It’s hard to imagine doubting an undefeated, first-place team, but after a couple of close calls in recent games heading into a contest with one of Division II’s best teams, the Gilford-Belmont Golden Eagles (8-0) turned things around with a dominant 35-8 victory over the Hanover Bears (6-2) on Saturday at The Meadows in Gilford.
Gilford-Belmont has topped the Division II East standings all season, but narrowly defeated 3-5 Laconia (20-7 on Sept. 30) and 3-5 Merrimack Valley (13-6 on Oct. 15), while D-II West powerhouses Pelham (8-0), Souhegan (7-1) and Hanover were viewed as the teams to beat (all of those teams were undefeated at 5-0 to open the season).
But with junior quarterback Isaiah Reese (188 rush yards, three touchdowns on 16 carries; 8-for-12 passing, 98 pass yards and a TD pass) and senior running back Michael Kitto (85 yards and a TD on 13 carries) back at full strength, the Eagles showed they aren’t just tops in the East. They’re tops in the whole division.
Reese and Kitto had been playing, but not at 100% in the last few outings and were used less than usual.
“We finally got back to full health today,” head coach Josh Marzahl said. “Getting those two back healthy really helps our offense run … We know there’s a lot of talk about the (D-II) West. Today was about us and preparing for the playoffs.
Kitto ran in a 5-yard touchdown to give Gilford-Belmont a 7-0 lead with 5:07 left in the first quarter.
In the second, Reese connected with Logan Grant (five receptions for 47 yards, 5-for-5 kicking extra points) on a 9-yard scoring pass and scored on a run from the 5 later in the frame to make it 21-0 at halftime.
“It was a good day for our offensive line,” Marzahl said. “They dominated the lines up front. We didn’t have as many big runs as we normally do, but it was a lot of five, six, seven, eight yards all day, which we didn’t do as well against Laconia or MV as we did today.”
Hanover drove into the red zone late in the second quarter, but Belmont’s Hutch Haskins (40 rush yards on seven carries) intercepted the ball in the end zone to end the drive.
Reese ran the ball 71 yards to the house with 6:59 left in the third quarter to make it 28-0 and Gavin Clark recovered a Hanover fumble to give the Eagles possession and Reese ran in his third TD of the game (this one from eight yards) on the ensuing drive to make it 35-0.
Jalen Reese intercepted another Hanover pass to keep the Bears off the field for a bit longer, although Hanover finally broke onto the scoreboard with 2:32 left.
Gilford-Belmont concludes the regular season on Friday at St. Thomas.
“We just want to finish out the regular season with the top seed, it’s important to us to host playoff games,” Marzahl said. “Our kids aren’t taking it lightly that we’re 8-0. St. Thomas needs that game to make the playoffs so we’re expecting them to give everything they’ve got.”