Winnacunnet football beats Dover to wrap up playoff spot

DOVER – It had only been three years since the Winnacunnet High School football team lost to Londonderry in the Division I championship game, but the Warriors have suffered some struggles since then in missing the past two postseasons.

After getting off to a 4-1 start this season, Winnacunnet’s playoff hopes dimmed with a three-game losing streak, which left the Warriors with a win-and-in scenario entering Friday night’s regular season finale against Dover.

Winnacunnet solidified its playoff spot when fullback Logan Brown’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 19 seconds left in regulation lifted the Warriors to 28-21 Division I victory over the Green Wave.

“We haven’t been there in a few years, so I feel really good and really proud of how the kids played tonight.,” Winnacunnet coach Ryan Francouer said. “We didn’t need help, we got ourselves in and I felt like that was very important for kids.”

Winnacunnet (5-3 in Division I, 5-4 overall) was coming off losses to Nashua South, Bangor (Maine) and Manchester Memorial. The Warriors will likely be hitting the road for next week’s opening round.

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“We had three weeks of not playing very good football, so just to get back to playing good, fundamental football and running the ball hard,” Francouer said. “We had great play from our defense, so it was a great way to go into the playoffs.”

Winnacunnet senior workhouse running back Mason McDonald battled his way to 151 yards on 33 carries with an 11-yard touchdown late in the second quarter that gave Winnacunnet a 21-7 halftime lead.

“This huge win coming off three tough losses in a row, but we're in the playoffs,” McDonald said. “We’re an underdog going in, but we’re going to try and pull it off. This feels incredible after the struggles the past two years, so we wanted to get back into the playoffs.”

McDonald carried the ball five times for 33 yards on Winnacunnet’s final drive, including a 12-yard run on 2nd-and-13 that moved the ball down to Dover’s 24-yard line.

“Mason is our MVP, everyone knows that,” Francouer said. “He’s tough, runs hard and has great vision. He does everything really well and he’s a great leader”.

Winnacunnet jumped out to a 14-0 lead following a 3-yard touchdown run by Brown in the first quarter and a 39-yard touchdown pass from Sean Griffin to Logan Lochiatto on the first play of the second quarter.

Dover (2-6 in Division I, 3-6 overall) had been using a dual quarterback system the past few weeks with senior Grant Davis and junior Cooper Gagne. Davis started and completed 21 of 26 passes for 247 yards, but Gagne threw a 27-yard touchdown pass on a reverse to Jackson Brock to bring Dover within 14-7 with 8:46 left in the second quarter.

Davis connected with Camden Grund for a 61-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the third quarter. Davis then found eligible lineman Tobey Desrochers for a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 21-21 with 10:09 left in regulation.

“To be down 14-0 early in the game, so great to see them show some resilience and fight back,” Dover coach Eric Cumba said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about the past few weeks. When things are running away from us, we’ve got to try to find a way to make plays and that’s what we did (Friday).”