Preview: Turners Falls vs. Pioneer Valley Regional
Both Turners Falls (5-4) and Pioneer Valley Regional (5-3) have made it this far into the playoffs, but they square off this Friday at 1:00 PM to determine who is worthy to move on. Turners Falls is coming into the game hot, having won three in a row.
Turners Falls won two weeks ago against Easthampton/Hampshire 27 - 14, and it decided to stick to that point total again. Turners Falls took its game last week by a score of 27 - 14. Junior Kyle Dodge deserves a lot of the credit as he threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
As for Pioneer Valley Regional, it is still above.500 but has been slipping the past two games. It lost to Greenfield by a decisive 38 - 21 scoreline last week. No one was more disappointed by the defeat than junior Wyatt Keith, who put up a significant resistance with three TDs. Keith has been a consistent playmaker for Pioneer Valley Regional as this was the 6th good game in a row from him. Additional support came from senior Justin Hubbard, a defensive powerhouse who racked up 13 tackles.
The last time they met, Turners Falls was the 30 - 7 victor. This time, their match is expected to be much closer since they have similar MaxPreps state rankings (Turners Falls at 255th, Pioneer Valley Regional at 283rd). Turners Falls's win shoved Pioneer Valley Regional out of the playoffs, so the team will have a target on its back in this one.
