SOUTH DEERFIELD — Brady Poreda put together a stellar performance for the Frontier football team in its 38-6 win over Greenfield on Friday.
The senior scored one touchdown on each side of the ball in the victory for the Redhawks and could have had two more had they not been called back due to penalties as Poreda pushed the hosts to a 3-0 record following the victory.
“Our goal every week is to just run the other team into the ground and tire them out by the third quarter and that’s what we did,” Poreda said. “It got scary, a little bit, at the end of the second but we just continued to keep on the pedal, keep the foot going. We just got to keep doing that all season. Teams will wear out really fast against our offense.”
Frontier followed its winning formula again versus the Green Wave as three of its five touchdowns came via the run game.
Garrett Dredge found the end zone first with a 5-yard rushing score with two minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Redhawks the early lead 8-0, something that has become a trend for Frontier through three games.
The Redhawks have scored first in every game so far this season.
“We pride ourselves on being well-conditioned and just keeping that motor running,” said Frontier head coach Scott Dredge on the team’s consistently fast starts. “We say we have five gears and we play in fifth gear for four quarters. That’s what we do. We just want to run.”
Poreda made his presence felt for the first time with a 40-yard rush TD up the left sideline as time expired in the opening 12 minutes. Another good 2-point conversion doubled the Redhawks lead to 16-0.
Greenfield appeared to have grabbed the momentum after it recovered a Frontier fumble around the Green Wave’s own 5-yard line late in the second quarter. However, Poreda picked off a Greenfield pass attempt moments later and scored to make it 24-0 Frontier, following another successful 2-point conversion.
“I knew [Greenfield’s Bodie Burke] was their quarterback’s guy,” Poreda said. “I saw him break and he was just eyeing down his receiver and I just knew that if I was there on time, that was a pick-6.”
The Redhawks recovered an onside kick directly after Poreda’s second score, but couldn’t capitalize. Instead, it was the Green Wave who found the end zone next to make it a 24-6 game.
Angel Politis punched in a 7-yard score with less than a minute remaining in the first half in what would be Greenfield’s first and only touchdown in the defeat.
Frontier proceeded to put 14 more points on the board in the second half. Quarterback Konnor James got the first with a QB sneak midway through the third quarter, then Dredge snagged the loose ball following a blocked punt and reached the end zone for the fifth and final time as a team.
“I like how we won differently,” Dredge said. “That was good for us to face a little adversity. They had a great scheme against us. I felt we had to work real hard for what we had to do. I expect that from a Coach [Michael] Kuchieski coached football team.
“We won differently and I’m really proud of that,” Dredge added. “I’m proud of the interception for the touchdown. I’m proud of the punt block for the touchdown. I’m proud that our quarterback can sneak in there and get a touchdown and we have our fullbacks that can wedge it in there and score two.”
Powered by their rushing attack, the Redhawks have now scored at least 36 points in each game this season and Poreda credited his linemen for the team’s ability to constantly gain yards on the ground.
“Our line put in the work this offseason and it showed this year,” Poreda said. “We struggled last year as an offense and it really shows how much work they put in this season. It’s nice to win these games.”
The Green Wave, who received a nifty interception from Max Nero toward the tail end of regulation, sank to 0-3 with the loss.
Frontier (3-0) will look to extend its winning streak when it takes on Commerce in Springfield next Friday.
Greenfield will travel to Palmer next week for a meeting with the Panthers.
Kickoff for both is set for 7 p.m.
OTHER FRANKLIN COUNTY RESULTS
Narragansett 37, Athol 0 — The Bears were blanked for the first time this season in the road loss.
Mahar 20, Quabog 14 — The Senators secured their second straight win in their first away game of the season.
LATE THURSDAY RESULTS
Franklin Tech 21, Pathfinder 7 — The Eagles got back in the win column with the home victory.
Nathan Sabolevski ran for 103 yards (11 carries) while Max Brunette scored a rushing and receiving score on 130 total yards of offense for the hosts. Wyatt Whitman added another running score to power the Tech offense.
Justin Lent and Ben Baker each played well on defense for the Eagles in their first varsity starts.
