> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Rolla's big night helps Bow football knock off Merrimack Valley - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/rollas-big-night-helps-bow-knock-off-merrimack-valley/ - Published: 2019-10-12T11:30:49.000Z - Updated: 2019-10-12T11:30:49.000Z - Description: PENACOOK - In just his second game of the season, Thomas Rolla put together one of the most memorable performances of his Bow High School football career on Friday night. The senior running back logged five rushing touchdowns to help the Falcons easily secure a 45-14 road victory over Division II No - Author: Alex Hall - Tags: Division II, Bow, football, Merrimack Valley, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 PENACOOK - In just his second game of the season, Thomas Rolla put together one of the most memorable performances of his Bow High School football career on Friday night. The senior running back logged five rushing touchdowns to help the Falcons easily secure a 45-14 road victory over Division II North foe Merrimack Valley. Rolla, who missed Bow’s first four games due school-related reasons, recorded 125 yards alongside the five scores on 13 carries. Rolla said he knew he was in for a heavy workload because fellow rusher and classmate Steven Guerrette was dealing with a leg injury that limited the latter to only defensive duties. Rolla ran in four touchdowns in the first half to give the Falcons (6-0) a 28-7 halftime lead over Merrimack Valley (2-4). He punched in scores from seven, two, 19 and four yards out and logged 115 rushing yards on 11 carries in the opening half. Rolla’s final three first-half scoring runs came over the final 7:06 before halftime. His fourth TD run was set up by a fumble recovery by the Bow defense that set the Falcons offense up at the Merrimack Valley 25-yard line. Rolla notched his fifth touchdown with 9:44 remaining in the third quarter, when he dashed into the end zone from five yards out. Andrew Robbins’ ensuing point-after kick built a 35-7 Falcons advantage. Bow coach Paul Cohen told Rolla before the game that he had a feeling the running back would have a big night. “I think this is one of those Kodak moments that you put on the refrigerator and pass down the generations,” Cohen said of Rolla’s performance. “I mean, five touchdowns in a game? That’s extremely rare in high school football and he was all over the field, played defense, kicked for us, the whole deal. Great, stellar, performance for him (Friday).” Rolla credited his offensive line for creating sizable running lanes for him all game. “Every time I was going up, it was a big hole every time,” Rolla said. “It’s easy to make runs when you’ve got the holes that big.” The Falcons forced running time following Andrew Bliss’ 10-yard touchdown run with 9:17 remaining in the third quarter and a Robbins PAT kick. Bliss’ score was set up by Bow’s kickoff team, which recovered a Pride fumble after Rolla’s fifth touchdown. Bow capped its scoring with Robbins’ 28-yard field goal that came with 11:08 remaining. Merrimack Valley answered the Falcons’ first score with an 82-yard Chase Keyser play-action touchdown pass to Dylan Lessard with 4:33 left in the first quarter. Matthew Grandmaison’s ensuing point-after kick gave the Pride a 7-6 advantage. Merrimack Valley capped the game’s scoring with 2:47 remaining, when Travis Knouse (eight carries, 14 yards) ran in a 2-yard touchdown. Grandmaison followed up with the point-after kick. Bow had allowed 13 points over its first five games. The Falcons held Merrimack Valley to 149 yards of total offense. Over the Pride’s nine offensive drives, they went three-and-out four times, turned the ball over on downs once and lost a fumble. “We play good but we’ve got to put a game together,” Pride coach Joe Raycraft said. “We haven’t put a game together.” Keyser, who did not play in the second half due to a concussion, went 2 of 4 passing for 83 yards. His backup, Noah Miller, also went 2 of 4 passing for 58 yards. Trenton Waters recovered a fumble on defense for the Pride. Robbins made four PAT kicks and ran for 78 yards on 12 carries. Bow quarterback Sebastian Beaulieu completed his one pass attempt to Cooper Larrabee for 21 yards and ran in a two-point conversion. Larrabee and Andrew Berube each logged a sack on defense. “I’ve been thinking about coming back all year,” Rolla said. “It was a great night.”