Hollis Brookline football takes care of business in finale against St. Thomas

DOVER - With a spot in the Division II playoffs sewn up, the Hollis Brookline High School football team had no intentions of slowing down in Saturday afternoon’s regular season finale against St. Thomas Aquinas.

To no surprise, senior twin brothers Sander and Quinten Wimmer were at the forefront of an offense that’s rolling into the postseason.

Sander Wimmer completed his first 12 passes en route to throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He finished completing 16 of 20 passes for 275 yards, connecting seven times for 114 yards and a score to his brother during Hollis Brookline’s 56-14 victory. 

“Those two are very special, they’re great kids and they’re leaders,” Hollis Brookline coach Chris Lones said. “They’re the type of kids who’ll knock you into the ground, pick you up and say great job. I would take one hundred of those players over a kid that is the best player in the state.” 

Hollis Brookline’s win comes a year after St. Thomas prevented the Cavaliers from making the playoffs via victory in the regular-season finale.

“This was the team that knocked us out from going to the playoffs last year, so we had a bone to pick with them,” Sander Wimmer said. “The scoreboard kind of reflects how we felt.”

The Wimmer brothers bookended the first half’s scoring, as Sander Wimmer ran in a 1-yard keeper two minutes into the game. Quinten Wimmer returned an interception 98 yards for a score as time expired to give the Cavaliers a 44-0 halftime lead.

Hollis Brookline (7-2) has scored at least 50 points in three of its four straight wins heading into next Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Cavaliers will travel likely as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed against either Pelham (7-2) or Kennett (7-2). The official NHIAA playoff pairings will be announced on Monday.

“We’ve been on an absolute tear these last three games,” Quinten Wimmer said. “I love (being the underdog) on the road next week. It only fuels us to go harder, be faster, and win more games.”

Sander Wimmer came into the game 220 passing yards shy of eclipsing the 2,000-yard barrier in a third straight year, and he put a large dent into that in the first quarter by completing all nine of his passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Hollis Brookline dissected the Saints for 85 yards on 14 plays on its second drive that included seven completions that finished with a 9-yard rollout pass to Austin Johnson for a score. Sander Wimmer then connected on a 69-yard touchdown pass to Blake Bergerson to give the Cavaliers a 22-0 lead with 2:26 left in the first quarter. 

“With my receiving corps I know I can really throw it to anybody and trust them to come down with it,” Sander Wimmer said. “I just came out firing and found my spots.”

Sander Wimmer broke 2,000 yards with his 39-yard touchdown pass to his brother early in the second quarter. Marc-Andre Thermitus (eight carries, 121 yards) scored the first of his two from 1 yard out late in the first half. He added his second score from 79 yards away early in the fourth quarter.

The three touchdowns passes gave Sander Wimmer 25 on the season. He’s also gone three straight years with 20-plus touchdown passes and over 500 rushing yards.

“It’s pretty impressive; a duel threat is what he is,” Chris Lones said. “We took him out on defense and he said ‘Coach, stop taking me out on defense, I’m losing my mojo on offense while I'm on the sidelines.' But he's our starter, and we need to keep him healthy.”

St. Thomas (4-5) came into the game knowing its slim playoff chance was squashed with MIlford’s 28-27 overtime victory over Alvirne.

Junior quarterback Cam Paquette showed plenty of promise in his first year as starter, but he had a rough ending by throwing four interceptions. Paquette finished completing 13 of 27 passes for 183 yards with touchdown passes of 22 yards to Adam Stewart and 50 yards to Will MacLean (seven catches, 120 yards).

This marked the first season St. Thomas didn’t reach the postseason since 2009. The Saints were eliminated in the semifinals the past two years. 

“They’ve got great athletes, we had some mental lapses at some point,” St. Thomas coach Dave Bryant said. “We’re not as deep as we’ve been in years past."