HATFIELD — It wouldn’t be a Granby/Smith Academy boys soccer game without a close, physical and grind-it-out style of play.

The two teams have tied their last five regular season meetings dating back to 2021, and a game hasn’t been decided by more than one goal since 2019 – including the playoffs. The Rams got the best of the Falcons, 2-1, in the Western Mass. Class D semifinals in 2023.

Thursday’s final four rematch was another chapter in Hampshire County’s hottest soccer rivalry.

Smith Academy netted a pair of goals in the first 20 minutes on its home pitch – the second belonging to Cajun Benson, which stood as the game winner – and hung on to defeat Granby 2-1 in a game that felt eerily similar to every meeting the past four years.

“I was talking with [Granby head coach Todd Dorman] before the game, and we were trying to think, when was the last time that it wasn’t a 1-0 game, or a tie?” Smith Academy head coach Jason Duncan said. “We couldn’t think of any.”

“It certainly has developed into one of the more intense and anticipated rivalries because it’s been so close for so many years,” Dorman added.

Four minutes in, Smith Academy senior Cam Graves kicked off the season in style. Graves made a strong run down the middle of the Falcons’ attacking third, and Benson lofted a perfect ball toward the top of the box. Graves battled for position with a Rams defender and eventually won, then blasted a shot off of a diving Daniel Santiago and into the back of the net.

The tone had been set.

“The first half, going down 1-0 within the first couple minutes, it took a long time to get out from under that,” Dorman said of Smith’s quick strike.

A little over 10 minutes later, the all black jerseys of Smith Academy were celebrating again.

After a clearance from Granby’s defense found the feet of Falcons’ junior Harry LaFlamme, he sent a perfect ball down the left side to a streaking Conor Prew. Prew, a freshman, then crossed it low to the middle of the box – where Benson was all alone. One touch later, it was 2-0 in favor of the hosts.

The play was a coach’s dream with how flawless it had been set up.

“Right before that happened, I was talking to the bench and was saying, ‘Why are we not passing to Conor? Did he upset you guys today?’” Duncan said. “He was out there on the left wide open the whole day. Finally that ball snuck through and he was there. Then he finds Cajun in the middle for the finish. That was great. We have this big field, so we gotta use the space.”

Given the history of the rivalry, and the fact that Granby – the defending Western Mass. champions – had been in plenty of adverse situations before, neither side thought the game was out of reach. Rightfully so.

The Rams took over once they settled in. Behind the play of Jake Gagnon, Riley Goodhind and Gavin Moreno, they dominated the middle third of the field, and they had plenty of chances to score. Their best chance came in the 50th minute, when a Goodhind corner kick flew over Smith Academy keeper Jake Wilcox’s head and toward the back post.

Granby defenseman Cody White – who came up to attack for the corner – settled it with a touch and finished it through a pile of bodies to cut the Rams’ deficit in half.

“They’ve had to fight back before, this is an experienced team,” Dorman said. “It was just a matter of them having a moment to reset themselves. It’s difficult having one of your toughest regular season matches right out of the gate. You’re not fully sure of your footing, and you have to be able to respond. We did a better job of that in the second half.”

Wilcox was lights out aside from that one goal. He gobbled up six shots in the win, including a handful of strong efforts down the stretch to keep Smith Academy’s lead intact.

The senior also has a solid back line in front of him. That should be a strength for the Falcons this season.

“I’m feeling good about our defense and Jake in goal,” Duncan said. “And if you have a goalie, that’s a good place to start. You can build from there. He had a good season last season, and he looks like he’s right back at it. We have confidence at the back end of our team for sure, with the goalie and our defense.”

The two-goal lead ultimately left too steep a hill to climb for Granby.

“It was really two opposite halves,” Dorman said. “We talked a lot about getting back to controlling possession in the second half, and being able to keep the pressure on them so we’re not the ones back-pedaling and spending time in our defensive third. We were able to get within striking distance, but we couldn’t break through.”

Granby (0-1) and Smith Academy (1-0) are both off until Sept. 10 with the Rams meeting Gateway and the Falcons hosting Greenfield.