Complete second half helps Monadnock football to win over Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton (video)

SWANZEY - The Monadnock Regional High School football team went into halftime Friday night feeling like it's game against Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton was closer than it should have been.

The Huskies took care of that just 13 seconds into the second half and never looked back.

Jackson Lepisto returned the opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards for a touchdown - his second kickoff return score of the night - and Monadnock scored every time it touched the ball after halftime on the way to a 52-20 win over the Redhawks in a Division III game.

Lincoln Blodgett added 187 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Huskies (4-2) outgained HDH 302-128, while also getting some big plays from their special teams. Monadnock's Hayden Haddock also blocked two punts, to go with Lepisto's kickoff return scores.

"We spend a lot of time paying attention to special teams," Monadnock coach Ryan Avery said. "In high school, it’s a big part of the game. The kids really responded. They knew we could make some plays on special teams.

"We played well. We had moments of clean execution and then we had moments of fumblitis and just letdowns. We’ve got to get to the point where we can play hard for four quarters."

The Huskies picked up the win despite finishing a minus-2 on turnovers, as the Monadnock defense was able to step up when needed. That included a goal line stand late in the second quarter with the Huskies up 22-14.

"We talked about the mentality that we’re trying to have throughout the rest of the season," Blodgett said of the stand. "No body can stop us if we work our hardest, if we’re making tackles and wrapping up. I could tell that all the kids on defense wanted to go out there and bash people after that."

HDH (4-2) got 131 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Colby Quiet, but 113 of those yards came on the senior's two scoring runs. The Redhawks were without starting quarterback Mike Oberheim and played most of the game with backup Max Costello in the shotgun; the senior was 1 of 9 passing for 9 yards.

But it was a big defensive play from Costello that got HDH back in the game after Lepisto's first kickoff return put Monadnock up 22-6 late in the first quarter.

On fourth-and-3 at the Redhawks 28-yard line, quarterback Nate Doyle's pitch to Blodgett was off the mark and Costello raced in to scoop up the fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to make it 22-14.

That's where it stood at halftime, but Lepisto quickly changed that, and after Monadnock's defense forced the ball over on downs, the Huskies went 75 yards in 11 plays, getting a 15-yard touchdown run from Blodgett to go up 36-14 with 2:27 left in the third.

"He just does not stop," Avery said of his senior back. "He’s full throttle from the first kickoff until the end. He’s a great kid to have on the team. He’s tricky fast. He’s small and he’s so physical for his size. It’s awesome to watch."

Monadnock forced a punt on HDH's next possession and Haddock got a piece of the kick to give the Huskies the ball at the Redhawks 25-yard line. Five plays later, Victor Lotito scored from 4 yards out and got the two-point conversion to make it 44-14 with 9:56 to play.

Doyle hit Zion Carroll for a 16-yard touchdown pass on Monadnock's final possession to close out the scoring with 5:52 remaining.