The Tigers came into Friday night with a game plan, and it was a good one.

This iteration of the Pittsfield Generals, though, can shred game plans as quickly as junior Freddy Conyers shreds opposing special teams.

South Hadley sent the opening kickoff out of bounds, but PHS wouldn't let the Tigers get away with that. The rekick found Conyers around the 35-yard line and he simply overmatched the coverage, taking it right back through the horde for a touchdown 11 seconds into the game.

But the Tigers didn't stray. A solid return of their own gave the hosts possession near midfield. A 23-yard run by Julius Hebenth highlighted what became a 10-play, 55-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Griffin Soderbaum scored on a 1-yard keeper up the gut, a spot the Tigers attacked early.

"We saw on film they like to be wide in the middle and let their linebackers control the A gaps," said South Hadley coach Brian Couture. "That gives us an automatic 3 yards, and knowing the team that they are, we had to take advantage where we see it. We were just trying to hang."

It was 6-6 at the midway point of the first quarter, and the South Hadley defense did its job, tackling Elias Robinson for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-4 in the red zone.

Starting at their own 10-yard line, though, the Tigers couldn't break free. The long snap on a punt from the end zone sailed over the kicker's head for a safety, which meant the Tigers had to kick off again, now trailing 8-6.

The line-drive kick was snared by Dominique Billups, another of Pittsfield's slew of elite athletes, and he took it back to the South Hadley 39-yard line. On the first play, quarterback Marcus Jubrey connected with Billups on a go route down the right sideline, and Billups beat his man for the 39-yard touchdown catch. Jubrey ran in the 2 and it was a 10-point swing before the quarter change.

Things slipped away from there. South Hadley's next drive ended on its third play when Soderbaum was hit by Aidan Carlino while throwing and Robinson picked off the pass, bolting 60 yards the other way for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the second quarter.

South Hadley suffered a tough loss when Hebenth came off with an arm injury, and found it tough to move the football without him. Hebenth had rushed six times for 41 yards. 

Soderbaum finished his night with 12 keepers for 47 yards. He also completed a pair of passes for 22 yards, including a 21-yarder to Brody Keller in the fourth quarter. Nehemiah Marrin had a 5-yard carry to get to the 8-yard line, but consecutive incompletions turned the ball over on downs in the red zone. Marrin finished with 10 carries for 19 net yards. 

"We're young right now. Motto is small but mighty, but tonight we didn't live up to the mighty," said Couture. "Some of those guys who haven't played a lot of varsity, Aydan Lugo stepped up at the end, made some big plays. It's a great thing. Threw in a couple freshman who we see potential in and they were able to do some good things as well."