> ## 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.

# Souhegan football holds off Sanborn to keep D2 postseason hopes alive
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/souhegan-football-holds-off-sanborn-keep-d2-postseason-hopes-alive/
- Published: 2017-10-14T14:52:19.000Z
- Updated: 2017-10-14T14:52:19.000Z
- Description: AMHERST - Defense wins championships and that proved to be accurate Friday night in a game between the Sanborn and Souhegan high school football teams. But for part of the game, both offenses were able to move the ball, grinding out clock-consuming drives for touchdowns. One team made huge plays in
- Author: Corey Harrigan
- Tags: Division II, football, Sanborn, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

AMHERST - Defense wins championships and that proved to be accurate Friday night in a game between the Sanborn and Souhegan high school football teams.

But for part of the game, both offenses were able to move the ball, grinding out clock-consuming drives for touchdowns. One team made huge plays in the most crucial situations, while the other fell victim to the pressure of the moment, and it was the Sabers who came away with a 21-14 win in a Division II South Conference game.

The first possession from the Sabers was a bit shaky. Sanborn was able to pressure the quarterback and ultimately stuff the Souhegan attack in its tracks to force the punt. Unfortunately for the Indians, their defensive efforts were overshadowed on the following punt when their returner muffed the kick, setting up the Sabers offensive with excellent field position.

On the very next play, with the help of some offensive trickery, the Sabers were able to execute a flea flicker, as quarterback John Lehones was able to hit receiver Max Leonard in stride down to the Sanborn 1-yard line. Two plays later, Kyle Archambault was able to take the wide stretch in for the touchdown to put Souhegan up 7-0.

Following the Souhegan touchdown, the Sabers defense was able to step up in a crucial way. On the second play of the drive, the Indians gave up a huge fumble when the Sabers were able to strip the running back of the football and recover on the 50-yard line. The Sabers offensive unit would be forced to punt, but the turnover would not be the last caused by the aggressive defensive unit.

Sanborn’s Christopher Hanna sparked some life into the Indians offensive when he gashed the Sabers defense for a 30-yard gain, bringing the ball to the Souhegan 20-yard line. On the following play, quarterback Brian McGough carried the ball to the Saber 2-yard line, but was unable to punch the ball in before the end of the first quarter. The second quarter started with a Dominic Pappalardo touchdown run, bringing the game level at 7-7.

Souhegan responded with a touchdown drive of its own, chewing up over five minutes off the game clock. Archambault made a tough 9-yard touchdown run look easy, putting the Sabers up 14-7 with under four minutes remaining in the half.

Sanborn answered with an equally long drive (over four minutes) that ended when Hanna punched in a 9-yard touchdown run of his own to bring the game level again at 14-14 heading into half time.

From that point on, the game was an offensive struggle for both teams. Souhegan would cap off its final touchdown drive on a fourth-and-8 pass when Lehones was able to hit receiver Trey Johnson for a 30-yard touchdown pass, giving the Sabers a 21-14 lead.

The rest of the game was a back and forth battle. Souhegan’s focus on offense was to kill the clock and get out of the game with the win. Sanborn’s offensive strategy was a bit more aggressive.

With the clock continuously starting to fade away after each Souhegan drive, the Indians needed to make some big plays and take risks. In the final five minutes alone, the Indians were given three chances to tie the game. The Sanborn defense held the Sabers perfectly on each occasion, and set their offense up with some great field position.

Unfortunately, on those three possessions the Indians had in the final minutes of the game, the Sabers defense was able to step up in a huge way, forcing two turnovers in three attempts. The first Sanborn drive resulted in a turnover on downs when the Saber free safety was able to knock the pass down in the end zone.

The following Sanborn drive ended quickly when the Sabers punched the ball loose on a third-down run attempt. Souhegan was quick to recover the ball, stomping out the Indians drive for the second consecutive series. With 34 seconds remaining in the game, Souhegan made one final stop to secure the victory when Johnson was able to pick off McGough’s pass at midfield. The Sabers would kneel on the ball and bring home the win.