Fiengo's different style has Souhegan football hoping for different results

Things could have probably been worse for the Souhegan High School football team.

But at that moment, with just under eight minutes left in the first half of last Saturday's Division II semifinal, it wasn't good for the Sabers either.

Down 7-0 after top-seeded and undefeated Plymouth had opened the game with a 13-play, 63-yard drive, No. 4 Souhegan had gone three-and-out on each of its first two possessions. The Sabers' defense stopped the Bobcats on their next two possessions, but a punt from Plymouth's 42-yard line put Souhegan at its own 2.

Not ideal, but not a disaster, especially not with Michael Fiengo at quarterback.

The Souhegan junior made the right call on an option play, the offensive line executed its blocking assignments correctly, and as soon as Fiengo crossed the line of scrimmage, he saw green grass in front of him.

"The line had some great blocks," Fiengo said. "I hit the hole and it was one-on-one. I made a move and I was free down the field. I got a little tired around the 40-yard line, but thankfully Brody (Smith) was there to slow the (Plymouth) kid down. I just kept running as hard as I could until I got to the end zone."

Fiengo got there for a 98-yard touchdown run that swung momentum the Sabers' way, and after two more stops by the defense, he added a 53-yard touchdown pass to Smith and another rushing touchdown, this one from 9-yards out, for a 21-7 lead at halftime on the way to a 36-7 victory over Plymouth.

It was the Bobcats first playoff loss at home since 1999.

"I know we had two three-and-outs, but we had kind of beat ourselves," Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. "We were moving the ball, we just didn’t get there. But once our defense made that first fourth-down stop on their second drive, you could feel our defense gain more confidence. You could start to feel it turn. They hit that big punt and once Fiengo took it, everyone was in shock, and that’s when it really started going."

And it didn't stop, putting Souhegan in the D2 championship game for the third time in five years, where the Sabers will face No. 2 Pelham in the title game for the second time in three seasons. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.

"If you asked any of my coaches (before the season), we did not really anticipate being here," Bowkett said. "But as the season progressed, we thought we might have something really good here. This group, while maybe we’re not as talented, in terms of as a team, they play for each other for 48 minutes as hard as they can. They just believe and it’s awesome to see."

That starts with Fiengo, who has given Souhegan an element at quarterback that it hasn't had in quite some time. With brothers Austin and Romy Jain having filled the quarterback position for the last five seasons, the Sabers were transitioning to someone in Fiengo who, to that point, could do more damage with his legs.

"I knew I could run, but I’d never thrown a varsity pass before," said Fiengo, who got time in the second half of a lot of varsity games as a sophomore. "I’d never led a varsity offense, but I quickly learned to do that. I don’t think it was hard to adjust, because I know all my teammates very well. We’ve come together as a close group and they’ve helped me. They’ve been great."

Bowkett could see the rest of the team rallying behind Fiengo during the preseason, particularly during the few days the team spent on its annual trip to Camp Robin Hood in Freedom.

"He’s so selfless and he’s a competitor and he'll try to run through your face," the coach said. "He wants to win. And he’s so tough. He gets pummeled and gets up and keeps going. The players feed off that. They feed off that energy and that juice. He just makes everyone around him better. The kids believe that when he’s in the huddle, he’s got command."

Any questions Bowkett might have had about the passing abilities of his first-year starter went away pretty quickly.

"We knew he was deadly with his feet, but I’ve been more impressed with how he’s been able to rip the football this year," Bowkett said. "Just really impressed with how he’s stepped up his game in that regard. He’s super accurate, throws the ball on time, throws a catchable ball, and that’s all we need."

Souhegan will now look to do something that hasn't happened much in the last five seasons: beat Pelham.

The Sabers lost their fourth straight to the Pythons on Oct. 25, a 40-26 defeat that came a week after they'd lost to Plymouth in overtime. Since then, Souhegan has won three in a row, averaging 39 points per game, while allowing 13.3.

"I don’t think we listened to the outside noise," Fiengo said. "For the seniors, for most of them, it’s their last game. We want to go out with a win. We beat Plymouth in Plymouth, which doesn’t happen often. I’ll remember that for a long time, but we’re not letting up on the gas."