Big second half leads Souhegan football to win over Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton

AMHERST - This game was a tale of two different seasons, as the Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton football team came into Friday's contest on a five-game losing streak against Souhegan, flying high with on a three-game win streak.

After a slow start, it was the Sabers picking up their fourth straight win, beating the Redhawks 38-7 in a Division II South Conference game.

The game started off rather quick, when the Redhawks, with the help of some excellent blocking by their front five, carried their way to a long, time-consuming drive, as HDH (1-6) capped it off with a 15-yard touchdown run.

Souhegan (5-2) would respond with a long drive of its own, eventually using a strong passing game from quarterback John Lohnes to march the ball all the way down to the HDH 4-yard line. The second quarter saw the Sabers continue their drive from the 4, only to be shut out by the stingy Redhawk defense, bringing up a fourth down. The Sabers would end up settling for a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

The HDH offense had trouble re-establishing its first quarter dominance for the remainder of the game, seeing the Sabers stuff each and every attempt. The Sabers would eventually receive the ball on offense again, and proceeded to drive the ball deep into Redhawk territory once again. Unfortunately, with the help of some untimely offensive penalties, the Sabers were forced to turn the ball over on downs after a failed fourth-and-28 play.

The Sabers offense would score twice more before halftime. Dante Savo carried wide left for a smooth-looking 5-yard touchdown run to put the Sabers up 10-7, and Souhegan added another when Kyle Archambault was able to haul in a perfectly thrown 25-yard touchdown pass from Lohnes after being set up by a Saber strip-sack and recovery. The Sabers would take a 17-7 lead into the break.

In the second half, Trey Johnson of Souhegan was a thorn in the back for the HDH special teams. Seemingly on every punt, Johnson would return it for a big gain. His efforts were crucial to setting up the offense with excellent field position.

Archambault would end up having an excellent second half for the Sabers, pulling in another 30-yard touchdown pass to give the Sabers a 24-7 lead, then again with a 10-yard touchdown run to push the Saber lead to 31-7. The Sabers offense was simply too much for the Redhawk defense to contain.

The final drive for the Sabers proved to be the knockout blow for the Redhawks. Faced with a third-and-41, the Sabers - with the help of speedy receiver Max Leonard - were able to convert after setting up a quick screen that saw the receiver all the way down to the HDH 5-yard line. Souhegan’s David Labonte would end up taking the ball in for the touchdown on the following play to seal the victory.