AMHERST — At the start of summer practice, Amherst football head coach Vinnie Guiel approached his quarterback, NeNe Fernandez, and told him what he needed out of him this fall for the Hurricanes to have the success they wanted.

Last season, Fernandez had one of the best running backs in the state (Jameson Dion) in the backfield alongside him; he wasn’t asked to do anything spectacular.

But through six games in 2024, spectacular may very well be underselling just how good Fernandez has been for Amherst. And he added another dazzling performance to his senior campaign on Friday night, slinging it for exactly 300 yards through the air on 16-for-28 passing while scurrying for another 81 yards on the ground en route to a four-touchdown night.

Fernandez’s efforts helped Amherst to a 39-32 victory over East Longmeadow at Community Field in Amherst, improving the ‘Canes to a perfect 3-0 in the Suburban South.

“That’s what he does,” Guiel said of his quarterback. “We’re how many weeks in, and NeNe makes play, after play, after play. That kid’s the best and I love him.”

Amherst trailed the Spartans 32-25 and took over possession at its 17-yard line after blocking a field goal with eight minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Pinned deep in their own territory, it was do-or-die for the Hurricanes.

So Guiel and offensive coordinator Zach LeBeau did what they have done all year: lean on Fernandez’s ability to make plays in any situation.

The senior started off the drive with a 5-yard run on first down, then two plays later rifled a dart to Tre Bowman on third-and-5 to move the chains. He completed another chunk pass shortly after, this one a 15-yard completion to Raymond Colon to get to midfield. Fernandez connected with Bowman one more time before running for a first down.

An illegal formation and a pair of incomplete passes faced Amherst with a 3rd-and-15 from the East Longmeadow 44. The shotgun snap was perfect to Fernandez, who dropped in the pocket, planted his back foot in the grass and uncorked a deep shot down the sideline to Ty-Ty Beckett.

Beckett, a senior wideout, adjusted in mid-air to make a spinning catch over a Spartans defender, pulled it in at the 10-yard line and walked into the end zone, putting Amherst within one, 32-31.

The drive lasted 1o plays and went 83 yards in over five minutes, a textbook drive in the biggest moment of the game.

“Through that drive, I was just telling my guys we gotta stick together during this,” Fernandez said. “It was a tough time, but we stuck together, held our heads high and we got a good outcome out of it.”

The ball felt like it was in the air forever on its way down to Beckett, but there was never a doubt when he saw Fernandez — his classmate and good friend — look his way in crunch time.

“I know we couldn’t lose this game, and I’ve made that catch before,” Beckett said. “It was just instinct. I just got up, caught it and scored.”

Guiel and the ‘Canes still had a decision to make. Now down one with under three minutes to go, Amherst could either kick the extra point to tie or go for two to take the lead. The Hurricanes hadn’t converted a 2-point conversion all night, but their hand was forced after their long snapper left the game due to injury.

That meant going for two was the only option.

After drawing up a play on the sideline, Fernandez and the offense jogged back out to the huddle. The snap went to Fernandez in the shot gun and he rolled right looking for his two receivers in the end zone. Neither were open, so he improvised. Fernandez circled back toward the middle, made two East Longmeadow pass rushers miss and found a small hole to tiptoe into the end zone. The ‘Canes jumped in the driver’s seat now ahead 33-32.

“Our long snapper got hurt and was out for the game, so we had no choice [but to go for two],” Guiel said. “We were talking about it before the drive, ‘If we score here, we gotta go for two.’ So we drew it up on the sideline, went for two and got it.’”

Colon picked off Spartans quarterback Kevin Baker on the ensuing drive, and Fernandez added a 13-yard rushing score to boost the lead to 39-32 with one minute, 24 seconds left on the clock.

The Spartans had another chance to tie it, but Bowman intercepted Baker on the very first play and Amherst ran out the clock to seal a thrilling win.

“I was nervous from the opening kickoff,” Guiel said. “I knew this was gonna be one of those games where whoever has the ball last will win … Up until there were all zeroes on the clock, I was like, ‘I have no idea what’s gonna happen.’”

Each team scored touchdowns on their opening two drives. East Longmeadow’s Brandon Phillips Jr. ran in a 68-yard touchdown followed by a Junior Ramsey 1-yard punch in for Amherst. The Spartans responded with a Baker throw to Jake Robidoux that went for a highlight-reel, 87-yard-catch-and-run for six. Fernandez then tossed a 62-yard touchdown to Beckett, as Amherst trailed 14-12 following one quarter.

Bowman caught a 58-yard touchdown and Fernandez ran in from two yards out while East Longmeadow’s Porter Carroll added a 12-yard score. Amherst went into the locker room with a 25-21 advantage after a first half that featured a whopping 542 total yards between the two teams.

That set up Fernandez and his host of wide receivers to take over with their second-half fireworks.

“We’ve just grown by connecting on and off the field,” Fernandez said when asked about the chemistry between he and his pass catchers. “We connect on and off the field, so I know when I put a ball up there, I know my receivers are gonna get it just from our connections and stuff like that.”

“The whole team has good chemistry,” Beckett added. “That’s why we won this game today.”

Amherst (4-2) hosts another undefeated Suburban South foe next Friday as West Springfield comes to town. The winner will stand alone in first place and be in a great spot to win the league.