McGuill and Blake connected for three touchdowns to lead East Longmeadow to a 38-28 win at Northampton. And yes, they think the Spartans are underrated.
NORTHAMPTON -- East Longmeadow senior Sam Blake’s father, George, introduced himself.
His shirt had the number 2, Sam’s number, on the front, and the number 52 on the back for his other son, also named George. Mr. Blake was proud of Sam’s three-touchdown performance during East Longmeadow’s 38-28 win against host Northampton Friday night, but one got the feeling he would have been proud anyway.
“Both my kids are very good,” he said, “but Sam just had the big game today.”
He spoke about Sam earning everything he gets, about how the senior wide receiver played in passing leagues over the summer to hone his football talent, about how he’s a better person than he is a football player. He discussed Sam’s work ethic and his humble attitude. He continued as his son’s biggest salesman, as if anyone who watched Sam catch six passes for 116 yards on the road against a strong Northampton defense needed any more convincing.
At the root of George, the father’s passionate sales pitch, it seemed, was a desire for more people to recognize his son’s elite football talent.
As head coach Scott Raymond explained later, in an unrelated conversation, “Sam’s not even in the top 10 (player rankings on MassLive), and I laugh about it because people haven’t seen what he can do. As far as I’m concerned, he’s as good as or better than anybody. Coaches mention, every time we play a game, he’s the best player they’ve seen out here.”
Indeed, Northampton coach Pat Sledzieski could only marvel at Blake’s three touchdown catches. Blake doesn’t just have size and speed, but exquisite body control to adjust while the football is in the air. (“That’s the thing college coaches comment on the most,” said Raymond.) His package of skills makes him incredibly difficult for opponents to stop, especially with senior quarterback Dan McGuill throwing an accurate ball his way.
“Twice, we had our guy in perfect position and (Blake) just made a perfect play. He’s just a fantastic player and athlete,” Sledzieski said.
Blake caught touchdown passes of 5 and 41 yards in the second quarter and added another of 34 yards in the third. He also intercepted Northampton quarterback R.J. Ramsden in the second quarter to spur the Spartans to two touchdowns within the last three minutes of the first half, a flurry that turned a tight game into a 17-0 affair by intermission.
For the season, Blake now has 29 catches for 537 yards and nine touchdowns through seven games, averaging 18.5 yards per catch. He holds four 100-yard receiving games already, and even added a 58-yard touchdown run for East Longmeadow’s only score in a loss against Central.
“He’s unstoppable,” McGuill said. “Any time I throw the ball, I know he’s coming down with it.”
McGuill’s the other half of WMass’ most underrated big-play duo. Proper stats were not kept during East Longmeadow’s loss to Central, but McGuill has completed 53.2 percent of his passes for 1,043 yards and 12 touchdowns against just three interceptions in the Spartans’ other six contests. Together, he and Blake lead an East Longmeadow offense that has averaged 41.3 points during its current three-game winning streak.
Explained Blake of his connection with McGuill, “Last year, we got really close on and off the field. And we just know each other’s little tendencies. We make that eye-to-eye contact sometimes, and we’re like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.’ It’s just natural now.”
“I think people have let them go a little bit unrecognized because of some of the things we do offensively. I think people have seen the last three weeks how good they can be,” Raymond said. “They’re just outstanding kids on and off the field. They’re best friends. They know what the other one’s thinking and we’re really proud of them. They’re great senior captains and they do a great job leading us.”
The Spartans were largely written off after beginning the year 1-3. But the losses – to Foxboro, South Hadley (by three points) and Central – all came against respectable foes. For a young roster, the early defeats were especially useful as teaching lessons. Raymond still hasn’t seen what he would characterize as a “complete effort,” but he likes the growth his team has shown.
“We still have to get better defensively, but offensively we feel like we can score whenever we want. That’s kind of the confidence level we have,” he said.
"I think we're underrated," Blake said when prompted on the subject. "People think we're still young. We do have a lot of young players, but we have a lot more skilled players than people think. We have a lot more people that make plays this year. People from last year weren't stepping up like we needed to, and this year we have that and it's totally different. So we're a little underrated, but people are starting to open their eyes. We have a nice little streak going."
Entering Friday’s tilt against Northampton, the Spartans were sixth in the latest D-II MIAA WMass rankings. They will have to move into the top 4 in order to qualify for the playoffs, but Raymond said reaching the postseason has never been his No. 1 priority. He said he would rather “become as good a football team as we can,” and his schedule can be used as evidence. Even after their brutal early-season slate, the Spartans still have bouts with playoff contenders Minnechaug and Longmeadow left on the schedule, with their other remaining game coming against Agawam.
With their remaining schedule, making the playoffs is still a tall task. But the Spartans remain confident.
“They’re all winnable games if we do what we’re supposed to,” Blake said.
And then the explosive wide receiver looked toward his partner in crime and laughed.
“If Dan and I keep hooking up like that, it definitely makes it easier.”