Last year, the Gilford-Belmont Golden Eagles were in the Division II playoffs for the first time in the eighth and final seed, a spot they secured with a win in the last game of the regular season.
Now, Gilford-Belmont (10-0) is the No. 1 seed and the Eagles played like it, shutting out No. 8 St. Thomas, 24-0, to win the first tournament game in the seven-year history of the cooperative football program.
The Saints (4-6), having just lost to the Eagles in the final week of the regular season, 34-7, tried to shorten the game by eating clock on the first possession of the game, but Gilford-Belmont took over with an even longer possession that ended with senior Michael Kitto running the ball in for a 13 yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
“We did a good job controlling the ball,” Eagles head coach Josh Marzahl said. “They came out and wanted to kill the clock and shorten the game. In the second half we played that same game of chewing clock.”
Kitto (165 yards on 24 carries) and junior quarterback Isaiah Reese (127 yards on 14 carries; 2-for-4 passing for 15 yards) continued to do a great job moving the ball on the ground, setting up Logan Grant’s 29-yard field goal and a 15 yard TD carry by Reese to make it 17-0 at halftime.
The only score of the second half was from junior running back Hutch Haskins (94 yards on eight carries), who gained a first down by running 15 yards on a fake punt and closed out the drive by punching in a TD from the 2.
Otherwise, the second half was al l about defense as Gilford-Belmont wrapped up its second shutout of the season.
“Our linebackers Kitto and Haskins did a good job closing gaps and finishing tackles,” Marzahl said, while also crediting the two-way play of senior fullback and defensive end Luke Jackson.
“He makes plays when he has to,” Marzahl said. “He’s an unsung hero on our team. He does a lot of blocking. As a fullback he isn’t going to get a lot of stats, but nothing on our offense really works without what Luke does for us.”
Next up for the Eagles is No. 4 Souhegan (8-2), who cruised past Kennett, 49-7, in the quarterfinals. Like St. Thomas, Souhegan is a team that plays on a turf field at home, but will have to adjust to playing at The Meadows in Gilford, referred to as ‘The Farm’ by the Eagles’ players.
For those who haven’t been, picture the movie ‘Field of Dreams,’ only with a football field.
“We know it’s not the most glamorous of places to play,” Marzahl said. “I think teams are a little shocked sometimes when they get off that bus when they’re used to stadiums and marching bands and turf.”
The Sabers and Eagles haven’t played each other yet this season, but the two teams play a similar brand of offense.
“Two similar styles of play where we both want to move fast,” Marzahl described. “This is a game we knew in preseason was likely going to happen at some point. We didn’t know (the seeds), but we’ve kinda been knowing we’d eventually see them,”
All NHIAA football playoff games are currently scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, but are subject to change.