ORANGE — In a game with huge playoff implications, the Mahar Regional School football team ran past Greenfield, 28-8, in an Intercounty League North contest at the Woodward Complex on Friday night.
The Senators (4-2, 3-1 IL North) came up big defensively with some big plays along the way, and the offense closed it out.
“We made some plays that,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said, looking up at the night sky, “somebody was looking out for us. It just happened.”
The first score of the night was a 19-yard touchdown from quarterback Noaha Chabot to Charlie Barnes. The talented receiver caught the ball after it was tipped by Greenfield defender Jared Hart.
The Senators also took away two first half possessions when ground ball kickoffs bounced off Greenfield players into the hands of Eli Spencer and Connor Sluder.
“We were trying to kick the ball hard on the ground,” Woodward said. “We weren’t trying to hit anybody. It just happened to bounce off their guys.”
Defensive lineman Jakob Carron intercepted a Jake Sak pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to give Mahar a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
“Luckily my other defensive lineman and linebackers got enough pressure on him,” Carron said. “I was in the right spot at the right time.”
It was Carron’s first touchdown at any level.
“It felt so good,” Carron said. “That was probably the best game I will ever play right there.”
The Senators entered the night at No. 5 in the Division 8 Power Ratings, just one spot out of a potential playoff berth.
“That’s the first time that we really stepped up,” Woodward said. “The harder your work, the harder it is to surrender. The more you win, the less you want to lose.”
The Green Wave went with Drew Conant at quarterback, moving Sak to running back. Sak eventually moved back to quarterback before leaving the game with an injury in the second quarter.
Greenfield coach Mike Kuchieski declined comment after the game.
The Green Wave offense could not get much going outside of one scoring drive to start the third quarter.
Trailing 14-0, Greenfield marched down the field via a 16-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a Conant to Hart 10-yard touchdown connection.
Greenfield (2-4, 1-3) then recovered an onside kick, putting itself in position to tie or take the lead. Barnes picked off a Conant pass for the Senators that quelled the threat, however.
After the interception, Mahar drove 50 yards for a touchdown highlighted by a 25-yard run by Aydan Sevigny.
Sevigny carried five times for 66 yards.
Jacob Murphy closed out the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Mahar a 21-8 lead.
After Spencer’s interception on Greenfield’s next possession, the Senators looked to leading rusher Jake Tenney to close out the game and milk the clock.
Starting at their own 15-yard line, the Senators closed out the Green Wave with an 11-play drive capped by a Tenney’s 10 yard rushing touchdown that took the clock under three minutes.
Tenney carried 17 times for 98 yards.
Carron had three tackles for a loss, while Peter Tattan added a late sack for the Mahar defense.
Kyle Notre went 4-for-4 on kick extra points for the Senators.
Conant completed a two-point conversion to Jake Perkins in the third quarter.
Hart rushed for 73 yards on 13 carries and added a 41-yard kickoff return. Shane Kilgour added 35 yards on 10 carries for the Wave.