Trinity takes over in 2nd half to beat Souhegan to win D2 football championship (video)

DERRY - The Trinity and Souhegan high school football teams went into halftime of Saturday's Division II championship game tied.

It was an unfamiliar spot to be in for the Sabers. Not so for the Pioneers.

Trinity scored on its first three possessions of the second half and its defense kept Souhegan in check for most of the half, as the No. 2 Pioneers pulled out a 31-21 win over the No. 1 Sabers to win the program's first D2 title at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.

It was the ninth win in a row to end the season for Trinity (11-1) and the program's second title in the last three seasons, after winning the Division III championship in 2023.

"I think it was our will, I think it was our grit, and I think it was our want," Trinity senior Ollie Service said. "We knew they’re a great team, but we held it together. We had a great week of practice."

Service ran for 118 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown that put Trinity up two scores, and completed 10 of 15 passes for 79 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown pass to Davey Durepo, who also had 112 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Durepo's rushing score was a 73-yard run with 4:21 left in the first half tied the game at 14, a spot that the Pioneers were comfortable with, while it was the first time all season the Sabers allowed two scores in the first half.

Trinity opened the second half with a nine-play, 41-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Alex Garand that gave the Pioneers a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"I told them at halftime, we’re used to this," Trinity coach Rob Cathcart said. "Souhegan is not used to that. This is foreign territory and let’s take advantage of that.

"We felt like we were in a decent position, especially when we took the lead. We wanted to make sure we were bleeding as much clock as we could, and we wanted to make sure we weren’t putting kids in a position where they could make a big play against us. We wanted to make sure they had to work for what they were getting."

Michael Fiengo led Souhegan (11-1) with 80 yards and a touchdown rushing and was 11 of 20 passing for 135 yards with two interceptions. Ryland Raudelunas, who came into the game with almost 1,500 yards rushing, was held to 57 yards on 18 carries while scoring two touchdowns.

A week after the Sabers scored four offensive touchdowns on plays of 20 yards or more, they had just four plays that gained 15 or more yards against the Pioneers.

"They made us earn it," Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett said. "They didn’t give up big plays. We did OK blocking scheme-wise. It was all stuff we talked about during the week. It comes down to fundamentals during the playoffs and weren’t fundamentally sound."

Souhegan opened the game with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that used up the first 6:56 of the game and ended with Fiengo's 1-yard touchdown run.

Trinity answered with a time-consuming possession of its own, as the Pioneers went on a 15-play, 50-yard drive that included three fourth-down conversions. Service found Durepo for a 5-yard score that made it 7-7 with 10:06 left in the second quarter.

Raudelunas returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to Trinity's 32, but it took the Sabers nine plays to find the end zone. Raudelunas scored from 5 yards out for a 14-7 Souhegan lead with 5:30 to go until halftime.

The teams traded interceptions on back-to-back plays, setting up Durepo's long touchdown run to tie the game at 14.

Souhegan was forced to punt on its next drive, but two plays later, Service was picked off by Brody Smith for the second time in the first half, giving the Sabers the ball at their own 41 with 1:56 to go in the half.

The drive stalled for Souhegan, but on the final play of the half, Fiengo threw deep for Raudelunas, who came down with the ball at the 2-yard line, surrounded by two Trinity defenders. He was able to break free, but before he could cross the goal line, Connor Bishop stopped Raudelunas at the 1 to end the half.

"The clock is running out and we needed a stop there to keep it at 14 apiece," Bishop said of the play. "I just him as hard as I could to make sure he wasn’t getting in the end zone."

After Garand's touchdown gave Trinity the lead, the defense forced a Souhegan punt, and on the first play of the Pioneers' next possession, Service broke free for his long touchdown run to make it 28-14 with 4:29 left in the third.

"Our line did a great job, especially on that play," Service said. "The hole was wide open. I ran through the second line of defense and I was just off. I didn’t look behind me and I was just focused on running as fast as I could. I was holding the ball really tight because I didn’t want to drop it."

Souhegan responded with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that was aided by two personal fouls on Trinity. Raudelunas scored from 2 yards out to get the Sabers back within one score with 1:58 to play in the third.

But the Pioneers were able to eat up the rest of the third and most of the fourth with a 14-play drive that ended with a 32-yard field goal by Bishop for a 10-point lead with just 4:19 remaining.

"We were trying to run the clock down and we at least wanted to score," Cathcart said. "We have confidence in Connor and that’s a big three points. That was huge to bleed all that time off the clock and then get the field goal."

Souhegan was able to get down to the Trinity 34-yard line on the ensuing drive, but on fourth-and-9, Fiengo was intercepted by Tate Zubhuza. The Pioneers were able to run out the final 3:07 of the game to secure the win.

"I think we played a great all-around game," Bishop said. "We’ve had great practices and I think that’s something that is really underrated is the way our team has meshed. If you’re in the locker room with us, you’d think it’s a family and not a team. Because we’re a family, we’re out there playing for each other."