Kearsarge football runs over Laconia to pick up win (video)

NORTH SUTTON - The Kearsarge Regional High School football team hasn't had much reason to celebrate on its home field in quite some time.

Against Laconia on Saturday night, in front of a large homecoming crowd, the Cougars made up for it and then some.

Kearsarge scored on five of its six possessions in the first half and the defense forced six turnovers as the Cougars snapped an 11-game home losing streak with a 40-14 win over the Sachems in a Division III game.

It was Kearsarge's first win at home since Oct. 20, 2017, when it beat Mascoma Valley 41-0 - before any player on the roster was even in high school and before Cody Anderson took over as head coach.

"It’s the first time any of these kids have won a game on their home field," Anderson said. "They’re used to being on a team that’s in it the whole game or getting their butts kicked the whole game."

The Cougars (2-2) were the ones doing the kicking against Laconia (2-3), as they picked up all 357 of their yards on the ground. JJ Davis led the way with 153 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries while John Fraioli had 106 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, as 10 different players recorded a rushing attempt.

"I think up front, our line was doing its job," Fraioli said. "It’s a team sport and everyone did their jobs. We could do what we wanted with the ball because everyone did their job.

"It’s great because we have a couple of players who are powerful and a couple of players who are fast. All of us can get some rest, so we can get those big runs."

Laconia was able to get a few big plays of its own, as Cole Roy rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and Hunter Couturier added 112 yards on 18 carries. But the Sachems lost five fumbles and quarterback Logan Sanchez threw an interception.

It took just two plays for Kearsarge to snatch momentum, as Roy fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Cougars on the Sachems' 41-yard line. Five plays later, Fraioli scored on an 8-yard run and Davis ran in the conversion to make it 8-0.

Three plays later, George Jallah picked off Sanchez, and on the next play, Davis went 48 yards for another score. Fraioli ran in the two-pointer this time, and all of a sudden, it was 16-0 Kearsarge with 7:04 left in the first.

Laconia put a drive together on its next possession, using eight plays to move across midfield. On fourth-and-3 at the Kearsarge 42, Sanchez hit Keaton Beck for a 17-yard gain, but Beck lost the ball on his way to the ground and the Cougars recovered.

Kearsarge went three-and-out this time, but Laconia did the same, and on the punt, it seemed the Cougars made their only mistake of the first half. The punt by Lucas Beane sent Jerome Donohue back inside the 10, but he bobbled the ball and was tackled at the 1-yard line.

Didn't matter, as three plays later, Davis broke free for a 90-yard touchdown run.

"Once he hit the 20, I knew he was gone," Jallah said. "There was one person to beat and I will take JJ with anyone. I believe in him so much. He’s a great running back and he proved it (Saturday)."

Laconia answered with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Roy, but the run attempt on the conversion failed, so it stayed 24-6 Kearsarge with 2:22 left in the half.

The Cougars still found a way to score twice before halftime, with Fraioli scoring on a 25-yard run and Anders Sailer (65 yards rushing) adding a 2-yard score as time expired. That gave Kearsarge a 40-6 lead at the half.

"To put in that many points in the first half, to be able to look at my guys and say ‘this game is in hand, we can start to back off the throttle a little bit’ was a position they’ve never been in," Anderson said. "Guys this is what it’s like to be on a team that’s winning."

Roy scored the only points in the second half on a 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter and he added the two-point conversion.