Lawhorn's timeliness a linchpin to Souhegan football's title

You never quite know what’s going to happen from snap to snap in high school football.

But when the ball falls into Riley Lawhorn’s hands, the Souhegan High School football team comfortably assumes good things will follow.

The faith in Lawhorn’s dynamic running style had been there throughout the 2020 season and it was rewarded again Saturday as Lawhorn helped the Sabers clinch a Division II championship. The senior tailback produced two long touchdown runs, including a 70-yard fourth-quarter dash that clinched Souhegan’s 26-21 title-game triumph over Plymouth.

“That kid has been a war daddy for us all year,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. “Just a workhorse. In big games, you gotta look to your best players. He’s one of ours.”

Lawhorn was the leading man in the backfield for the Sabers from the season’s onset when he amassed a whopping 236 yards in an opening night win. The 199-yard output on Saturday was no surprise, except for that the majority of the production came on his touchdown runs of 70 and 68 yards.

Lawhorn acknowledged it was hard getting through Plymouth’s line and the numbers reflect as much as 11 of his 18 carries went for 4 yards or less, including five negative rushes.

“Play the next play. Make a mistake or do something wrong, you just have to drop it,” said Lawhorn of working past the struggles. “We trust each other as a family. We move on. If we make a mistake, we move on. That’s all we do.”

While his down moments came in less-than-ideal spots, Lawhorn certainly made up for it with his timely touchdowns.

The winning 70-yard run was of course the best redemption Lawhorn could’ve mustered. Two of three carries prior to the touchdown resulted in losses, which shows how Lawhorn didn’t dwell on his shortcomings. 

As crucial as the game-clinching touchdown was, Lawhorn’s 68-yard score on Souhegan’s first play from scrimmage had its own importance.

Plymouth marched 67 yards down the field on its first drive to take a 7-0 lead, pressuring Souhegan to respond on its drive or risk having to alter its game plan while playing from behind. Lawhorn made sure that didn’t happen, finding an edge on the Sabers’ first play from scrimmage and sprinting down the right sideline in almost identical fashion to the touchdown he’d score later down the left sideline. 

“It was a confidence booster,” Lawhorn said. “We knew they were going to be a good team and drive us down the field (on the opening drive), but it was all about whether we punched back and could move on.”

Things might’ve been different without that opening score, but Lawhorn was always confident that he or his teammates would rise to the occasion to ensure the Sabers would pull through.

“We have the guys,” Lawhorn said. “We have every single wide receiver, a running back, a quarterback and a whole offensive line. It’s just a matter of time and guys will step up when they need to step up. 

“That’s what’s awesome about this team. We stuck together through the big and the small. That’s what got us here as state champions.”