PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield High football team Friday night cruised to a convincing win over inner city rival Taconic, 50-14.
The star of the show tonight was quarterback Patrick Rindfuss for Pittsfield (5-1) as he notched five total touchdowns including four on ground and more than 220 yards rushing.
Like all rivalries, both teams came out with a lot of energy ready to fight for a win and bragging rights for the year. Taconic started off with the ball and had one of its best possessions of the night. It started on the ground and even connected on a 26-yard pass to bring the ball deep within Pittsfield’s territory.
It seemed like Taconic’s offense was up for the task against a stout Pittsfield “D” until the drive stalled just inside the red zone. Pittsfield was able to bend but not break on the opening drive of the game, and the Generals fed off of that stop for the rest of the game.
“I didn’t think we had the best week of practice, but by Thursday we started to turn it on and get motivated,” Pittsfield head coach Brian Jezewski said. “It's a city rivalry game, and we take pride in being Pittsfield High School and I’m proud of our guys. We started off a little flat but we got together quick”
It only took Pittsfield five plays to find the end zone and all five plays were QB keepers right up the middle of the field for Rindfuss’ first score of the night. On the ensuing kickoff, Pittsfield was able to convert on the onside kick and continue to build momentum. With Rindfuss having the hot hand they went right back to the well, only this time it took just two plays for the quarterback to find the end zone.
Pittsfield’s defense would continue to play some shut down football forcing Taconic into early punts. By late in the first half, Rindfuss added his third of the night on the ground giving them a 20-0 lead. The next drive for Patrick Rindfuss and Pittsfield had the same outcome but this time through the air with two nice throws to Davon Solomon who eventually found the end zone. The Generals closed the half out with a 26-0 lead.
The second half was more of the same with Rindfuss once again using his legs and scoring to widen the gap to 34-0. Taconic continued to struggle on the offensive end all night long but was finally able to muster up plays through the air giving them their first score of the night on a 6-yard throw to Dazyear Moore. This didn’t slow the Pittsfield offense down, as it came right back with two more touchdowns.
“We’re pretty explosive offensively,” Jezewski said. “Patrick does an awesome job running the show and our offensive line played great. Our guys did a really good job tonight, but we win these games in the offseason and in the weight room and our guys work extremely hard, I’m proud of them.”
Taconic tacked on one more touchdown right before the end of the game with a nice throw and catch to Sean Harrigan.
Pittsfield will look to finish the regular season next week against Ludlow with just one loss that came in the first week of the season against Wahconah.
Taconic will host South Hadley in hopes to get its third win of the season.
