Souhegan leaves no doubt, beats Pelham in D2 football semifinals (video)

AMHERST - The Souhegan High School football team already had taken control of Saturday's Division II semifinal in the first half.

The Sabers removed any doubt in the opening minute of the third quarter.

Top-seeded Souhegan scored 20 points in just 43 seconds to start the second half, ending any momentum No. 4 Pelham built at the end of the first half, and the defending champions returned to the D2 title game with a 47-14 win over the Pythons.

Souhegan will face No. 2 Trinity, which held off No. 3 Plymouth 29-27 in the other semifinal, in the D2 title game at 1 p.m. Nov. 22 at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.

Already up 27-7 at halftime, the Sabers got an 85-yard kickoff return for a score from Brody Smith to open the second half. Pelham couldn't handle the ensuing kickoff and Souhegan needed just one play for Michael Fiengo to find Smith wide open for a 27-yard score.

The Sabers then recovered an onside kick and Fiengo connected with Ryland Raudelunas for a 42-yard score for a 40-point lead, putting the game into running time with 11:17 left in the third quarter.

“Incredible,” Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. “Just so proud of how our guys took advantage of their opportunities. To get the ball back is huge on special teams. We kind of felt like we had to go for the jugular there with the first one. Then we’re like, let’s do it again. Let’s just end this.”

Smith and Raudelunas each finished with three touchdowns, including two scoring receptions each from Fiengo, who also ran for a score. The senior quarterback was 9 of 10 passing for 164 yards and four touchdowns and had a team-high 72 yards rushing.

Raudelunas had 49 yards and a score on the ground and caught three passes for 59 yards while Smith had five receptions for 96 yards.

“Our guys, they play as hard as they can for as long as they can for each other, no matter what the score is,” Bowkett said. “It doesn’t matter, defense, special teams, offense. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. That’s the mindset that they have.”

Souhegan was able to keep Pelham's rushing attack in check, holding the Pythons to 68 yards on 23 carries. Luke Draper had 31 yards on 13 carries and Kevin Hardy added 24 yards and a rushing touchdown late in the first half.

That score capped an 11-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions by Pelham (8-3) and seemed to give the Pythons some momentum going into halftime.

“We felt like we at least showed some live, that we could do somethings,” Pelham coach Jason Riley said. “We had some momentum, we wanted to try to seize it, try to crawl back into this. (Smith) picked up the hard line drive (kickoff) and we couldn’t cover it.”

Hardy was also 14 of 22 passing for 147 yards and had a 15-yard touchdown pass to Noah Johnson early in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.

Souhegan opened the game with a short kickoff that Pelham not only recovered, but returned to the Sabers' 39-yard line. But the Souhegan defense held, stopping the Pythons on fourth down to get the ball back at its own 36.

It looked like the Sabers' first drive might stall, but on second-and-23, Fiengo broke free for a 39-yard run to give Souhegan a 7-0 lead with 5:44 left in the first.

Pelham was forced to punt from its own 14 on the next possession, but the rush got in quickly and punter Kobe Berton unsuccessfully tried to run for a first down. Souhegan took over at the Pythons' 13, and two plays later, Fiengo hit Raudelunas for a 3-yard score and a 14-0 lead.

The Pythons fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Sabers recovered at their own 42, and four plays later, Fiengo connected with Smith for a 40-yard touchdown. Three scores in 4:14 for Souhegan made it 21-0 with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

Pelham drove down to the Sabers' 33 on its next possession, but turned the ball over on downs. Raudelunas finished off an 11-play drive with a 2-yard scoring run for a 27-0 lead with 3:23 left in the second quarter.

The Pythons got on the board on the ensuing drive, cutting the lead to 20 points going into halftime, but by the time Pelham took its next offensive snap, the game had changed.

“When they make those plays, you really have to dig back in and stop the next play,” Riley said. “The next play becomes the most important play. We preach that, but it’s still hard because they do feed off the momentum they get.”