Football: Josiah Little runs for 200 yards as Franklin Tech defeats Athol, 34-12 (PHOTOS)

Athol’s Logan Cormier (2) and Franklin Tech’s Madix Whitman (22) go for the ball during the first quarter of Friday’s varsity game at Franklin County Technical School.

Athol’s Logan Cormier (2) and Franklin Tech’s Madix Whitman (22) go for the ball during the first quarter of Friday’s varsity game at Franklin County Technical School. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

Athol’s Aaron Ouellet (1) and Tucker Hicks of Franklin Tech (82) have their eyes on a pass in Friday’s game.

Athol’s Aaron Ouellet (1) and Tucker Hicks of Franklin Tech (82) have their eyes on a pass in Friday’s game. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

Running Back Sawyer Lefsyk  (33) looks for an opening during Friday’s game against Franklin County Technical School.

Running Back Sawyer Lefsyk  (33) looks for an opening during Friday’s game against Franklin County Technical School. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

Running Back Sawyer Lefsyk (33) is tackled into the end zone during the first quarter of Friday’s game against Franklin Tech, putting them on the board with their first touchdown.

Running Back Sawyer Lefsyk (33) is tackled into the end zone during the first quarter of Friday’s game against Franklin Tech, putting them on the board with their first touchdown. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

Franklin Tech running back Josiah Little (20) makes a run during the Oct. 4 against Athol High School.

Franklin Tech running back Josiah Little (20) makes a run during the Oct. 4 against Athol High School. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

Franklin Tech quarterback Tyler Yetter (12) gets ready to make a pass during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Athol.

Franklin Tech quarterback Tyler Yetter (12) gets ready to make a pass during the second quarter of Friday’s game against Athol. STAFF PHOTO/MAX BOWEN

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Staff Writer

Published: 10-04-2024 11:00 PM

TURNERS FALLS — For most running backs, rushing for 200 yards would be a career high.

For Franklin Tech’s Josiah Little, it’s turning into the norm.

After rushing for 273, 181 and 186 yards in the Eagles’ first three games of the season, Franklin Tech knew it would need another stellar performance from its star back to earn an all-important Intercounty League North win against Athol on Friday.

Little delivered, rushing for 110 yards in the first half and 90 yards in the second half to finish with 200 yards on the day. The senior found the end zone twice, leading the Eagles to a 34-12 victory over the Bears.

“Every league game is a big game,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “Especially in this new format, every game is a big game. Going into tonight we were neck-and-neck in those statewide rankings. I’m very familiar with that Athol staff — I coached a lot of them when they were younger and a few helped coach here — and we talk a lot. They have a talented group and we knew we needed a good effort tonight. A lot of kids stepped up.”

It wasn’t just Little who kept Franklin Tech (4-0) unbeaten with their work on the ground.

Spelling Little, Maxon Brunette ran for 98 yards and a trio of scores. Of those 98 yards, 91 came in the second half.

“We have a lot of depth on our offensive line,” Gamache said. “Those guys are doing a great job of getting up on blocks and giving those guys seams to run. They’re both quick. Neither of them are big but they’re shifty. They’ve got great field vision and don’t need much of a hole. The guys up front have done a great job getting to the second level and really opening up some big holes.”

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It was fourth down plays that plagued Athol (2-2) on Friday. The Bears were 1-for-4 on fourth down while Franklin Tech was 3-for-4, allowing the Eagles to keep drives alive which led to scores.

“Both teams play physical,” Bear coach Josh Talbot said. “They converted in some big spots and we didn’t. That feels like the story of our season unfortunately. I’m incredibly proud of our guys. They fought their butts off. We were shorthanded but we were right in that thing.”

Franklin Tech opened the scoring with one minute to play in the first quarter. Eagle Hunter Donahue picked off a pass in the end zone while Athol was in the red zone and Little broke off a 60-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive.

Little later ran a toss to the right for a 20-yard touchdown. Tyler Yetter found Ethan Smarr for the two-point try, giving the Eagles an 8-0 lead.

The Bears answered on their next drive. Aidan Melanson found Aaron Oullet for a 34-yard gain down the left sideline and Sawyer Lefskyk broke a pair of tackles to race in from 22 yards out, cutting the lead to 8-6 with 11:13 to go in the half.

Those fourth down conversions came up big for the Eagles on their next drive. Little broke off a 17-yard run on a fourth-and-5 and facing a fourth-and-14, Yetter found Donahue for a 33-yard gain. Little ended the drive by plowing in from nine yards out, giving Tech a 14-6 lead with 3:01 to play in the half, a score that held to the intermission.

“We rolled the dice a couple times,” Gamache said. “Not exactly the spots where I’d like to roll the dice but we have a freshman long snapper and a freshman punter. In a big game, big spot, I didn’t feel comfortable putting the pressure on them. Thankfully the kids on the field stepped up and converted to extend some drives.”

Franklin Tech got the second half kickoff and went on a 10-play drive capped off by a 14-yard touchdown run by Brunette, with the junior bouncing off a tackle before running in for the score that gave the Eagles a 20-6 lead.

Athol proceeded to march down the field but facing a fourth-and-two from the Tech 34, Lefsyk was stopped in the backfield, giving the Eagles the ball back.

Franklin Tech milked the clock on its next drive with the run game before Brunette ran in a five-yard score that gave the Eagles a 26-6 lead with 6:58 to play.

Brunette closed out the scoring with a 16-yard score with 3:55 to go.

“They stop us on a fourth and one and they go on a nine minute drive,” Talbot said. “That’s how close the game was. I’m happy for those guys. They came for a joint practice with us and they’re part of our football family. Our kids appreciate their kids and their kids appreciate our kids.”

The Eagles threw different wrinkles defensively to slow down an Athol offense full of playmakers, doing things schematically to try to slow down the attack.

Lefsyk finished with 115 yards on the ground while Melanson was held to 79 yards through the air.

“We worked on a different look this week,” Gamache said. “Nothing we’ve shown before. I know those guys spend a lot of time on film preparing for things so we wanted to give them some looks they hadn’t seen before. I think it worked out.”

Despite back-to-back losses, don’t expect the Bears to give up any time soon.

“We’re definitely not done,” Talbot said. “We’re going to keep fighting and see where things fall.”