The Recorder – HS Football: Franklin Tech beat Maher 20-13

TURNER’S FALLS – After just over a minute of turnovers, the Franklin Tech football team appeared to have wrapped up a hard-fought Inter-County League North-opening victory over Mehar.

The upheaval in the game is about to change that.

With 1 minute, 22 seconds to play and a seven-point lead, the host Eagles (2-2, 1-0) survived a 9-play Mahar drive inside their own 30-yard line. 2-2, 0-1) and opened league play with a 20-13 win.

“I wouldn’t say our talent really showed on the field, but we showed a little bit of heart,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “It’s good that we came in W… but we’ve got a lot to clean up.”

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Mahar’s offense forced sophomore quarterback Morgan Sofich to take the field under center due to a third-quarter injury to senior Caleb Lemke. From their own 14-yard line, the Senators drove down the field after completing several passes by Softch. On fourth-and-17, Softic dropped back and lofted one to the right side to senior tight end Connor Sluder, who was pulled by a Franklin Tech defender, drawing a defensive pass interference flag. After the officials took a 15-yard penalty, an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2 seemed to sink the Senators.

A flurry, however, gave the Eagles a chance to score or take the lead. Several short runs advanced a fourth-and-1, and the Senators opted to pass to Sluder’s popup, which fell incomplete. A holding penalty again kept Mahar alive, but with the clock running out, Sofich returned to pass on fourth-and-16 and was tackled by Franklin Tech junior linebacker Landon Hardy to tie the game with half a clock left.

With the starting quarterback injured, and atop a thin roster, Mahar head coach Chris Bailey was proud of how his guys fought.

“We made a lot of mistakes and still had a chance to win the game,” Bailey said. “I told the kids, ‘I’m proud of the way you fought’… If we fight like that, we’ll come out on top a lot of the time.

In a game dominated by the Senators, it took two blitzes for the Eagles to get two possessions. After Mahar senior Domanic Caciolfi scored a TD in the first quarter, Franklin Tech senior Josiah Little immediately took it to the house for the Eagles’ first touchdown on his own 15-yard line.

Then later in the second quarter, Franklin Tech quarterback Gabe Tomasi dropped back and found senior tight end Nate Fuess wide open for a 60-yard touchdown pass to put the hosts up 14-13.

An interception minutes later set the Eagles up at the Mahar 25 and Little hit one from 7 yards out to send Franklin Tech into halftime with a 20-13 lead. That result was reversed in the second half as both teams went out.

With the win, Franklin Tech hits the road to play Ware as league play resumes, while Mahar heads to O’Brien Field in Athol to play the Bears next Friday night.

Heading into that game against the Bears, Bailey showed the way his team fought back that they can bounce back from a tough loss.

“The main thing I’m proud of is the way they fought tonight,” Bailey said. “‘I said, ‘This shows how much you care, you didn’t just roll over five or six times.’

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.