TILTON - A little over a month ago, Newfound and Winnisquam met to determine which of the two teams would go home with its first loss of the season. Winnisquam took that decision, 20-0, giving the Bears in Blue a 5-0 record, while Newfound dropped to 4-1.

But it was clearl this Lakes Region rivalry couldn't end there. Even Newfound Coach Greg Dalzell predicted after that game that there would be another brawl between the two Bears to determine who would be moving on to the Division VI championship.

Prediction confirmed.

Yesterday, second-ranked Winnisquam (9-1) again hosted third-ranked Newfound (7-3), and indeed it was for a championship berth. Winnisquam proved again that they are in fact the better team, knocking Newfound out of its first-ever playoff appearance with a 29-15 victory.

Postponed due to rain on Saturday, the game was moved to yesterday. But that didn't mean the field would avoid the rain's after-effects. Slippery and wet, it looked like these two run-based offenses would keep to just that very plan - and why not after Winnisquam running back Pat Sanborn led Winnisquam with 25 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown in that matchup back in early October, which was also played in inclement weather.

The first quarter saw two very pumped up defenses. Even when Winnisquam drove the opening possession to the Newfound 19, the Bears in green held on, keeping the high-powered Winnisquam attack - that led D-VI in scoring with 309 points this season - off the scoreboard. Even when Sanborn ran for 61 yards in the first quarter, Newfound still looked strong and kept the scoring to zero. Newfound even had the highlight of the first quarter as Shawn Downes-Rule had an interception that led to a drive to Winnisquam's 17.

Newfound was playing well. Newfound might have a chance.

Enter Pat Sanborn.

Running with reckless abandon, Sanborn used his 200-pound, six-foot one-inch frame to run over defenders. The path to victory for an opposing team runs right into Sanborn, and generally it stops there, too.

Sanborn nearly matched his rushing stats from the previous contest, taking 20 carries for 126 yards. The difference yesterday, however, was that he scored three rushing touchdowns and added a five-yard reception from Jenness to make it a four-score afternoon for the senior running back.

"The hurry-up (offense) helped us a lot," said Winnisquam Coach Pat Riberdy, on the effectiveness of his team's run game. "And then changing up their personnel. They have some big kids up front, so once we tired them down and got them out of there, we were able to run the right blocking scheme against their defense and that's what sent (Sanborn) into the end zone."

"We opened with a great passing game, which opened up a lot of holes for our run game," Sanborn said. "It just made it a whole lot easier to run the ball after that."

On top of the single touchdown pass to Sanborn, Winnisquam quarterback Derick Jenness connected with four other receivers (on seven attempts), ending the day with 128 yards and one interception. Justin Dorr led all targets, reeling in four catches for 76 yards, in addition to his strong game on defense that included an interception, which led to one of Sanborn's three second-quarter TDs, and a sack in the fourth quarter, setting up third and very long, which forced Newfound quarterback Jamal Brito to look downfield in desperation, resulting in an interception.

The first half saw Newfound struggle to put together any type of lengthy drive. At the half, Newfound was staring at a scoreboard that read 21-0 in favor of the home team. The opening of the second half gave new hope though, as Newfound's Shannon Tucker took a run to the outside, appeared to be tackled and driven out of bounds a number of times before continuing on his way for a 68-yard touchdown on only the second play off the half.

Momentum shifted to Newfound for the majority of the second quarter, as the Bears were able to thwart the next two Winnisquam drives following the Tucker touchdown. A 21-7 score going into the final quarter seemed to present an attainable comeback, until Sanborn punched in his final score in the first 30 seconds of the fourth, followed by a two-point-conversion run by Alex Evangelo to make it 29-7.

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