Defense leads the way as Winnacunnet beats Goffstown in D1 quarterfinals (video)

HAMPTON - There are a number of ways to measure the success of a defense.

The Winnacunnet High School football team checked off just about every one Friday night in a Division I quarterfinal against Goffstown.

The No. 1 Warriors' defense held the No. 4 Grizzlies without a first down for eight straight possessions, giving the offense great field position throughout the game, and Winnacunnet advanced with a 20-14 win over Goffstown. The Warriors will host a semifinal game next weekend against the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between No. 3 Exeter and No. 2 Bedford.

Tucker McCann led the Warriors (10-0) with 126 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while Kyle Tilley and Frank Brown also had rushing touchdowns.

But it was the defense, led by Matt Alkire and Owen Bateman, that was the star of the show.

Winnacunnet held Goffstown to 63 yards on the ground, including just 9 yards in the second half. Peyton Strickland had 40 of those yards for the Grizzlies (4-4) before he left the game late in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.

Aaron Duval, who ran for 146 yards in Goffstown's playoff-clinching win last week, had just 24 yards on 13 carries and caught three passes for minus-4 yards.

"I thought the defense was pretty much lights out," Winnacunnet coach Ryan Francouer said. "They played great. Matt Alkire in the middle, we said you need to neutralize Duval and that was his job. That was it. Duval is a great player, but I thought that was a huge part, that when Peyton went out, we were able to take care of the run game."

Goffstown quarterback Josh Webb finished the game 11 of 18 for 69 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but before leading the Grizzlies on a touchdown drive on their final possession, the junior was 5 of 11 for 4 yards with a pick that the Warriors turned into the game-winning score.

"That’s as good of a defense as I’ve seen," Goffstown coach Nick Hammond said. "It’s just the team speed. The whole entire second level is unbelievable. Their defensive line does a great job penetrating, but not overpenetrating. They’re tough, they’re really tough. That’s just a really good defense."

As a team, Winnacunnet rushed for 248 yards on 55 carries, averaging 4.5 yards an attempt. Alkire added 42 on the ground while Bateman had 37 and Brown went for 26 and a touchdown. Tilley finished 6 of 13 for 62 yards, with Dominic Gould catching four of those passes for 44 yards.

The start of the game didn't go so well for the Warriors, as they fumbled the opening kickoff and the Grizzlies recovered at Winnacunnet's 37-yard line. Strickland ran for 22 yards on first down - Goffstown's only first down pick up until it's final drive - and on fourth-and-7 from the 12, he ran it in to give the Grizzlies a 7-0 lead.

"We talked about having a break or two go our way to have a really good chance to win this game," Hammond said. "Getting a start like that was huge for us, we thought."

For Winnacunnet, it was the worst-case scenario.

"I said we’re not putting the ball on the ground (Friday) and if we keep going, we’re not doing it the rest of the tournament. That ended after the first play," Francouer said. "They came out with a good plan and we gave them something at the beginning. Strickland looked as healthy as he’s looked, he was coming down hill hard at us. It might have been a different night if … unfortunately, and I felt really bad, he got hurt and it turned the tide for us a little bit."

Goffstown's defense was able to force the ball over on downs on the Warriors' first drive and the Grizzlies recovered another fumble on Winnacunnet's second possession. But three plays later, Strickland was met at the line of scrimmage by Jack McCann and his right appeared to get caught in the grass.

"Peyton is a special athlete and he’s really been a huge player for us all year," Hammond said. "We love all of our skill guys and they were able to step up and make some plays, but Peyton is a different type of kid."

Winnacunnet tied the game midway through the second quarter after getting the ball at the Grizzlies 36-yard line after a short punt. Eight plays later, on third-and-goal, Tilley ran it in from 1 yard out, and after the teams traded penalties, Hayden Eaton kicked a longer-than-usual PAT to make it 7-7 with 5:13 left in the half.

The Warriors had a chance to take the lead going into halftime, but turned the ball over on downs at the Goffstown 15 with 6.8 seconds remaining.

After Goffstown went three-and-out to open the second half, Winnacunnet picked up a couple of first downs to move into Grizzlies' territory. The drive looked like it was going to stall when Goffstown stopped Bateman for just 2 yards on third-and-5, but a personal foul on Goffstown after the play gave the Warriors a first down at the Grizzlies' 21.

On the next play, Brown took his first carry of the night all the way for a score and a 14-7 lead.

"Frank is probably, in the open field, as dangerous as anyone we’ve got," Francouer said. "He’s working hard to get reps against a bunch of seniors right now. He had success early in the year, but then had an injury, so he was out a couple of games."

The teams traded punts, but Winnacunnet was winning field position, so when Bateman picked off a pass by Webb early in the fourth quarter, it gave the Warriors the ball at Goffstown's 32. Five plays later, Tucker McCann scored on an 11-yard run, but the kick was short, making to a 20-7 lead for the Warriors with 6:35 left.

The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving Goffstown the ball at its 38-yard line, and the Grizzlies were finally able to move the ball through the air. Webb was 6 of 7 on the drive for 65 yards and his 16-yard touchdown pass to Will Sasso with 3:05 left made it a six-point game.

But Winnacunnet recovered the onside kick and picked up three first downs to run out the clock.