Indians beat Pioneer but to us Panthers you are still the winners .

 Great job Panthers, you may not of won but you played hard and we are proud of you . You've taken this team far and you have accomplished much , for that you  are true winners .  I know I speak for many when we say we are proud of all of you . 

 
Also, it was great to see Mike Duprey  attend and cheer the boys on!! Thanks Mike for your continued support of our boys who saw you and were happy to see you in the stands.

By JASON BUTYNSKI
Recorder Staff

Friday, November 04, 2016

 

TURNERS FALLS — It was a night of defense in the Powertown.
Turners Falls High School forced six turnovers from Pioneer Valley Regional School and survived a solid defensive performance by the Panthers en route to a 30-7 win in the WMass Division IV-A semifinals at Bourdeau Field on Friday night.
The top-seeded and unbeaten Indians (9-0) jumped out to a great start, forcing Pioneer to turn the ball over on its first three possessions, which led to a pair of touchdowns. That could have spelt disaster for the fourth-seeded Panthers (5-3), but the Pioneer defense did not quit and managed to keep the Indians off the board until the fourth quarter, when the Indians put the game away with a pair of touchdowns, including one on Jack Darling’s 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown. That capped off a huge defensive performance by the Indians, who did their own number on the Pioneer rushing attack, limiting the Panthers to just 80 rushing yards as a team.
“We enjoy our defense, we swarm to the football, that’s when we are at our best,” Turners Falls coach Chris Lapointe said. “Defense is going to win you championships, but we have to do a better job executing on both sides of the ball than we did tonight.”
Lapointe was upset with the performance of his offense, particularly the running attack, which managed just 101 yards as a team against a stout Pioneer defense that was also getting after the Indian ball carriers. Quinn Doyle, who returned after suffering an ankle injury in last week’s win over Frontier, was limited to just 68 yards on 23 carries, while Darling managed just 15 yards on 10 hauls.

On a night when both teams had trouble moving the ball, the game came down to which team protected it best, and the Indians did not commit a fumble, while forcing five fumbles from Pioneer. The first fumble came on the very first play of the game when Alex Tyson took the opening kick at the 18 and returned it to the 30 where he was hit, jarring the ball loose. Turners Falls defender Owen Ortiz jumped on the ball and set the Indians up at the Pioneer 30. That was the first of three fumble recoveries by Ortiz on the night, and the senior defense end said he has been pleased with how the defensive unit has come together over the past month-plus.
“We are working really hard,” he said. “We’re just trying to get the fire up in us. We need to make sure we know our assignments and we are studying to make sure we are in the right places at the right times.”
With the running game stalled out for the most part on the night (the Indians’ longest run was an 8-yard carry by Ricky Craver midway through the first quarter, and the team had just five carries of more than five yards), the offense turned to senior quarterback Tionne Brown, who proved he could get the job done. After Pioneer fumbled the opening kick, Brown and the offense went to work, and the quarterback hit a huge 14-yard pass to Ortiz on a fourth-and-4 to keep the drive alive, eventually setting up Doyle’s 3-yard touchdown run. Brown then hit Craver on the conversion to give the Indians a 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Pioneer managed to move the ball on the ensuing drive but fumbled on the Turners Falls 25, ending the threat, and the Turners Falls offense went back to work. Brown’s arm came up big again, as he found Nick Croteau on a 28-yard pass on third-and-4 from the Turners Falls 45, and on the very next play he hit Darling with a 27-yard touchdown pass in the end zone, in which Darling used great concentration to haul in the ball over the Pioneer defender, who was in close coverage. Brown also hit Darling with the conversion for a 16-0 lead with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.
That was how things remained into the fourth quarter when Brown led the offense to the game-clinching touchdown, as his found Darling on a 33-yard pass play to help set up his 15-yard touchdown pass to Croteau. Brown ended the night 6-for-11 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Afterward, he said he was happy to help, but was also concerned with the two interceptions he threw.
“Coach got on me lately about making smarter decisions, getting shorter passes in and making sure plays,” Brown said. “We were in a tough situation, and I had to throw the ball a little more than we usually do, but my receivers made some great plays. I really have to give a shout out to them, Owen, Nick and Jack, they made some great plays.”
Darling finished with two catches for 60 yards, Ortiz caught two passes for 58 yards, and Croteau finished with two catches for 40 yards.
Brown’s second interception of the night led to the late score by the Panthers, as Pioneer defensive back Karl Wheeler jumped in front of Croteau late in the fourth quarter to get the interception, which he returned to the Turners Falls 10. Three plays later Bryce Dobosz (17 carries, 45 yards) scored from 8 yards out and Wyatt Keith kicked the point-after to get Pioneer on the board with 1 minute, 30 seconds left. The Indians recovered a good onside kick attempt by the Panthers, and ran out the clock.
The Indians advance to play second-seeded Mt. Greylock Regional High School, which defeated Ware High School, 38-29, in the other semifinal game. That game will be played Friday night at Williams College at 6 p.m.