ADAMS, Mass. — The Hoosac Valley football team has been known for pounding the ball on the ground and letting their defense control the game on the other side of the ball.

 

In Friday’s Division 8 State Quarter-Final, the Hurricanes relied on moving the ball through the air for some big and timely plays in a 20-13 win over Narragansett.

 

The game started off in an unorthodox way with Narragansett recovering an onside kick giving it good field position and a momentum boost, which is just what they wanted on the road. Fortunately for Hoosac Valley, it was able to rely on the defense to get the offense the ball back. 

 

It was a bit of a stalemate early as neither  team took advantage on the offensive side of the ball. The first quarter finished scoreless, but Hoosac was able to pick up a big first down just before the end of the quarter on a 45-yard throw and catch from Carson Meczywor to Caleb Harrington to about midfield.

 

The Hurricanes built on that momentum and got the game’s first score with the same link up between Meczywor and Harrington this time for 10 yards.

 

That lead didn’t last long as Narragansett answered right back with a score of its own on third-and-long with a nice reverse for 72 yards.

 

It was a different story in the second quarter for both teams as they started to get things going offensively. Hoosac Valley stormed right back again with a nice drive helped by that same duo of Meczywor and Harrington who got the ball inside the 5 yard-line and eventually punched in by Aaron Bush for the 14-7 lead.

 

 

“These guys want to sling it, and it’s a big part of what we did in practice. I knew we would need the extra attention on passing based on the look we thought we were going to get,” Hoosac Valley coach Mike Bostwick said. “The kids made plays, they went out there and made plays when they had to and I’m proud of them.”

 

Hoosac Valley took that 14-7 lead into the break in hopes to carry that momentum into the second half. The second half started similar to the beginning of the game with the opening drive resulting in a turnover. Hoosac was unable to capatlize and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

 

The next big moment in the game came from a Hoosac Valley punt that pinned Narragansett back on its own 1 yard-line. Narragansett was fortunate to give them some breathing room and then on 3rd down it connected on a big play for 82 yards bringing them down to the goal-line. The visitors eventually got the score on a 5-yard run. Hoosac Valley’s special teams stepped up big and block the extra point to give them a 14-13 lead. 

 

These two would go back and forth with defensive stops until the fourth quarter when Bush scored his second touchdown of the game and eventual game winner.

 

Harrington then added to his impressive night only this time on the defensive side coming away with a nice interception. This allowed Hoosac to run some more time off the clock before punting it away to Narragansett for the final drive of the game.

 

Narragansett made it interesting with a big play through the air with less than 2 minutes left in the game. They were able to get it to the Hoosac 25-yard line but were unable to come up with a play to tie the game up.

 

Top-seeded Hoosac Valley moves on to next Friday’s state semi-final against Hull at a place and time to be announced.