Cardinals, Sabers each win third straight title

Both the Bishop Guertin and Souhegan high school football teams a third straight championship on Saturday, but for both it was a lot closer than the previous two.

The Cardinals needed some late-game defensive heroics from Brody Smith to hold on to a 14-13 victory over Winnacunnet in the Division II final, while the Sabers scored on a 3-yard run by quarterback Mike Luks with just 51 seconds left to beat Portsmouth 24-21.

Division II

Bishop Guertin fell behind early and trailed 13-0 with 9:55 left in the first half. But the Cardinals (10-2) took advantage of a turnover to get on the board before halftime, and on the final play of the third quarter, quarterback Steve Cuipa hit Nick Pyzocha for a 13-yard touchdown. The extra point by Ryan Card gave Bishop Guertin a 14-13 lead that the Cardinals would hold on to.

Cuipa finished with 114 yards rushing - including a 28-yard touchdown run - and had another 81 yards passing, while Alex Eaton added another 118 yards on the ground.

The Warriors (9-3) got 92 yards rushing from Michael Trainor while Brett Taylor and Steve Cronan each had rushing touchdowns. But it was Cronan's interception with 1:18 left that ended Winnacunnet's chances. Smith picked the ball off at the Cardinals' 8-yard line as Bishop Guertin beat the Warriors in the final for the second straight year.

The Cardinals, who won last year's game 31-0, have now won six of the last seven titles in Division II.

Division III

Souhegan trailed 21-16 in the fourth quarter, but drove 84 yards in a little more than four minutes to retake the lead on Luks' plunge. The two-point conversion by Danny Desserault gave the Sabers (11-1) a three-point lead, meaning Portsmouth (7-4) would have to go for a field goal to win it. Souhegan's defense held on for a 24-21 win - the program's third straight title win over Portsmouth and its fourth title in school history.

Much like the regular-season meeting - also won by Souhegan 23-14 - the Sabers had a tough time running against the Clippers' defense. Souhegan managed just 42 yards rushing, while Luks completed 28-of-45 pass for 256 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The number of pass attempts tied the school record Luks set in that regular-season game against Portsmouth.

Souhegan's Brendan McKenna had seven catches for 79 yards, including both touchdown passes from Luks, and Matt Schagrin added 10 catches for 88 yards and he also hit a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter that gave the Sabers a 16-14 lead.

Portsmouth also struggled to run the ball, but quarterback Quinn McCann threw for 289 yards and touchdown passes of 79 yards to Aidan O'Leary and 20 yards to Sam Marousek.

Both teams will play on Thanksgiving, as the Sabers will head to Merrimack and Portsmouth will host Dover.