WESTFIELD -- The defense came up with big plays at big times and Ethan Ryan added to a remarkable season by eclipsing the 2,000-yard mark as the Mount Greylock football team beat Belchertown 24-0 to win a third straight Super Bowl.
Ryan broke the 2,000-yard total for his season with a 51-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to put the Mounties up 16-0. He added another score from 3 yards out to end the scoring.
"This is such a big win for us," Ryan said. "This is the biggest win of the season. No one [in Berkshire County] has ever won three in a row. It's just's amazing to write ourselves into the record books once again."
The 51-yard jaunt came following an impressive defensive stand from the Mounties. Up 8-0 with Belchertown driving in the third quarter, the defensive line made two big plays.
Ryan had just fumbled and given Belchertown the ball at its own 7. The Orioles used three pass plays and several long runs to push the ball into Greylock territory. Then the defense took over.
"We knew we needed to stop them there because they were driving on us," lineman Nick DiSanti said. "We knew if we made the stop there, that was it -- game over. We win."
DiSanti broke through the offensive line and dropped quarterback Nick Leduc for a four-yard sack. But the defense wasn't done.
On the very next play, Tyler Picard broke through the line, came unblocked and crushed Leduc for a nine-yard loss.
"Those two sacks probably really deflated them a lot," Picard said. "I think they were building up some momentum before the first one. Then when we got the second one, it made it a third-and-really long, and it really helped us."
Picard's sack forced the Orioles into a third-and-21. Leduc gained 13 on the third-down play and then just one on fourth down to hand the ball back to the Mounties.
"They were moving the ball after our fumble and really just kept it going," Greylock coach Shawn Flaherty said. "It was an impressive drive and then we just dug our heels in and Tyler made a great sack."
Five plays later, Ryan went untouched for the score to put the game out of reach.
It marked the third time in three games where the Greylock defense got multiple sacks. The Mounties sacked Wahconah quarterback Lane Grogan four times in the county championship game. They also brought down Zach Bartak of Greenfield three times.
The defense made big plays all game long for the three-time Super Bowl champions. Tyrell Thomas intercepted a pass from Leduc in the first half and tipped the ball away from several other receivers. He also made an assist on a second-half interception. He tipped the ball away from a receiver and Eric Leitch made the pick.
Leitch made a second interception on Leduc's next pass to end the game for the Mounties.
The Greylock defense held the Orioles to just 108 yards and eight first downs in the game. Ryan had 221 total yards to bring his season total to 2,060 yards and 35 touchdowns.
To reach Sam Monroe, email smonroe@thetranscript.com. On Twitter: @NAT_DigitalSam
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