. Wellspeak hooked up with Brandon Condon for a 26-yard pass play and then ran in the remaining 3 yards. Eli Ostheimer caught Wellspeak’s 2-point pass, and the hosts led, 16-0.
Late in the first quarter, Mount Greylock’s defense picked off Ware QB Ryan Johnson to get the ball back on the Mounties’ 8.
They needed just two plays to get the ball into the end zone this time. First Pelletier busted several tackles en route to a 24-yard gain, and then Wellspeak hit McCormack for a pass that went 68 yards for the score.
Again, the Mounties went for 2 points. This time Cal Messina ran it in to make it 24-0.
Ware rallied with a 59-yard drive that featured Johnson completions for 17 and 15 yards and ended in a Fernando Montalban 1-yard plunge to make it 24-7 at half-time.
Ware then trimmed the lead to nine points by scoring on its opening possession of the second half.
But just when it looked like the No. 3 seed would get some momentum, Messina ran back the ensuing kick 51 yards to give the Mounties possession at the Ware 41. Six plays later, Wellspeak ran it in from the 5.
Again, Ware responded, this time marching 63 yards in a drive that featured a healthy dose of Hunter Millier (95 yards). Millier capped the drive with a 4-yard run to make it 30-21 late in the third. The Mounties’ denied Ware on a 2-point conversion pass play to keep it a two-score game.
Then, Messina returned the next kickoff 49 yards to get the ball to the Ware 45.
“The first time we played [Ware], they took the lead on a kick return, so that was something we talked about all week,” Mount Greylock coach Andrew Agostini said of his special teams. “I thought we played pretty well there. But then Cal, he’s been dangerous for us on kick returns all year. He had two big ones when the tide may have been turning, things were shifting, and I think we scored both times.”
The second time, Mount Greylock needed just four plays. The last was a 14-yarder from Wellspeak to McCormack.
“It’s an everyday thing,” Wellspeak said of his relationship with the 6-foot-2 wideout. “You can’t take any days off. In practice, we’re always working together -- same with Brandon Condon. He’s doing a great job as well. The connection between us is really good, and we’ve just got to keep it up.”
Wellspeak threw to Messina for the 2-pointer that made it 38-21.
Ware got back within two scores with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the Mounties failed to get a first down on their ensuing possession. The resulting punt gave Ware possession at the Mounties’ 43, but Mount Greylock’s defense stood firm, not relinquishing a first down and getting the ball back with 2:44 on the clock.
Pelletier ran the ball four times for 41 yards on the Mounties’ final possession as they ran out the clock.
According to the MIAA website on Friday night, Mount Greylock and Turners Falls will play Friday at 6 p.m. at Williams College’s Weston Field.
