Souhegan High School football coach Robin Bowkett gathered his team as they celebrated their playoff win in Bow on Saturday. He held up four fingers, one for each possession they took away from the Falcons and turned into points.
All four ended in touchdowns and added up to a lead that No. 4 Bow could not overcome as they fell to No. 5 Souhegan, 34-13, in the Division II quarterfinals.
“To be plus-four in the turnover margin, you better win that day,” Bowkett said. “Really proud of our defense, forcing turnovers and giving our offense a chance with great field position.”
Bow (7-3) struck first with a touchdown and extra point on its opening drive. But a fumble on its next possession swung momentum to the Sabers (7-3), who then made four straight trips to the end zone. The Falcons didn’t get their next points until the third quarter.
“They capitalized on every single little mistake that we made,” Bow coach Paul Cohen said. “When it comes to playoff football, every little mistake can cost you, and that was very apparent today.”
The Falcons were denied a third straight trip to the D-II semifinals. They made back-to-back appearances in the championship round at Wildcat Stadium in Durham during their first two years since moving up from D-III.
The season may have ended sooner than they hoped, but Cohen hopes his seniors look back on their entire high school football careers and not just how it ended.
“One thing they can say is they played in playoff games their entire career for me, which doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “For that, I am pleased and proud of them, but obviously the day did not go the way we wanted.”
Steven Guerrette led the Falcons ground attack with 108 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, followed by Matt Nicholls with 60 yards and a touchdown on 13 rush attempts.
Nicholls scored the opening touchdown for Bow on a 10-yard run a little over five minutes into the game. He reached the goal line tangled up in a few Souhegan players and his teammates moved the pile the last few feet.
Bow forced Souhegan to punt after three downs on its first drive, but the Falcons’ responding possession ended after two plays and fumble that put the Sabers 32 yards from the end zone. It took one play – a 32-yard connection between quarterback John Lohnes and Aidan Casey – for the Sabers to get six points back.
Bow’s next drive ended with its first punt of the game. Souhegan answered with another quick strike, this time an 80-yard carry by Trey Johnson to the end zone. The Sabers missed on their attempt at two extra points and led Bow, 12-7, with 11:40 left in the second quarter.
Souhegan added two more touchdowns and three total extra points in the final 4:09 of the quarter for a 27-7 lead at halftime.
Bow found its way back into the end zone 2:36 into the second half on a 14-yard rush by Guerrette, cutting the deficit to 27-13.
A three-and-out for Souhegan gave the ball back to Bow, which moved 45 yards down the field to the Sabers’ 35, but the Falcons dropped the ball again. Souhegan milked the clock through the end of the third quarter and ended a 63-yard drive with a 3-yard rush for a touchdown by Lohnes. A made extra point gave the Sabers a 34-13 lead with 9:49 left.
Souhegan, which defeated Bow for a second straight week, will head to Plymouth to face the No. 1 Bobcats on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in the semifinals. Plymouth is the two-time defending champion.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3321, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)