Appearance in D1 championship game a year in the making for Londonderry football

Pain has been a big motivating factor for the Londonderry High School football team this year.

Not the physical kind that comes over the course of a long season.

It's an emotional pain, the kind that forms after coming so close to a goal and then having it ripped away, leaving you to wonder what if so many little things had been different.

That's where the Lancers' current seniors were in 2018, sitting in the locker room after coming up short in the Division I quarterfinals, watching that group of seniors know their last shot at winning the program's first championship in 20 years was gone.

"The juniors came in here last year right after that game, and they had tears in their eyes, and they said ‘next year is the year,’" Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. "It motivated us for a big portion of the offseason. It was a sore subject, so if I brought it up, and how close we were, it got them motivated.

"That refocused them and goes along with what we preach, which is attention to detail. You don’t want to come up that short again, and you want to execute the plays at the big moments. I think a quick reminder every once in a while certainly helps."

All those reminders, all those big moments, have led Londonderry (11-0) to a place it hasn't been since before the majority of its roster was born - a championship game. The Lancers will play in their first title game since 2001 when they take on Exeter (10-1) in the D1 final at 6 p.m. Sunday at the University of New Hampshire.

"I feel like we’re kind of meant to be at this point," Londonderry senior Cooper Bartlett said. "We worked so hard, the amount of work we put in, it just feels like we were meant to be here. Even before the season, we knew we had to step it up if we wanted an even more successful season. It took a lot of initiative to get to where we are now. We have every single piece we need to move forward."

Fellow senior Jeff Wiedenfeld agreed that the Lancers have what it takes to come out with a win on Sunday, and that's helped them come together each week of the season.

"When you look at this team, it’s a whole," he said. "It is a team. There’s not one part of us where we were lacking. Everyone is putting in their part. It’s a big family. Working throughout the year, it was one week at a time, it’s just can we play our game. That’s what it comes down to for us."

With so many mouths to feed, particularly on offense, Lauzon has been impressed how well his players have learned to play together and focus on the team's goals.

"This group is extremely tight," the coach said. "They know they can lean on each other and they’ve been pretty unselfish. The ball has had to be spread around to all of these guys. Each have had big games and that’s an important piece. It’s easy to want the ball more, but being unselfish has been something special about them."

Londonderry will need to carry that mindset into Sunday's game against Exeter just to keep the Blue Hawks on their toes. Exeter's defense has allowed an average of 12.1 points per game, including in the playoffs, and have allowed more than 14 points just twice all season.

But the Lancers come in scoring an average of 46.4 points per game, and have been held under 41 just twice all year - Londonderry scored 35 against Bedford in the regular season and finished with the same total in the semifinal against Salem.

The bigger challenge for Londonderry might be on defense. While Exeter can hold onto the ball for long stretches, this year, the Blue Hawks have also shown a capability for big plays, particularly in the passing game.

"We know the quarterback (Ryan Grijalva) can run it and he can throw it," Lauzon said. "He can really stretch the field with his arm, so you can’t be too quick to come downhill. The eye discipline is extremely important to make sure we’re reading the right things and we don’t get caught back pedaling because he’ll outthrow us.

"We’ve got to do something different than anybody else has. It definitely makes them more dangerous because they are so run-heavy, you want to respect that and come downhill, but at the same time, you’ve got to respect the pass."

In order to do that, Londonderry needed to have another great week of practice to finish out the season.

"To limit those kind of plays, it’s really about knowing every detail when you get to game time," Bartlett said. "You have to take practice seriously throughout the week. If there is one miscommunication, it could mess up the entire defense.

"I’m so excited. I’ve imagined how it is going to be there. I can picture the lights and the field and the crowd. I just can’t wait to take it all in."