Souhegan football survives to hand Milford its first loss (video)

MILFORD - The Souhegan High School football team ran just 18 plays in the second half of Friday night's game against Milford.

But the Sabers made the most of them and let the defense do the rest.

Souhegan scored four touchdowns in the second half on plays of 20 yards or more, and despite losing the turnover battle and having the defense on the field for most of the fourth quarter, the Sabers were able to hang on for a 46-43 win over the Spartans in a Division II South Conference game.

Riley Lawhorn led Souhegan (4-1) with 246 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 11 carries and Austin Jain threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns to go with an interception as the Sabers piled up 507 yards of offense. Three hundred of those yards came after halftime, as Souhegan averaged almost 17 yards per play in the third and fourth quarters.

"These guys were going to give everything they had, especially playing a great team like Milford," Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. "We know those guys well, we have great respect for them and their program, but they were pretty juiced for this game."

Souhegan's defense was able to keep Milford's offense mostly in check for three quarters, as Spartans quarterback Gavin Urda had 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 26 carries. The senior was also 4 of 14 passing for 55 yards and a score, but all of those completions came in the fourth quarter, when Milford (4-1) came back from a 40-21 deficit.

The Spartans also had two defensive touchdowns, as Emmanuel Ughu returned an interception of Jain 13 yards for a score to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter, and Urda returned a Lawhorn fumble 32 yards to cut Souhegan's lead to 34-21 with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

The Sabers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and recovered at their own 5-yard line, but on the next play, Lawhorn went right up the middle for a 95-yard touchdown run.

"Our linemen are amazing right now," Lawhorn said. "They are on fire, both on offense and defense. It was nothing but them. I just followed them."

After a big return on the kickoff, Milford answered with an eight-play, 48-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Sean Hanrahan with 10:41 left in the game to cut the lead to 40-28. The Spartans tried on an onside kick, and when the Sabers couldn't handle it, Milford recovered the ball at the Souhegan 47.

On the next play, Urda went the distance for another score to pull Milford within 40-35 just 19 seconds later.

"We were (in the lead) at 19 points, and next thing you know, in a blink of an eye, it’s five points," Bowkett said. "We knew that could happen. We watched the tape (from Milford’s game) from St. Thomas. It’s a tie game and next thing you know they’re up by 21. That’s what happens sometimes."

Milford tried another short kick and nearly recovered it again, but Souhegan took over at its own 30-yard line. On the first play, Lawhorn sliced his way through the line and broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run and a 46-35 lead for the Sabers with 10:06 to play.

The Spartans had an answer again, going on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that chewed up almost eight minutes. Urda connected with Matt Hannon on a 7-yard touchdown and the quarterback ran in for the two-pointer to get Milford within three, 46-43, with 2:29 remaining.

With only one timeout remaining, Milford tried to get another favorable bounce on the kickoff, but the ball ended up going out of bounds and Souhegan opted to take over at its own 35. The Spartans' defense forced a punt but not before the Sabers had run the clock down to the final seconds.

Milford took over at its own 25 with 4.3 seconds left. Urda completed a pass to Trevor Coyne, who then lateraled it back to Urda, who tried to race up the sideline. Souhegan's defense pinned him in, but his desperation pitch was caught by Hannon, who tried to pull off another lateral to keep the play alive. But the Sabers recovered the loose ball, ending the game.

"Those guys just kept battling and I’m really proud of our team," Bowkett said. "We had way too many turnovers and giving up two defensive touchdowns, we gave them a short field on another, and I just can’t say enough about JT (Anderson) and our defensive staff. For the most part, keeping them in check, keeping Urda in check, and just really proud of how our guys kept battling."

Souhegan took a 7-0 lead on its first drive, when Jain connected with Connor Holland on an 19-yard touchdown pass. Ughu's interception return tied it and Urda gave Milford the lead, capping a 16-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. The score was set up by two special teams fumbles by the Sabers, as a big kickoff return was negated by a fumble and Souhegan lost the ball at its own 30 after forcing Milford to punt.

But on the first play following the Milford touchdown, Lawhorn broke free for a 62-yard run, as Urda chased him down at the Spartans' 20. Four plays later, the junior scored from 2 yards out to tie it at 14, and Souhegan took a 20-14 lead into halftime after Jain hit Luke Manning for a 4-yard touchdown with 20.3 seconds left in the half.

The Sabers got a 24-yard touchdown run by Ryan Hauser and a 65-yard catch-and-run by Reese Colby to take a 34-14 lead midway through the third quarter.