Souhegan comes back to beat Plymouth in D2 football championship

AMHERST - The challenge each week from Robin Bowkett to his Souhegan High School football team was to “Charlie-Mike” at all cost.

The military motto translates to “continue the mission” and it helped spur the Sabers to Saturday’s finale of a not-so-typical 2020 season.

Bowkett was happy to report the mission had reached completion as one final Charlie-Mike effort lifted Souhegan to a 26-21 Division II title game win over Plymouth. 

The Sabers (8-0) watched a 13-point lead evaporate in the middle of the fourth quarter before digging down for a knockout punch via senior tailback Riley Lawhorn’s 70-yard touchdown run that helped the Sabers retake the lead for good. An interception from Jake Civiello on the first play of Plymouth’s ensuing and final possession all but sealed the first title for the undefeated Sabers since 2010.

“Souhegan has been waiting for this for a long, long time,” Lawhornn said. “Every senior here wanted this championship since we walked in here as freshmen. … We told ourselves we’ll be back and senior year was when it was going to happen. We proved it and did it as a family.”

Lawhorn’s winning touchdown was a characteristic sweep and sprint up the left side that saw him run freely after the first 10 yards of the run. It was the second long score of the game for Lawhorn, whose 68-yard score to open Souhegan’s scoring paired with the winner made up the majority of his 199 rushing yards.

“We didn’t squeeze down like we should’ve and didn’t tackle behind it,” Plymouth coach Chris Sanborn said of Lawhorn’s winning run. “That kid is fast and a real good player. Can’t give him those breaks.”

While Lawhorn’s run will go down as the deciding factor, the scramble from quarterback Austin Jain on third-and-long the play prior to the score was maybe the most important moment for Souhegan.

Jain, known more for his arm than his mobility, initially eyed passing his way out of the Sabers’ end of the field for a first down but wound up hustling 17 yards for a fresh set of downs. Without the run, Souhegan was looking at a punt and potential short field for Plymouth (6-1).

“Holy smokes, right?” Bowkett said. “I think they were rushing three and we had the edge. They were dropping back into coverage and we always have that option to sprint out. Just tuck it and go.”

Jain also threw a touchdown pass to Luke Manning while Mitch Hauser rumbled for a 13-yard rushing score. Plymouth’s scoring came off two 1-yard keepers from quarterback Cody Bannon and Joe D’Ambruoso’s 5-yard run.

The Bobcats scored their fourth-quarter touchdowns within five minutes of each other to take a 21-20 lead with 5:29 left. Getting the ball back with 4:01 remaining after Lawhorn’s score seemed like an ideal scenario for Plymouth, which had success moving the ball on the ground and eating up time off the clock much of the day. 

However, the Bobcats opted for a reverse handoff to fullback Cole Johnston, who reared back and threw a deep ball that Civiello pulled down largely uncontested for the Souhegan interception. It was one of just five passes Plymouth threw in the game.

“I thought we had the break and the defensive end just didn’t get blocked very well,” Sanborn said. “We just thought we could catch them off guard and took a shot. It is what it is. You have to take some chances. Hindsight is 20-20 and maybe we would’ve run something different.”

While Sanborn felt Plymouth had the element of surprise working to its favor on the failed trick play, Souhegan was in fact mindful of what was potentially on the play sheet.

“They run five, six or seven plays on the ground and then pop one up in the air,” Lawhorn said. “We were waiting for that the whole game. It was just a matter of time before it was going to come.”