SOUTH DEERFIELD — With the chance to secure a spot in the state playoffs Friday night, the Belchertown football team took care of business on both sides of the ball in a 26-7 win over Frontier on the road.

The Orioles got inspired running from Chris Daskam (13 carries, 202 yards, 3 touchdowns) to take charge of the game, then when Daskam left in the second half with an injury, Josh Grillo did the rest with a late score to seal the deal.

“I’m just incredibly proud of the guys,” Belchertown coach Dan McCarthy said. “Each year I told these guys, it’s my third year, just patience, we’re building something. We have to set the culture and keep going. Now, that sophomore class, they came out and are blossoming as seniors.”

The scoring started on the opening drive for Belchertown (7-1, 4-1 Intercounty League South). Daskam took his first carry 56 yards to flip the field, and a 14-yard scamper put his team on the board. On the next Belchertown drive, the same end result — a long touchdown run by Daskam, this time from 22 yards out.

“If you give Chris any space up front, he’s getting 10 yards — there’s no doubt in my mind,” McCarthy said of his tailback.

The early lead was tenuous, though, after Frontier responded with a seven-minute, 66-yard drive to pull within one. When Aiden Dredge (7 carries, 44 yards) ran in from 2 yards out, there were seven seconds left and a halftime to worry about momentum.

Instead, Belchertown’s defense kept the Redhawks (3-5, 1-4) from taking off. Belchertown fumbled on its first possession of the third quarter when the ball popped out of Daskam’s hands and right into the mitts of Frontier’s Julian Adams, but the Redhawks couldn’t capitalize and on fourth-and-four, a Frontier fumble was recovered by Shaun Lohse.

Daskam made amends for the fumble with his third score of the day several plays later, and then the Orioles got the ball back for the offense again when Landon Andre — Belchertown’s quarterback — picked off Dredge.

“It’s stressful to game plan [Frontier], they come out in all these formations and we just stressed that triple option and our guys stepped up,” McCarthy said. “I have to give Keith LeBeau, my defensive coordinator, a shout out — he executed tonight and he does it every night.”

With the game now tilting Belchertown’s way, both sides had to cope with injuries to star players. Daskam went down first, getting hurt on the next defensive possession for his team. He did get up, though, before spending the rest of the game cheering on his team — including Grillo pounding out 133 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown to seal it.

“Grillo doesn’t get a lot of love from me and I feel bad, but he’s a heck of a blocker,” McCarthy said of the sub stepping in. “Losing Chris stinks, but Josh Grillo can easily fill those shoes. He’s just as capable of a running back as Chris.”

Frontier’s injury concern was felt on both sidelines. Aiden Dredge went down with an injury in the fourth quarter and had to be helped off the field. After the game, the Belchertown players and coaches all went to Dredge on his bench to wish him well.

“I know it hurts him a lot,” Frontier head coach Scott Dredge — Aiden’s dad, also — said of seeing Aiden go down. “What I really feel and appreciate, is how respected he is by Belchertown — the coaches and players — and certainly our team. It warmed my heart to see all the love brought his way.”

Andre finished with a second interception late in the fourth and went 4-for-7 passing for 67 yards, and Frontier’s Ian Burt also had a fumble recovery in the fourth. Brayden Arsenault took six carries for 25 yards for Frontier. Belchertown outgained Frontier 363-93 on the ground.

Belchertown now heads into next week waiting for their playoff opponent. The Orioles were No. 15 in the most recent MIAA Division 5 Power Rankings. The moment is one the team will relish, McCarthy said.

“We just have to keep getting one percent better and each day focusing on the present,” the coach said of the goals for the coming week. “We’re going to need to produce great execution when it comes down to practice and next Friday.”

Frontier, meanwhile, will wait to find out its non-playoff opponent for next week.

“We’ll wait and see Sunday,” Scott Dredge said. “We’re going to play football as long as we can.”