SOUTH HADLEY — It was a bittersweet celebration Friday night for South Hadley senior Liam Dawson.
The Tigers beat Chicopee, 46-20, clinched the No. 2 seed in the Western Massachusetts Division 7 playoffs and secured the Suburban North league championship. Dawson, however, had to watch from the sidelines, as a broken collarbone suffered in the second quarter brought his senior season to an end.
“I could tell right away when it happened,” Dawson said. “I broke a few tackles and when I got hit I landed really weird. I had broke my collarbone before so I knew the feeling immediately.”
Dawson’s return in Week 3 from a shoulder injury suffered in seven-on-seven play in the summer, helped ignite the Tigers to a six-game win streak during which they’ve averaged 38 points per game. In those games, Dawson found the end zone 11 times either through the air, on the ground, or on special teams.
“He really is our Swiss army knife,” South Hadley coach Scott Taylor said. “His toughness and his competitiveness is what makes him the player he is. If he is returning kicks we have to sometimes tell him that he doesn’t need to go through every player, but that is just his motor.”
Dawson’s first varsity start came against Holyoke on Thanksgiving of his freshman season. His maturation started to take effect in his junior year when he ran for over 1,000 yards and had over 1,400 all-purpose yards despite missing the first two games of the season.
“We knew early on he would be a special player,” Taylor said. “He has checked every box and fulfilled every expectation we set for him.”
While Dawson’s high school football playing career has come to an end, he still knows as a senior co-captain that his job is not done.
“My guys aren’t done yet,” Dawson said. “I knew the potential our team had, we all did, coming into this season. Just because I am hurt doesn’t mean the season is over, I am still going to be with my guys all the way. So now it’s time to bring home a championship.”
Dawson’s play has caught the attention of multiple college coaches in the area. He is also weighing the option of doing a postgraduate year, as well as the possibility of playing college lacrosse.
Dawson’s other sport is basketball. He does not believe that his injury will cause him to miss too much time on the basketball court.
“I’m very grateful for everything we have done and everything I have gotten to be apart of,” he said. “You see seniors play their last game each year and you never really think it’s going to be you, until one day it just hits you.”
South Hadley will host Frontier Regional in the semifinal round, Friday at 7 p.m.