Published in the Boston Globe on Oct. 5, 2015
CHESHIRE — For the second straight year, Wahconah defeated longtime rival Hoosac Valley by the same score, 8-7, on a soggy Saturday afternoon.
On fourth and 5 from the Hoosac Valley 17, quarterback Nick Clayton connected with Ryan Washburn for a touchdown with 2:06 left to cut Wahconah’s deficit to 7-6.
Then Clayton plowed in to the end zone for the 2-point conversion to give Wahconah an 8-7 lead.
“This is our rival,’’ Wahconah coach Gary Campbell said. “I don’t care what the records were, this is a 1-point game either way. This is fun. Weather is equal for everybody. We ended up gutting it out in the end.”
As the Wahconah players dried off, their focus began to change from their toughest regular-season matchup to the possibility of a deep postseason run. Both sides came in undefeated and on four-game winning streaks, but only the Warriors (5-0) left with an unblemished record.
“Yeah, it’s tough,”coach Dayne Poirot said of his Hurricanes, who dropped to 4-1. “You want it for your kids . . . game like this has the same intensity [as the playoffs].”
There will be no playoff rematch; Wahconah plays in Division 4, and Hoosac Valley is in Division 5.
A year ago, each team was one win away from a Super Bowl berth at Gillette Stadium, but lost in the state semifinals.
“We both won our Western Massachusetts sectionals and moved on [last year], so [today’s game] bodes well for both of us,” Campbell said. “We will cheer for them now. Hopefully, we both get to [the Super Bowl].’’
The Wahconah offense struggled early, failing to get into the red zone in the first half. Hoosac Valley entered it twice, but couldn’t convert in a scoreless first half.
On its first drive of the game, Hoosac Valley marched 71 yards to the Wahconah 2, highlighted by Brenden Ellsworth (78 yards on 12 carries), who found a hole in the middle and turned it into a 40-yard gain. A false start penalty pushed the Hurricanes back to the 7, then a fumble — recovered by Wahconah’s Andrew Kowalczyk — ended the early threat.
The second time, the Hurricanes only got as close as the 18-yard line.
Neither side threatened again until the fourth quarter, and both were successful.
Hoosac Valley’s Tyler Mach recovered a fumble that put the Hurricanes on the Wahconah 19-yard line. Four plays later, quarterback Matt Koperniak cut to his left and found a hole for a 7-yard score and 7-0 lead with 4:31 to play.
Then Wahconah answered.
Clayton found Kyle Kirchner for a 34-yard gain to the Hoosac Valley 22, which set up Wahconah’s touchdown.
Hoosac Valley turned the ball over with a fumble on fourth down, and Wahconah ran out the clock.
Clayton was 4 of 8 passing for 68 yards and a touchdown. He added 21 yards on 12 carries for Wahconah.
Koperniak finished 4 of 8 passing for 17 yards, and he rushed for 23 yards on 13 carries for Hoosac Valley.