CONTOOCOOK – Heavy rain on Saturday? Play against Stevens on Friday instead? The sudden change in schedule was just fine by the Hillsboro-Deering-Hopkinton players – everyone knows teenagers don’t like to wait.
“We’re always getting amped at the end of practice and talking about how we want to play that second, so I think everyone was really excited to not have to wait that extra day, or have a morning where we’re just sitting around and waiting,” HDH senior quarterback and safety Caleb Yianakopolos said. “I think it helped, actually.”
The RedHawks certainly looked ready, scoring on their first drive and then holding Stevens to just 110 yards of offense on their way to a 21-0 win. HDH finishes its regular season 6-3, good enough for a Division III home playoff game next Saturday. Stevens drops to 5-4 and will be forced to hit the road for its quarterfinal game.
This will be the first postseason appearance for the RedHawks, who are in their third year of varsity football. It’s a nice accomplishment, but HDH wants more, like a trip to the finals at the University of New Hampshire on Nov. 17.
“Our goal is to play at UNH, that was our goal from the get-go,” RedHawks coach Jay Wood said. “We’re happy with where we’re at and the kids are playing good ball, but the common goal for everyone was to get to UNH.”
There’s no doubt Yianakopolos is playing good ball, on both sides of it. Offensively he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and defensively he came up with two interceptions, forced a fumble and finished with five tackles.
“Caleb was a man among boys out there,” Wood said.
He had plenty of help on the defensive side, where HDH allowed only two first downs in the second half. Thayer Maughan and Vincent Waddell each had 11 tackles for the RedHawks, Joe Sawitsky finished with seven tackles and Reed Tanuvasa forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had six tackles.
“Defensively we did well adjusting to their different formations on the fly. We were ready, we knew they had a lot of different sets but we watched a lot of film and we knew how to defend against it,” Maughan said. “We also flew to the ball, getting multiple helmets on the ball every play.”
The HDH defense forced a turnover on downs on the first drive of the game when Kevin McCaffery (six tackles) sacked Quentin Bicknell (5-for-12, 38 yards, two interceptions) on fourth-and-5 from the RedHawks 28.
HDH turned it all the way around, putting together an 11-play touchdown drive. Yianakopolos (8-for-18, 46 yards, two touchdowns) hit Jack Morrall with a 9-yard pass on a key fourth-and-3, and then Yianakopolos found Sawitsky in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 2:14 left in the first.
“We ran that same play to Joe last week against Epping, but it didn’t work,” Yianakopolos said. “So this week we just ran it again, I put it up and Joe caught it, so it was great.”
Three plays later, McCaffery was pressuring Bicknell on third down, the Stevens quarterback threw up a floater and Yianakopolos came down with his first interception.
“I think the receiver had that sunlight in his eyes, which was a huge factor, and luckily I saw it coming,” Yianakopolos said.
Yianakopolos ended a second-quarter Stevens drive with another interception. And when the Cardinals were threatening at the end of the first half, Tanuvasa sacked Bicknell and forced a fumble that Alex Brown recovered, helping HDH take its 6-0 lead into halftime.
The RedHawks got their running game working in the second half. They went 77 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter, and 62 of those yards came on the ground. Colby Quiet (22 carries, 89 yards) got four carries on the drive and Yianakopolos finished it with a bootleg run to the right, a play that worked well for HDH all game, for an 18-yard touchdown and, after a tough two-point run from Quiet, a 14-0 lead with 7:20 left in the third.
Jack Horne completed the scoring when he caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Yianakopolos on third-and-goal with 6:02 left in the game. And the RedHawks finished off the shutout when Yianakopolos forced a fumble and Tanuvasa recovered it on the HDH 11-yard line, stopping the Cardinals’ deepest penetration of the game.
“I wish the offense had a little more production in the first, half, but we addressed that and they came out and started moving some bodies in the second half,” Wood said. “And the defense was off the charts all day.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)
Football
Nashua North 48, Concord 15
Key players: Concord – Zach Miles (2 rush TD, 2-point conversion), Nate Vandersea (PAT kick)
Highlights: The Titans led 21-0 after the first quarter and handed the Tide a season-ending defeat in Nashua. Miles ran for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 27-7 in the second quarter, before ending his Concord football career with an 80-yard scoring jaunt on the season’s final play.
Records: Nashua North 7-2; Concord 4-5
Merrimack Valley 32, Pembroke 28
Key players: Merrimack Valley – Rick Hazeltine (35 carries, 180 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards, rush TD, pass TD, receiving TD, team co-MVP), Max Lacy (15 carries, 72 yards, 2 TD, team co-MVP), Aslan Hodge (8 tackles), Harley Huddleston (7 tackles, 2 sacks, pass defensed); Pembroke – Ben Lewis (team co-MVP)
Highlights: The Spartans jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but the Pride battled back to even it up by halftime. MV used a touchdown in the third quarter and the fourth quarter to seal its first win in the season-ending Clobrien Bowl. MV now leads the series, 13-2.
Coach’s quote: “It was a great win for us. The team played well and they’ve worked hard all season. It was senior night and we couldn’t ask for a better way for the seniors to go out.” – Merrimack Valley’s Joe Raycraft
Records: Merrimack Valley 1-8; Pembroke 1-8
Souhegan 38, Bow 21
Key players: Bow – Steven Guerrette (2 TD), Matt Nicholls (TD, 2-point run), Andrew Robbins (PAT)
Highlights: The Falcons lost for the first time since their season opener on Sept. 1. Souhegan, which was playing to keep its playoff hopes alive, scored on the game’s first drive, but Bow answered with a 3-yard touchdown run from Guerrette. Souhegan countered with another touchdown for a 13-7 lead, but the Falcons took a 15-13 lead into halftime after a long scoring run from Guerrette and a 2-point conversion run from Nicholls. Things started to unravel for Bow in the second half and the Sabers built a 28-15 lead. A touchdown from Nicholls cut the lead to 28-21, but Souhegan sealed the win with a later interception return for a touchdown.
Coach’s quote: “As far as the playoff are concerned we know we’re in, but we have no idea who we’re playing, that depends on what happens (Saturday), but it’s possible that we won’t be at home.” – Bow’s Paul Cohen
Records: Bow 7-2; Souhegan 6-3
No. 4 Hopkinton 3, No. 5 Gilford 1
Key players: Hopkinton – Grace Clark (2G), Jessie Carney (G, A), Megan Ellsworth (A), Amelia Bassett (5 saves) Lillie Presti (great defense), Eleanor Owen (great defense)
Highlights: Very similar to last Friday’s matchup between the two teams, Hopkinton scored two first-half goals and one in the second. The Hawks were a bit unlucky to let up a goal in last minute of the game.
Coach’s quote: “The coaches were very proud of the girls as they have worked hard as a team all season and continue that through the playoff run. The players know their jobs well on the field and it shows with their organization both on and off the ball. We are relieved and excited to move on to the semis versus Raymond on Tuesday.” – Hopkinton’s Mike Zahn
Records: Hopkinton 14-3-1; Gilford 13-5-0
No. 8 Raymond 2, No. 1 Belmont 0
Key players: Belmont – Elizabeth Fleming, Julianna Estremera, Kaitryn Gagnon, Rebecca Fleming, Courtney Burke, Sierra Bourque, Kailey Gerbig
Highlights: In an evenly matched quarterfinal clash, the defending-champion Rams scored in the 18th minute and the 61st minute to knock off the No. 1 seed in the D-III tournament. The Raiders earned the only corner kick of the game, and the shots on goal were even at six apiece, but Belmont – which only gave up 11 goals all season – couldn’t get the ball to bounce its way.
Coach’s quote: “Raymond is a good team and they made a couple more plays than we did. Our kids played hard and I’m proud of them. We only had two seniors on the field, so that bodes well for the future of the program.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Records: Raymond 12-6-0; Belmont 13-3-1
No. 3 Campbell 1,
No. 6 Bishop Brady 0
Coach’s quote: “It was a great season for the Giants and a great group of hard-working girls. It was a pleasure coaching them and having the privilege to coach this group. I wish the five seniors nothing but the best in their future endeavors.” – Bishop Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Campbell 14-2-2; Bishop Brady 13-5-0