Dragons run over Rye to open season

Holyoke football scored a decisive 41-9 victory at Rye to open the season Friday night, Sept. 3.

“I was really happy with the way the kids traveled,” coach Dusty Sprague said, noting that it was a long trip and he was pleased with the team’s performance in the season’s first game.

The Dragons scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and recovered two Rye fumbles. Holyoke scored three more touchdowns in the second to take a 34-0 lead at halftime.

Holyoke continued to keep Rye off the board in the third and added a sixth touchdown to extend their lead to 41-0 and activate the running clock. Rye got on the board with a safety in the fourth quarter and added a touchdown for the 41-9 final.

Besides the offense doing very well, Sprague said it was good to see the physical and aggressive play on defense and the really nice job the special teams units did with a big punt return and a blocked Rye punt.

He added that the game was a good start to the season, but there’s still a long way to go. “We’ll keep working on fundamentals and keep getting better,” said Sprague.

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