> ## 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. # St. Thomas football stuns Souhegan in final moments to pull out win - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/st-thomas-football-stuns-souhegan-final-moments-pull-win/ - Published: 2017-09-16T16:02:30.000Z - Updated: 2017-09-16T16:02:30.000Z - Author: Corey Harrigan - Tags: Division II, football, Souhegan, St. Thomas, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 AMHERST - In a game that was an electrifying and fast-paced contest from start to finish, the high school football teams from St. Thomas and Souhegan seemingly went big play for big play until the final snap. Ultimately, in the end, it was a hard fought victory for the Saints, 26-21. Tim Bouchard of St. Thomas had an outstanding game, scoring four touchdowns, including a kickoff return in the final minutes that proved to be the difference. Bouchard made his presence known early as he was able to intercept Saber quarterback John Lohnes to give St. Thomas excellent field position in Saber territory. Though they weren’t able to cash the turnover in for points, the forced turnover put a heavy dent in the home team's moral. A few minutes later, after a bit of a stalled drive, the Sabers found themselves backed against their own goal line on a fourth-and-long. After a very low snap, Sabers punter Max Leonard was able to just get the punt off before the pesky St. Thomas punt unit was able to block the kick. Bouchard would then get his team on the board first off an electric 25-yard touchdown carry. The score put St. Thomas ahead 7-0 with just three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Souhegan’s next drive was cut short when Gavin Scoon was able to bring down Lohnes for his first sack of the game resulting in a 15-yard loss on third down. The sack forced the Sabers to punt in their own territory, but Souhegan got the ball back and opened the second quarter on offense. On a wild play that saw the ball snapped well below the quarterback's feet, the Sabers were able to turn disaster into spectacular when Palmer Belowski was able to recover the loose ball an carry it 60 yards to the St. Thomas 5-yard line. The almost disastrous play ended up being the one to bring life into the Souhegan sideline. That led to a quick 5-yard strike from Lohnes to receiver Andy Geffrard. After a failed two-point conversion, the Sabers still trailed 7-6. The story of the game for the Sabers was dropped passes. Lohnes found his receivers open and in stride often, only for the passes to be dropped in crucial situations. With three minutes remaining in the half, Lohnes hit Leonard for what would have been a walk-in touchdown, only to be dropped at the last moment. The next play after the missed opportunity resulted in another St. Thomas sack by Scoon, forcing the Sabers to punt again. After a failed fourth-down conversion by St. Thomas, the Sabers were back in striking distance with just enough time remaining to put one final score on the board before half. Senior running back Dante Savo made his first big play of the game, taking a short screen pass over 40 yards down to the St. Thomas 15-yard line. Seconds later, John Lohnes was able to connect with Leonard for the 10-yard touchdown pass. The Sabers followed their touchdown up with two-point conversion to take the 14-7 lead into half. St. Thomas got the scoring going in the second half after recovering a bad snap on a punt attempt by Souhegan at the Sabers' 5-yard line. Bouchard would take the ball wide left a play later to draw the game even 14-14 on his second touchdown carry of the night. Souhegan's offense stalled again and St. Thomas would punch its way into the end zone again, as quarterback Shawn DeKorne was able to set Bouchard up for his third rushing touchdown of the night after he was able to carry the ball to the Saber 1-yard line on a QB keeper. That gave St. Thomas the 20-14 lead. Souhegan opened the fourth quarter facing a fourth-and-5 in Saints' territory, but penalties forced the Sabers to punt again. The Sabers next punt pinned the Saints offense on their own 1-yard line after some excellent kick coverage down field. Standing just inches from the back of the end zone, DeKorne began to feel the pressure of the situation. Kyle Archambault intercepted DeKorne’s pass on the following play, returning the ball to the St. Thomas 40-yard line. But Saints linebacker Hunter Lessard came up huge, dropping Lohnes for a massive loss to set up third-and-18 for Souhegan, and the Sabers eventually had to punt. The Sabers defense rose to the occasion again, recovering a fumbled snap on the St. Thomas' 13-yard line. The very next play, Lohnes hit Leonard in the end zone on a deep fade to give the Sabers the 21-20 lead with just two minutes remaining. But just when Souhegan had started to gain momentum, Bouchard struck again, taking the following kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The score gave St. Thomas the 26-21 lead, after a blocked point after try. On the following kickoff, the Sabers answered with an excellent return of their own, taking it over 60 yards down to the Saints' 35-yard line. Unfortunately, the effort was not enough as the Sabers would turn the ball over on downs after another Scoon sack ended the game.