EASTHAMPTON, Mass. – Kadan Tatro ran for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in Hoosac Valley’s 28-12 win over Easthampton on Friday night, and he was not even the one who walked off with the gold chain emblematic of the team’s top performer in any given week.
And he was just fine with that.
The speedy running back was more than happy to reflect praise on the guys who paved the way for his big night.
“I can’t even tell you how proud I am of them,” Tatro said as his teammates celebrated behind him. “They’re super good. They blocked perfectly today.
“I can’t even say anything else.”
Hoosac Valley coach Mike Bostwick had plenty to say about his linemen – and to his lineman in the leadup to Friday’s Intercounty South showdown.
“This was the worst week of practice I’ve had in 14 or 15 years at Hoosac,” Bostwick said. “So tonight, because of the conditions, I said, ‘How are we going to win this game? We’re going to win this game up front and by hanging onto the football,’ is basically what I told the kids.
“I really put a lot on those guys. I already told them in the group over there, ‘I want the four to five things you’ve got to get better at up front.’ So they’re happy, but they’re not satisfied.”
The way the Hurricanes are going, they’ve got a lot of meaningful football still ahead of them.
Friday’s win secured at least a share of the league title. The Hurricanes (7-0, 4-0 Intercounty South) can wrap up a perfect regular season and guarantee they will not have to share that title by beating county rival Lee next Saturday in Cheshire.
After that, it is on to the Division 8 State Tournament. Hoosac Valley started Friday ranked No. 3 in the commonwealth in the latest MIAA in-season power rankings.
Friday’s game, often played in a downpour, started with a bang for both teams.
After a 16-yard return of the opening kickoff by Griffin Mucci, Tatro took the first handoff of the night at the Hurricanes’ 48, burst through the line and raced down the field for a score just 16 seconds into the game.
Fans who have gotten used to seeing Tatro terrorize opposing defenses on sweep plays got a different look – and a 6-0 lead – right off the bat.
“With the defensive look they gave us and [Tatro’s] second level, ‘Use your speed,’ “ Bostwick said. “I told them, in these conditions, north and south will win. That was basically the strategy tonight other than one of our sweep plays, but otherwise, it was north and south.”
The Eagles (4-3, 2-2) answered right back on the ensuing kickoff.
Easthampton’s Topher Reardon took the kick at his 25 and busted off a 75-yard return to tie the score, 6-6.
The teams then traded turnovers on fourth down on their next two possessions. The Eagles gave the Hurricanes the ball at the plus-43, and Hoosac Valley went in for its second score of the night on an eight-play drive that consumed nearly five minutes, spanned the first and second quarters and ended when QB Kamarion Kastner plunged in from the 1 to make it 12-6.
Will Hakes ran in the two-point conversion to give the Hurricanes an eight-point cushion.
The Eagles then drove from their 45 to the Hoosac Valley 25 before the Hurricanes were able to stop their hosts about a yard short on fourth-and-12.
Tatro took the first handoff and went 9 yards to go over 100 midway through the second quarter. He took the next handoff and ran 76 yards to pay dirt and a 20-6 lead.
Easthampton went backward on its next possession, thanks in part to a crushing tackle for a 6-yard loss by Jayquan Vazquez. And the Hurricanes got the ball back after a punt at their 30.
It took just four plays to get into the end zone on a 50-yard Tatro run to gave his team a 20-point lead. Hakes ran in another conversion to put Hoosac Valley ahead, 28-6 with 3:05 left in the half.
Again, Hoosac Valley stopped the Eagles on downs, setting up one more Hurricane possession at midfield with 1:10 on the clock. Thanks to a pair of completions from Kastner for 37 yards and fourth-down run by Tatro, the Hurricanes got all the way to the 3-yard line, but time ran out before they could get a snap on first-and-goal.
That kept it a three-score game at half-time.
It was a two-score game just a minute and a half into the second half.
Easthampton got a 56-yard touchdown run from Luke Johndrow for its second TD with 10:28 left in the third.
But Hoosac Valley’s ball control on offense and ball hawking on defense conspired to make that Easthampton’s last score of the night.
The Hurricanes’ first possession of the second half did not yield any points, but it did chew up more than nine minutes. Easthampton did not see the ball again until it took over on downs at its 32 with 1:11 left in the third.
With Reardon doing most of the work on offense, the Eagles drove from their end of the field to the Hoosac Valley 30, but that drive ended in a Qwanell Bradley interception at about the 14 with 8:08 on the clock.
Hoosac had to punt the ball back, but the Eagles relinquished the ball on downs with 4:24 remaining. And the Hurricanes picked up two first downs, and drove 41 yards, all on the ground, before letting the final seconds tick off the clock.
“It’s great,” Tatro said of securing a league title. “Everyone doubted us. They said we were young. They said we’re not good enough. Last year it was a learning curve, did the basics, worked really hard. Weight room all off-season. We worked so hard for this. I’m so proud of my boys.”
