> ## 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. # Defense continues to fly under the radar for Souhegan football - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/defense-continues-to-fly-under-the-radar-for-souhegan-football/ - Published: 2025-11-18T17:39:12.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-18T17:39:12.000Z - Description: AMHERST - There was good reason to talk about the offense after the Souhegan High School football team's 47-14 win over Pelham in last Saturday's Division II semifinals. It's hard to ignore the buzz when a team scores three touchdowns in 43 seconds of a playoff game. In 11 games so far this season - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division II, football, NH High School Sports Insider, Pelham, playoffs, slider, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 AMHERST - There was good reason to talk about the offense after the Souhegan High School football team's 47-14 win over Pelham in last Saturday's Division II semifinals. It's hard to ignore the buzz when a team scores three touchdowns in 43 seconds of a playoff game. In 11 games so far this season, the Sabers (11-0) aren't just averaging 36.5 points each time out. They've done it consistently throughout the season, scoring less than 33 points just once all year, but also topping 40 three times. But as impressive as Souhegan's offensive numbers have been, the defense has been right there with it. The Sabers have now given up a total of 77 points all season, an average of seven per game, but those numbers don't tell the whole story. Pelham's touchdown late in the second quarter of the semifinal was just the third time all season Souhegan has allowed points in the first half. Eight times this year, the Sabers have gone into halftime with a zero on the opponent's side of the scoreboard. Teams have scored just 23 points in the first half against Souhegan all season - three touchdowns and a field goal, and one of those touchdowns was a defensive score by St. Thomas in the season-opener. The other nine points were scored by Plymouth in the first half of the Sabers' 19-9 road win over the Bobcats. Souhegan ended up with a shutout in the second half of that game while holding Plymouth to its lowest total of the season, almost 28 points below its average for the year. “I think it starts with defense,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. “We got a big fourth down stop there (to start the semifinal) and that kind of juices everybody. I think that if you have a really good defense and you get stops, it just juices up the whole team.” While the Pythons were able to put points on the board before halftime, they were forced to move the ball through the air. On the drive, quarterback Kevin Hardy was 4 of 8 for 41 yards to set up his 16-yard touchdown run. That run was the longest of the day for Pelham, as the Pythons had just 68 yards on 23 carries and didn't have a rushing first down until the fourth quarter, when the game was in running time. “They changed their coverage on some things and made some adjustments,” Pelham coach Jason Riley said. “It was kind of that little chess match in the beginning, and I think we were right there, but it just kind of spiraled.” Souhegan scored on its first four possessions, but also kept Pelham from finding the end zone until that final drive of the first half, which made it a 27-7 game at halftime. And then came the onslaught to start the second half, with the Sabers scoring 20 points in under a minute. “I think you’ve got to handle the tight end and the wing against those types of teams,” Bowkett said. “It just doing your one-eleventh and working the fundamentals. Getting 11 hats to the ball and guys getting off blocks and tackling really well. We did that.” Souhegan returns to the D2 championship game looking to defend its title from a year ago. It's also the fourth trip to the final for the Sabers since the 2020 season, when they defeated Plymouth to win the title; they also lost to Pelham in the 2022 title game. The Sabers will be playing an somewhat unfamiliar opponent following Trinity's 29-27 win over Plymouth in the other semifinal. While the Sabers and Pioneers have squared off in the preseason over the last few years, they haven't played a regular season game since Sept. 9, 2016, the year before Bowkett took over as coach at Souhegan. “With us not playing each other, it’s based on whatever we got on film,” Bowkett said of the preparation for Saturday. “We’ve got great players and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. It should be awesome.” Trinity and Souhegan will meet in the D2 final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.