AMHERST – Merrimack Valley High School football coach Matt Shaw knows very well that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.
With that in mind, the Pride had a great start to Saturday’s Division II semifinal joust with No. 2 Souhegan at Calvetti Field, grabbing a 7-0 lead less than five minutes in.
The problem was, that’s the last time MV scored.
Merrimack Valley defensive end Hunter Dukette (56) comforts quarter back and cornerback Jebediah Tubbs after Souhegan just scored their last touchdown on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Souhegan won, 34-7, to advance to the finals. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley quarterback Jebediah Tubbs is brought down for no gain against Souhegan on Saturday, November 14, 2026. The Sabers stymied the Pride running attack and won, 34-7, to advance to the final. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley cornerback Jebediah Tubbs tackles Souhegan running back Jacob Bryan onSaturday, November 14, 2026. The Sabers won, 34-7, to advance to the final. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley linebacker Desean Johnson (right) tries to tackle Souhegan running back Cam Foley (23) during the second half on Saturday, November 14, 2026. The Pride lost, 34-7. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley linebacker Owen Turner (15) and linebacker Nate Wallace take down Souhegan running back Cam Foley during the fourth quarter of the D-II semi-final game on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Souhegan beat MV, 34-7, to advance to the finals. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley lineback Evan Wescott (17) tries to strip the ball from Souhegan wide receiver Taven Beamer during the first quarter during the D-II semi final on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Beamer caught the ball and it set up the Sabers first touchdown. They went on to win, 34-7, to advance to the final. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Merrimack Valley players Jubel Tubbs (45) and Nate Wallace stop Souhegan running back Jacob Bryan during the fourth quarter of the D-II semi finals on Saturday, November 14, 2026, Souhegan went on to win, 34-7, to advance to the final. GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor
The Sabers recovered, taking a 14-7 halftime lead and pulling away for a 34-7 win to get a return ticket to next Saturday’s Division I finals at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.
“We live and die by what we do, when we’re firing on all cylinders and making our blocks, we look pretty unbeatable,” said Shaw after his team’s surprising season ended at 9-2. “But today they found a way to put a stop to it.”
But not before big back Nate Wallace sprung free down the right sideline on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage for 77 of his 200 rushing yards, setting up a 1-yard Jubal Tubbs TD with 7:34 left in the first quarter. The PAT kick gave the Valley a 7-0 lead and upset visions were aplenty.
But Souhegan came in at 10-0 for a reason.
“We just did our job and did our one-eleventh,” Sabers coach Robin Bowkett said. “We had a couple of guys who didn’t want to tackle, couple guys got buried inside and we thought (Wallace) was out. But that’s what they do, they do a great job. They have big backs that run the ball really, really hard, absolute warriors. We knew that going in.
“We settled down. … We just tightened up, played Saber defense, locked it up.”
Don’t be deceived too much by Wallace’s 200 yards. In between that first series and MV’s final two, he barely touched the football, and by the time he did, Souhegan had built up a 28-7 lead. The Pride had 26 total yards in that span.
“I think we were trying to find out what was going to work,” Shaw said. “At first we were rolling, and then they found a way to stop us, so it’s all right, what’s next on the docket? They did a good job of being ready for everything we threw at ’em.”
Souhegan threw a lot at MV, as Sabers quarterback Luke Fallon threw for 178 yards and two TD passes and had great chemistry with receiver Taven Beamer, who had both TD catches. His first came on a 28-yard fourth-down toss with 53 seconds left in the quarter to help tie the game at 7. He caught a 30-yard slant to set up Jacob Bryan’s 2-yard run with Owen Mobley’s PAT kick making it 14-7 with 8:11 left in the half, and that’s how things stayed until Fallon found Beamer again on a 36-yard TD with 1:55 left in the third to, with the PAT, give the Sabers an all-important two-score, 21-7 lead.
The Pride were shorthanded in both backfields, as Kingston Clermont went down with an upper body injury early and was done.
“Two great catches,” Shaw said. “Our guys were in position to stop it, but unfortunately (Beamer) came down with two great catches. … When they’re that fast and you don’t have a lot of guys that can stay stride for stride, it’s going to wear on you.”
Down 21-7 and needing a spark in the fourth quarter, Shaw opted to go for it on fourth and long from his 27 at the start of the fourth quarter. It backfired as quarterback Jebediah Tubbs was sacked. One pass interference penalty later, Cam Foley ran it in for the first of his two late scores and it was 28-7. For a team that doesn’t throw a ton, that deficit was too much. Foley made sure with a 32-yard TD run for a 34-7 lead with 4:34 left.
As disappointed as he was with the ending, Shaw had to be thrilled with how his program shocked everyone by becoming a contender.
“We weren’t supposed to be here, for sure,” Shaw said. “We were predicted to be 2-7. I would say the coaching staff and the great senior leadership we got this year really turned things around, starting last year, and that’s what led to the success of what we’ve been able to do. Unfortunately, just a couple steps shy.”