1 week Ago
ORANGE — It was exactly the way Frontier football coach Scott Dredge hoped to close out the season. Though it might not have been the season the Redhawks hoped for, Frontier got healthy down the stretch and earned a 38-12 win against Pathfinder last Friday in its first non-playoff game. Against Mahar on Friday in its second and final non-playoff game, the Redhawk offense was once again rolling.
Frontier jumped ahead 14-0 at the half and outscored the Senators 16-6 in the second half to pull away with a 30-6 victory at the Woodward Complex. “I feel very good about how we ended the season with these [consolation] games,” Dredge said. “I thought it was scheduled appropriately for us and gave us a chance to be competitive.
“Now that we’re finally healthy, this showed what we can do with a healthy squad,” Dredge added. “It’s what we wanted to be able to do all year. I’m happy we can send our seniors out with two wins.
I’m happy we can get to 4-6 and have a respectable season.” While it was the end of the road for the Redhawks, Mahar still has one game to go. The banged up Senators will look to find some continuity before their Thanksgiving Day showdown against Athol, set for Nov.
28 in Orange. “Right now it’s trying to get the healthiest guys in the right spots,” Mahar coach Percy Eady said. “That’s the chess game we’re playing right now.
It’s roster games because we unfortunately took some losses through injury and attrition. It’s a chess match trying to get ahead of the curve right now.” It was a slow start for both offenses on Friday, as neither team found the end zone in the first quarter.
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Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Frontier (4-6) got on the scoreboard with 4:35 to go in the half, as Brady Poreda ran it down to the Mahar 1 before Kaden James plunged into the end zone on a fullback dive, giving the Redhawks a 6-0 lead. Facing a fourth down with 33 seconds to go, Mahar quarterback Morgan Softic was sacked which set Frontier up on the Senators side of the field. A long run by James put the Redhawks to the Mahar 25, where Garrett Dredge took a pitch on a reverse play and dashed in from 25 yards out.
James ran in the 2-point try to give Frontier a 14-0 lead with seven seconds to go in the half. The Senators (3-7) had a punt blocked early in the third quarter and the Redhawks capitalized on the good field position, as Garrett Dredge sprinted in up the middle from 20 yards out. James added the 2-point try to put Frontier ahead, 22-0, with 6:07 to go in the third quarter.
After a Frontier fumble late in the third quarter, Softic went to work for Mahar. The senior took off on a 24-yard run and on a fourth-and-8 from the Redhawks 25, getting down to the Frontier 1. Ronnie Stone then smashed in for a 1-yard score to put the Senators on the board, cutting the lead to 22-6 with 10:13 to play.
“This year he’s been so good about not taking negative plays,” Eady said of Softic. “He’s getting the ball out of his hands when things don’t look good. Teams play us a lot tougher knowing he’s a threat.
When he gets going, we feel like we have a chance. He was able to get some drives going for us.” The Redhawks put the game away on their next drive.
It was all Brady Poreda, as the junior broke off a pair of big runs before scoring from 6 yards out. James ran in the 2-point try, giving Frontier its 30-6 lead with 7:14 to go. With numerous key players coming back, the future is looking up for the Frontier program.
“We have plenty of kids coming back who we can build on,” Scott Dredge said. “There’s good stuff going on. Brady and Garrett are a great tandem.
They’re a great backfield combo and we’re going to stick with that. Garrett will be more of a tailback and wing back than quarterback. I’m already looking forward to next season.
I wish we could get the eighth graders up now.” It was the defense that looked great on Friday, led by James — a senior captain — and an unexpected freshman in the middle. “No surprise with Kaden,” Dredge said.
“He’s been our rock all season long. The best for us was Ber Calhoun, our 103 pound wrestler. He’s probably going to win Western Mass.
[wrestling title] at 103 [pounds]. Today we had him as our mike linebacker and he was getting everywhere, probably because nobody could see him. He’s an animal.
He knew where everyone was going to be and I think he led the team in tackles tonight.” The Redhawk secondary also did its job locking down receivers and forcing Softic to scramble. “I’ve always been confident in our secondary this year,” Scott Dredge said.
“It’s probably been the best part of our defense. It all came together tonight and I’m happy about that.”.
