by Kevin McCaskill Jr.
10/30/23 * 2:04 PM
(WEST SPRINGFIELD) - The MIAA/PVIAC football regular season is winding down. On Friday night, the West Springfield (West Side) Terriers hosted the Hurricanes from Amherst-Pelham Regional (Amherst). Amherst was coming off a loss @ Agawam; the Terriers were undefeated. The Terriers unblemished record remained in tact.
From the opening West Side possession, the Terriers moved the ball with little resistance. West Side QB Nate Stone threw the ball very well on Friday. HC Chad Labonte said Stone “is seeing the whole field and he is trusting his line”. The offensive line gave Stone time to pick apart the Hurricanes defense. He found WRs Johnny Gingeruha and Caleb Bradley open all night. Gingerhua also gets snaps @ the QB position and the RB position. He is one of the best athletes in Western Mass HS Football currently.
(Stone finds Gingeruha down the field)
(QB Nate Stone scrambles for a TD)
West Side RB Tim Hourihan also had a good game for the Terriers. He is short in stature but runs strong. It took multiple defenders to bring him down. He also has good speed.
(Hourihan scores a TD)
West Side jumped out to a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Hurricanes had no answer for the Terriers. Amherst standout Jameson Dion did not play an offensive possession in the 1st quarter on Friday; he did play on defense. Dion only played WR the other three quarters of the game. He has been one of the runners in this area. He seemed to be dealing with some type of leg injury.
Amherst got on the scoreboard towards the end of second quarter. RB Junior Ramsey got into the endzone. Ramsey ran well for the Hurricanes on Friday night. The EP kick left upright and fell short; West Side was up 35-6 at halftime.
(Ramsey scores Amherst' first TD of the game)
Each team scored one TD in the second half: Stone found WR Anthony Curran wide open down field, Curran caught the ball and scored; Amherst QB Gavier Fernandez got into the endzone from 1 yard out.
(Fernandez sneaks into the endzone as the game ends)
West Side handled Amherst easily 42-14.
With the win, West Side is the 2023 PVIAC Suburban South Champion.
The (8) Terriers will host a home playoff game at Clark Field against (9) North Attleborough on 11/3 @ 7 PM.