Athlete Of The Week: Chaz Thomas

TURNERS FALLS – As he thought during the long bus ride about the pregame speech he would soon deliver before Cape Cod Tech took on Franklin County Tech in the state vocational quarterfinals Saturday, Chaz Thomas shed tears.

This, he knew, was going to be an emotional one. There was history there in Turners Falls, where the Crusaders had suffered playoff heartbreak before. Two years ago, Cape Tech led until the last minutes, when the Eagles came back to win. They were on the way for another meeting, a bout between 5-4 seventh-seed Cape Tech and 7-2 second-seed Franklin County Tech in the vocational small school bracket.

“I remember coming to Franklin my freshman year,” Thomas said. “It was a tight game, and we lost, and I wanted to get back for that year, for that loss.”

Thomas gave the speech to his teammates, then subsequently took control of the game on both sides of the ball as the Crusaders defeated Franklin County Tech 30-16. A six-foot-one-inch 200-pound running back and linebacker, Thomas ran in Cape Tech’s first touchdown of the afternoon and scored a trio of two-point conversions. He made big tackles, including a sack. Thomas, head coach Calvin Castillias said, is the pulse of the team — offensively and defensively.

“We go wherever he goes, and that's what he is,” Castillias said. “He brings the best out of everybody. He challenges everyone. He holds people to account, but he also freaking lifts everybody up and he's an incredible leader.”

A junior captain, Thomas is one of many key players on a Cape Tech team that’s turned a 1-4 start to the year into a vocational playoff win. They’ll look to continue the run Friday against third-seeded Pathfinder in the semifinals.

“We are 100 percent a family,” Thomas said. “We love each other through and through, and we're willing to fight and die on this field for each other.”