Raudelunas, Souhegan football roll to win over Milford

AMHERST - The Souhegan High School football team played its third straight game with a different quarterback under center.

But with Division II’s leading rusher Ryland Raudelunas leading the way, it hardly seemed to matter.

Raudelunas ran for 266 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, and sophomore Cole Brandt stepped up at quarterback, throwing 2 for 6 with 23 passing yards and a touchdown as the Sabers rolled to a 35-7 win over Milford under the lights on Friday on their home field.

Milford (2-4) forced Souhegan (6-0) to go three-and-out and punt on its first possession of the game, but only needed four plays (all of them rushes by Raudelunas) to get to the end zone on the second. Raudelunas scored from the 5 on a run right up the middle for a 7-0 Saber lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

Brandt found Liam Bright on a 15-yard pass in the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Milford’s defense forced Souhegan to turn the ball over on downs on the next series, but the Sabers blocked a punt late in the half, setting up Raudelunas for a 34-yard TD run at 1:58 to give Souhegan a 21-0 lead at halftime.

“We’re kind of in and out of rhythm a little bit, a few too many penalties that you don’t like to see,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. “That’s a really good Milford defense we saw. We knew they were going to be tough. They’re tough kids, they’re well-coached. But hats off to our guys for executing and settling down. Once we got into a rhythm, we were rolling.”

Raudelunas broke away for a 49-yard gain on the second play of the second half, setting up a 5-yard touchdown, and tore away from the line on a 77-yard TD run to make the score 35-0, sending the game to running time with 6:39 left in the third quarter.

Strong defense from Sean Reardon (two sacks, tackle for loss), Raudelunas (two sacks) and Jonathan Bausha (sack) kept Milford out of the red zone until the fourth quarter, but sophomore Jace Wilhemi (62 yards on 11 carries) made the most of the Spartans’ solo trip deep into Souhegan territory.

Wilhemi charged up the middle from the 3 to put Milford on the board, helping the Spartans become just the third team to score against Souhegan this season.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Hill (3 for 8, 17 passing yards), sophomore lineman Joseph Schnitzler (two tackles for loss) and senior Christopher Bozza (31 yards on eight carries, sack) also played well for Milford.

After closing out September with back-to-back wins, the Spartans haven’t won in October, but coach Max Morelli is still pleased with the progression of his young squad that is heavy with sophomore starters.

“I think there’s some building blocks there for sure,” Morelli said. “(Souhegan is) obviously really talented. We were able to get some stops. I thought the kids played really hard and did really well, but if you’re just a couple yards off where you’re supposed to be, it’s going to be an explosive play. Every time (Milford plays) they naturally develop and get better. Every week as a coaching staff we’re proud of how the kids play.”

Half of Raudelunas’s carries were for 10 or more yards (he averaged 15.6 yards a carry), which he and both coaches credited to Souhegan’s line play.

“I’m so proud of all our guys up front. They make my job so much easier,” Raudelunas said. “Each of them does their job on every single play.”

With starting quarterback and last year’s D2 Player of the Year Michael Fiengo sidelined the last two weeks with an injury, and last week’s quarterback Brody Smith sitting out “as a precautionary measure,” according to Bowkett, the Sabers have relied heavily on Raudelunas.

“He’s been our best player,” Bowkett said. “He would be the first to tell you it starts with our guys up front. We’ve got a lot of continuity with the guys up front. They do a really good job, they take pride in their work each day.

"A lot (of credit) needs to go to them and the tight ends and the receives that block, but Ryland’s been our best player and the constant. He’s always calm. Doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. I couldn’t be prouder of him. He’s worked so hard and he’s such a good kid.”

Bowkett expects both Fiengo and Smith to be in the lineup for a huge showdown next weekend when the Sabers travel to Plymouth to take on the Bobcats, who currently sit atop the D2 East standings with a 5-0 mark.

“Once we can run our normal offense and give the other team a different look, that’s always helpful to keep them off balance,” Bowkett said.

But no matter who the personnel is, you can expect the Sabers to be prepared.

“We always come in with a great game plan,” Raudelunas said. “Our guys do a great job executing that.”