> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Campbell, Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough prepare for D3 football final showdown - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/campbell-inter-lakes-moultonborough-prepare-for-d3-football-final-showdown/ - Published: 2024-11-22T22:00:42.000Z - Updated: 2024-11-22T22:00:42.000Z - Description: Pass-happy spread versus old school, 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust - those are the offensive stylings of Saturday’s Division III football finalists, No. 3 Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough and No. 1 Campbell. Top-seeded Campbell (10-0) rides into Amherst for the 1 p.m. title game at Souhegan High School on t - Author: George Scione - Tags: Division III-IV, Campbell, championship, Division III, football, Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 Pass-happy spread versus old school, 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust - those are the offensive stylings of Saturday’s Division III football finalists, No. 3 Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough and No. 1 Campbell. Top-seeded Campbell (10-0) rides into Amherst for the 1 p.m. title game at Souhegan High School on the legs of Scott Hershberger. The senior running back is coming off a stellar semifinal showing, rushing for 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yarder on his first carry in that 50-22 win over No. 4 Gilford. That performance easily surpassed the 16 yards needed to lock down the NHIAA career rushing record. He’s rushed for 1,930 yards and 24 touchdowns on 142 carries this season, leaving him at 6,066 yards heading into Saturday where he’ll take the same field that former record holder and Souhegan Sabers star Sean Jellison once thrived on. Cougars coach Glen Costello has nothing but praise for Hershberger, but he also stresses the team aspect of a player reaching such a milestone. Quarterback Mikey Grace has seen his own success with opposing teams stacking the box to stop the run. It’s allowed him to find openings through the air for 602 yards and six touchdowns, while also scoring four more times on the ground. “I think Scott would be the first to tell you that it’s been all 11 on offense,” said Costello, whose Cougars are heading into their third straight final - beating Trinity in 2022 and losing to Trinity in 2023\. “Whether it was the previous couple of seasons when we were a Single-Wing team, or this past year being a Double-Wing team, the expectation is that every kid on the field blocks. I think that has led to the success. We’ve been able to plus people offensively, that they haven’t just been able to account for, and then Scott’s off to the races.” Speaking of being off to the races, Costello is well aware of the speed and athleticism across the field this weekend. His Cougars saw what the ILM roster brings to the table during their 34-12 regular-season win over the Lakers in Meredith back on September 21\. Two months later and ILM has just gotten better. “They’re athletic and explosive,” Costello said. “So they scare me in terms having the ability to score at any point in time. They did cause us some fits defensively. We struggled with them initially. As skilled as we are in a bunch of positions, we are very young in a lot of others. So I think the speed of the game was a shock for some of our young sophomores, so it took a little getting our bearings straight. Then we kind of figured it out.” ILM trailed by one score heading into the fourth quarter, but that 20-12 deficit turned on pick-6 and Campbell never looked back. That is the main focus of ILM coach Guy Donnelly heading into the championship game, limiting the Lakers' own mistakes. “I felt really good about the outcome of that game minus the score,” Donnelly said. “We made some key mistakes in that fourth quarter and you can’t make those against good teams. So we were encouraged. Our kids felt good about it. Obviously you don’t want to lose, and I think it helped focus us.” Following that Week 2 loss the Lakers ran the table, outscoring their opponents 164-20 through the regular season to earn the third seed. They’ve taken care of business in the playoffs with an 18-13 win over No. 6 Stevens in the quarterfinals and a 14-8 win over No. 2 Monadnock in last week’s semifinals. The Lakers’ air raid is led by quarterback Alec Adorno, who Costello calls the best quarterback in the division. The senior quarterback has thrown for 2,215 yards and 21 touchdowns. ILM is truly a spread, as Adorno has five guys with 200-plus yards receiving on the season in Brogan Donnelly (48 receptions, 680 yards, seven touchdowns), Jacob Hayward (27, 455, six), Jackson Downs (21, 354, one), Wyatt Buhrman (15, 329, six) and Garrett Hayward (18, 228, one). As good as this Lakers’ offense has been, Donnelly believes that his team’s defense is often overlooked. “When people talk about Inter-Lakes football they go on and on about how much we throw the ball on offense, but our defense has come up big this season,” said Donnelly, who has the Lakers back in a final for the first time since a 46-20 upset loss to Stevens in 2016\. “These guys play really hard and they are physical. If you ask me what the strength of our team is, I’d point to our defensive unit.” Gilford coach Brandt O’Hara, who played against both teams this season, agrees with Donnelly. “That’s the key this week,” O’Hara said of ILM’s defense. “It’s Inter-Lakes’ defensive line versus Campbell’s offensive line. I do think Inter-Lakes has some strong personnel right there in the middle, especially that nose tackle O’Brian Murray. That kid was causing fits on film and he certainly caused us fits. He’s someone to game plan around. "I think if you can get in there and disrupt some of the pulling guards that opens up some of those lanes for their linebackers to cut through. I’ll be interested to see how well Campbell does to put a wrap on him, because he definitely affected their game last time. So that’s definitely the key, Inter-Lakes’ defensive line presence opening lanes for linebackers to cut through and limit the big play potential of Hershberger.” Murray, who has 48 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery on the season, has been working well in the interior along with Grayson Boxer (42 tackles) to do exactly what Gilford’s coach said. They’ve been opening rushing lanes for linebackers Finn McIntosh (91 tackles, one fumble recovery), Garrett Hayward (83 tackles) and Milo Green (32 tackles) to shoot the gaps and stuff the opposition’s ground game more effectively as the season has progressed. That impressive defensive line play also frees up a fast and athletic Lakers’ defensive backfield, led by the cornerback duo of Jackson Downs (seven interceptions) and Brogan Donnelly (54 tackles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, one touchdown), and safety Deven Brown (64 tackles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery). Campbell’s offensive line of guards Alex St. Pierre and Zachary Poulin, tackles Christian Roy and Ethan Johnston, and center Caleb Vaillancourt are certainly up to the challenge. They’ve proven that all season. Combined with the blocking ability of tight ends Bronson Leduc and Nicholas Mackey, fullback Braydon White, and wing backs Scott and Nick Hershberger, the Cougars offense hasn’t skipped a beat when quarterback Michael Grace takes the snap. “What I like about this team is that it’s been a business trip week after week,” Costello said. “They never really got too high on any one win, and we have an unofficial 24-hour rule of we’re going to try to enjoy it, then after 24 hours move on to the next game on the schedule. “That was the case last week. Gilford was a big win for the program. It was a great day for Scott. But when we woke up Sunday morning, the messaging amongst the kids was all about getting ready for Inter-Lakes.” Gilford has faced both squads and been on the losing end three times - twice to Campbell, 50-14 in the regular season and 50-22 in last week’s semifinal, and a 14-6 regular-season loss to ILM. O’Hara’s initial reaction when this weekend’s championship matchup was locked in? “It’s Campbell’s game to lose,” O’Hara said. “If Inter-Lakes can play a complete game and Campbell makes mistakes, they may jump into it, but it’s really Campbell’s to lose.” How many mistakes would it take to bounce Campbell from the ranks of the unbeaten? “Campbell can afford to make a couple of mistakes and stay in the game,” O’Hara said. “It could become a shootout, but I think Inter-Lakes has to play that perfect game in order to do so. They throw the ball a ton, which is sometimes dangerous, but if they do it efficiently and effectively as they’ve done all year then they can hang with anybody. It should be a really good matchup of ground-and-pound versus airing it out. I’m excited to go and be there as a spectator.”