Monadnock football powers past Newport to reach D3 title game

SWANZEY CENTER – When the Monadnock and Newport High School football teams last met in mid-October, the stakes were high.

Both teams sported undefeated records, and both were vying for top-seeding heading into the Division III playoffs. The Huskies ended up clinching first-place in the North Conference that night, but it was hard to believe that this would be the final word between these two playoff-bound teams.

Fast forward, three weeks later.

After both teams dominated their opponents in the opening round of the postseason, No. 4 Newport traveled back to the site of their only loss of the season to meet No. 1 Monadnock once again.

This time, the stakes were even greater. This time, the winner would advance to the Division III championship game.

And this time, the results were even more decisive, as the Huskies crushed the visiting Tigers 42-0, earning themselves a spot in the title game next Saturday.

“We’ve been here before,” Monadnock coach Ryan Avery said in reference to the Huskies’ disappointing semifinal loss in 2016 after going undefeated up to that point. “We just reminded our team about what happened last year and continued to stay focused.”

And focused was exactly how Monadnock played Saturday afternoon.

With temperatures still hovering around the freezing mark by kickoff, the Huskies (10-0) jettisoned memories of last year and quickly began to apply their signature blend of a stifling defense and power-running offensive schemes.

After exchanging punts with the visiting Tigers, the backfield duo of Tim Hart and Chandler Matson got Monadnock’s offense into Newport territory. Expecting the run, Newport’s defense crowded the line of scrimmage only to be caught off guard by a play-fake pass from quarterback Tim Santaw to Matson, who caught the lob beyond the Tigers’ lone deep defender for a 28-yard score and an early 6-0 lead.

Forcing Newport (8-2) to punt on its first three offensive drives of the game, the Huskies’ defense was just getting warmed up as the mercury continued to dip.

Attempting a pass from the shadow of his own goal line, Newport quarterback Kyle Rossiter was swarmed by a garrison of Monadnock defenders. Hit as he tried to elude a sack, Rossiter fumbled the football into the end zone and senior defender Zack Johnson recovered to give the Huskies the first of multiple defensive scores on the afternoon.

“Our defense fought hard,” Avery said. “They were just incredible (Saturday).”

Monadnock recovered another Rossiter fumble on Newport’s ensuing offensive possession. Already deep in Tigers territory following the turnover, the Huskies sensed a golden opportunity. Their offensive line quickly went to work opening running lanes, and junior Andrew Johnson went untouched up the middle of the field for a 15-yard touchdown that extended the Huskies lead 20-0 before halftime.

Newport switched to Ethan Houde at quarterback to start the second half, but any hope of a comeback was soon squashed by Monadnock’s Santaw. When not quarterbacking the offense, Santaw roamed the defensive secondary all afternoon, intercepting three Newport passes, one of which he returned for a 60-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Hart and Johnson each added another score for the Huskies to put a stamp on the decisive semifinal victory.

“It feels good,” Avery said about the validating win as his team celebrated behind him.

Having finally exorcised the ghosts of last season’s semifinal loss, Monadnock will play next weekend for the Division III championship at the University of New Hampshire, where the Huskies will face undefeated Campbell High School.