TURNERS FALLS — The last three Thanksgiving football games against Smith Vocational have been meaningful for Franklin Tech running back Josiah Little. 

As a freshman, Little entered the Turkey Day showdown with the Vikings 249 yards short of the 1,000 yard mark, but managed to rush for 252 yards to eclipse the 1K mark on the season. 

The same was true in 2022 as a sophomore, where Little ran for 206 yards on Thanksgiving against Smith Voc to go over 1,000 yards on the season. Little didn’t need the herculean effort last year to hit the milestone, entering the Thanksgiving game against the Vikings just 12 yards shy. He reached the mark early on to go over the 1,000 yard mark three years in a row. 

Now a senior, Little doesn’t need to wait until the final game of the season to hit the mark. He set the tone by running for 181 yards against McCann Tech in the Eagles’ season opener, dashed for 186 yards the following week against Frontier and carried 21 times for 273 yards in the win over Pathfinder, putting him at 640 yards before Intercounty League North action even began. 

The dominant ground game didn't stop there. Little ran for 200 yards against Athol and 150 against Palmer, leaving him 10 yards short of hitting the 1,000 yard mark for the season after just five games. 

It didn’t take long for him to get there last Friday against Greenfield, as he ran for 193 yards to go over the 1,000 yard mark for all four years of his high school career. 

“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Little said. “I’m sure when the season starts getting toward the end, I’ll be able to look back and appreciate it. It feels like a little weight off the shoulders and now we can focus on more team goals.” 

Though Little’s main goal is winning as many games as possible, becoming one of the rare players to hit 1,000 yards each season was something that was hard to ignore entering this fall.

Having it done early and not having to worry about it the rest of the way is a nice weight off the shoulders. 

“I was hoping it would be this early in the year,” Little said. “Every other year it comes on Thanksgiving. It feels a lot better not having to go into the last game of the year needing 200 yards. It feels great.” 

Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said he is proud of his senior running back, and also credited the big guys up front for making his life easier this fall. 

“It’s super impressive,” Gamache said. “It’s a tribute to him and a tribute to the kids he’s played with throughout the years. Some of the blockers have been different but we look at a 1,000 yard rusher as a team accomplishment. As much as it’s an individual achievement, they don’t get there if kids aren’t blocking for them.”

Little, listed at 135 pounds on the Franklin Tech roster, might not have the prototypical running back size, but it’s his quickness and toughness that opponents can’t seem to handle. 

He doesn’t need much of a hole to break off a long run and when he gets in the open, he’s hard to run down. Little also runs with more power than defenses expect for a back his size, as he’s not afraid to mix it up between the tackles. 

After just a few games as a freshman, Gamache knew he couldn’t hold Little back much longer. 

“We took the training wheels off late in Jo’s freshman year,” Gamache said. “He had a big Thanksgiving to get the milestone his freshman year. Each of the last two Thanksgivings he's gotten it needing a decent number. For this year, he’s focused. He had the [1,000 yard] goal and the line as a whole has done a much better job blocking to get him where he is.”

Little also credited the work of the offensive line in front of him, saying he couldn’t have reached the milestone without their efforts.

“The line and the whole team in general are playing so well,” Little said. “Our blocking schemes are great. It’s almost more of a team accomplishment than an individual accomplishment. Everybody wants me to do it but it makes us look better as a team.” 

Heading into Friday’s showdown with Ware, Little sits at 1,183 yards on the season through six games. He’s on pace to break the Franklin Tech school record of 1,618 yards, set by Kyle Laffey in 2013.

For his career, Little currently sits at 4,510 yards. With the Eagles’ unbeaten 6-0 start and the team on pace to reach the state vocational and MIAA state playoffs, Little still has plenty of chances to go after Isaiah Jones’ Franklin County career rushing record of 5,208 yards, a record Jones set at Mahar back in 2010. 

On top of that, Little’s play has the Eagles in line to take home the Intercounty League North title.

“We have a lot of season left and we have a lot of team goals in front of us,” Gamache said. “Fortunately we’re in the driver’s seat for all of those. If he can stay healthy, he can be looking at some other numbers. 

“[Laffey’s record] was in the Tri-County [League],” Gamache added. “Different times and different competition. It’ll be interesting to see what Jo can finish with for the year but it’s amazing what he’s done so far.” 

Achieving those goals starts in practice, with the Eagles preparing to face Ware (4-2) — the three-time defending IL North champions — on Friday. 

“We have to stay focused at practice,” Little said. “That’s a big one. We have to keep putting in all the work, tuning things up to be ready to go each Friday night.”