Exeter returns to D1 football final with win over Merrimack

EXETER - Even for a football coach that has reached championship games the majority of his tenure, Exeter High School’s Bill Ball knows knows how difficult of a road it can be.

That was exemplified after Exeter missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010 with a 4-5 record last year, but the Blue Hawks rebounded this season to punch a ticket towards a final date in their redemption tour on Saturday afternoon.

Senior running back Jaedon Cliche ran for 177 yards on 20 carries and added a receiving touchdown to lead a 455-yard offensive attack in second-seeded Exeter’s 34-13 victory over No. 4 Merrimack in the East/West cluster of the Division I semifinals at William Ball Stadium.

“I just told them, never take it for granted,” Ball said. “Coming into the season, we had a lot of unknowns, but we knew we had character. These guys have been outstanding. They’ve done a really nice job, they’ve been outstanding. I can’t say enough good things about them.”

Exeter (10-1) enters its 16th championship game in Ball’s 27th season next Sunday when it faces Londonderry (11-0) at the University of New Hampshire’s Wildcat Stadium at 6 p.m. The Lancers prevailed in the North/South cluster with a 35-14 victory over Salem (8-3).

The Blue Hawks won five of 11 Division II title games under Ball, before Exeter won back-to-back D1 championships in 2011 and 2012. Exeter lost its last two championship games to Goffstown (2015) and Bedford (2016).

“We’re ready for it, we’re excited,” Exeter senior quarterback Ryan Grijalva said. “We’re all up for the challenge. We’re not taking the trip just to be there, we want to win it. We all want to win it. We all want to compete and play our best.” 

After connecting with Nate MacDonald for three touchdown passes during Exeter’s 41-7 victory over Merrimack (7-4) during the regular season, the duo torched the Tomahawks again on the game’s opening drive. Facing a third-and-6 at midfield, Grijalva’s play action left a wide-open MacDonald in the middle of the field for a 50-yard touchdown pass to give Exeter a 7-0 lead with 9:31 left in the first quarter.

“We’ve been working on that play all week,” Grijalva said. “I made a fake to (Spencer Clark) and they bit on it a little bit, so I saw Nate. I trust him to make that play, so kind of led him on, and he ran and caught it. It was just good to get the first touchdown out of the way. It was a good little starter for us.”

Derek Edmiston followed his 249-yard, four touchdown rushing effort during last week’s 42-27 quarterfinal victory over Nashua South with 83 yards on 17 carries. Edmiston’s 22-yard touchdown run gave Exeter a 14-0 lead with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

Exeter defensive lineman Sean Collins came up with an interception off a deflected pass from Merrimack quarterback Kyle Crampton to set up the Blue Hawks at Merrimack’s 34-yard line. Cliche finished off an ensuing eight-play drive to give Exeter a 21-0 cushion. Exeter held a 292-54 yard advantage in the first half and held Merrimack to one first down.

“We’re the one who needed that fast start, not them,” Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. “We just had some breakdowns and they had some good plays. When we came out in the second half we recaptured some momentum, but in one play, they got the momentum back.”

Jackson was referring to the opening drive of the second half that saw Crampton complete seven passes, ending with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jared Dyer. Crampton finished 20 of 30 for 195 yards, as Devin Wood caught seven of his passes for 99 yards.

Cliche then responded on the first play of Exeter’s ensuing drive with a 68-yard run that helped set up a 1-yard scoring keeper by Grijalva with 6:26 left in the third quarter to give Exeter a 28-7 lead. Grijalva finished with 52 rushing yards on eight carries, adding 63 passing yards and two touchdowns on 3 of 4 completions.

The quintessential Exeter drive began with 4:20 left in the third quarter and ended nearly 12 minutes later with 4:25 left in the fourth after 20 plays. Exeter converted three third downs during the drive and two fourth downs, culminating with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Grijalva to Cliche for a 34-7 Exeter lead.

“That’s what we like to do,” Cliche said. “Last week it was on long runs on 60 yarders and 80 yarders. This week we got back to Blue Hawk football which is 20 plays in 12 minutes or right around there.”

Now it’s time for Ball to lead a team into a familiar place.

“We’ve got a long week ahead of us,” Ball said. “We’re excited and we’re back to work (Sunday) morning.”