Hollis Brookline football advances to playoffs in dramatic fashion with win over Souhegan

HOLLIS - A glance at the scoreboard before halftime Saturday afternoon painted a bleak picture for the Hollis Brookline High School football team.

In the regular-season finale, a game that would guarantee the victor a spot in the Division II playoffs, the Cavaliers and their fans watched in stunned silence as visiting Souhegan built a seemingly insurmountable 27-6 first-half lead.

And given HB's recent scoring struggles, the outcome of the game looked bleak for the hometown blue. In fact, there was some chatter by those in attendance that at least there was a chance that the game would be shortened if the lead continued to balloon.

But, in football as in life, sometimes miraculous and unpredictable events occur. Such was the case on this particular afternoon, as the Cavaliers shocked their division rivals, 48-42, in what can only be described as a game for the ages.

The narrative was partially set the night before, when Pelham High School won its finale, making this game ripe with playoff implications.

After a Sander Wimmer touchdown pass to Matt Simco got HB (6-2) on the board early, the Cavs' defense shut down Souhegan (5-3) on consecutive drives to close out the first-quarter with a 6-0 lead.

However, that’s when a Souhegan offensive tsunami blindsided the Cavaliers.

On the first play of the second quarter, John Lohnes threw the first of three touchdown passes on consecutive drives – one each to receivers Palmer Belowski, Trey Johnson, and Max Leonard, as Lohnes repeatedly exploited HB’s secondary.

The Sabers recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that followed the Leonard touchdown, and Belowski capped the Souhegan scoring barrage with a 1-yard run to make it 27-6.

The Cavs were able to score before halftime on a Wimmer pass to Jeff Arnold and a Brandon Iodice 2-point conversion, closing the gap 27-14, but HB still faced a sizable deficit heading into the third quarter.

“We told them that we play four quarters of football,” assistant coach Shawn Aubut said about the philosophy that the Cavaliers' coaching staff has instilled in their young players. “There’s not much else that we needed to say to them at halftime.”

After Lohnes and the Souhegan offense continued their air assault during the opening drive of the second half, HB once again faced a three-touchdown deficit. The lead nearly swelled to 40-14 after Jeff Arnold fumbled while returning another kickoff and Sabers senior Caelan Behn picked up the ball for a touchdown. However, a Souhegan penalty erased the fumble and the score.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Arnold went down with a knee injury on the play and was forced out of the game.

Under the leadership of their captains, the Cavs regrouped after their teammate’s departure and soon began to channel their coach’s “four quarters” philosophy.

Starting from their own 42-yard line, Wimmer connected with Simco and Klayton Trombas for a pair of first downs before hitting Michael Gillespie on a 40-yard scoring pass. With the help of another Iodice 2-point conversion and stellar offensive line play that allowed Wimmer enough time to look downfield, the Cavs cut into the lead, 34-22.

On Souhegan’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Simco recovered a Belowski fumble at Souhegan’s 33-yard line. Wasting no time, Wimmer immediately eyed Gillespie downfield and connected with him for another score, in the process shrinking the deficit to eight points.

The home crowd, anxious for much of the game, now stood on their bleacher seats and rained down a crescendo of cheers onto the field.

Before the fans could get comfortably seated, the Cavs' defense forced a Souhegan punt and on the very next drive, Iodice took a handoff to the outside and raced along the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown. With the game tied, Iodice was called upon again for the 2-point conversion, which gave the recently besieged team the lead with 7:05 remaining on the game clock.

A group of deflated Saber fans made their way to the exits a few minutes later when Wimmer tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the game, extending HB’s lead to 42-34.

If the Souhegan fans had stayed another 57 seconds, they would have seen their team tie the game on a Lohnes 11-yard pass to senior Anderson Geffrard, which was set up by a pass interference call against the Cavaliers.

The final two minutes then became a perfect microcosm of the game up to that point: completely wild.

Attempting to engineer the game-winning drive for HB, Wimmer scrambled to midfield as the seconds ticked away. Following the run, the sophomore quarterback hurried the offense to the line of scrimmage, and took the snap. Scanning the field for an open receiver, Wimmer released the ball without noticing Souhegan linebacker Jacob Grassett in coverage. The ball went right to the junior defender, who then returned the interception into Cavs territory with 1:07 left.

“We have to move past moments like that and play for the next play,” Aubut said about the crucial turnover that would have doomed most teams. “We believe in our guys; it’s all up to them.”

The Cavaliers’ defensive found a way to force three straight pass incompletions from Lohnes, setting up a punt that traveled to the Cavs own 11-yard line.

With 42 seconds remaining, Wimmer once more brought the offense onto the field.

After receiving instructions from the sideline, Wimmer took the shotgun snap from center. Quinten Wimmer reeled in the pass and advanced the ball to the Cavs’ 32-yard line. Continuing to hurry, Sander Wimmer got the offense set again, took the snap, and found Iodice alone in the flat. The lanky junior, having converted every Cavaliers 2-point attempt on the afternoon, turned and followed his blockers up field. Once in the secondary, Iodice accelerated down the Cavs’ sideline until, 68 yards later, he collapsed into the end zone with 15 seconds left on the clock.

As the referee signaled touchdown, Iodice’s teammates erupted, swarming the junior tailback as he still clutched the game-winning ball in his arm.

“We put together the game plan, but these kids deserve all the credit,” Aubut reiterated after the dramatic win. “It was a hell of a game.”

The final, improbable points for HB propel the Cavs into the Division II playoffs next week. And despite the loss, Souhegan will also be a seeded team when the playoffs begin.