Winnacunnet football finds way to answer, beats Exeter for first time since 2012 (video)

EXETER - Ron Auffant didn't see the game-winning touchdown coming.

Not at the point in the game, on third-and-16 from the Winnacunnet High School football team's side of midfield. But when quarterback Patrick MacDougall scrambled to his right, the Exeter defense moved in, and Evan Welch went deeper.

MacDougall's bomb hit Welch in stride, and the senior sprinted to the end zone to put the Warriors back up 10 points late in the third quarter. Winnacunnet tacked on another touchdown in the fourth to finish off a 23-7 win over the Blue Hawks, the Warriors' first win over Exeter since 2012.

"It was a great effort," Auffant said about the touchdown pass. "The line gave (MacDougall) time, the quarterback made a nice read, the receiver made a nice cut. That was a great team play. We can’t do that if the line doesn’t give him the time to do it."

Winnacunnet's offensive and defensive lines had a big day for the Warriors, as they outgained Exeter 362-169.

That included 255 yards rushing for Winnacunnet (4-0), led by Brendan Kacmarcik's 104 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Jordan Fuller added 73 yards on the ground and Billy Powers added 51 while MacDougall also had a rushing touchdown.

Exeter (2-2) got 57 yards rushing from Brayden Lowery but no one else had more than 17 yards on the ground for the Blue Hawks.

"We bend but don’t break," Auffant said. "That’s how we were with Bedford (on Sept. 15). We’re steady. We’re proud of our defense the last two weeks, and all year long, they’ve played pretty well."

Kacmarcik gave Winnacunnet the lead on the team's first drive, taking the pitch from MacDougall on the option and going 62 yards to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 7:22 left in the first half.

Winnacunnet looked to go up by two touchdowns late in the second quarter, but Exeter's defense forced a fourth-and-3 at its 4-yard line. The Warriors lined up to go for it, but were called for a false start, and settled for a 25-yard field goal by Kevin Gagnon for a 10-0 lead they took into halftime.

Exeter's Cody Morissette picked off a deep ball from MacDougall on the first drive of the second half, and Morissette led the Blue Hawks on a 16-play, 80-yard drive that was kept alive by two third-down completions from Morissette to Ryan Johnson (four catches, 49 yards). Winnacunnet was also called for a personal foul on the drive and was flagged for encroachment on fourth-and-5 at its own 12-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Morissette to make it 10-7.

After picking up a first down on the ensuing drive, the Warriors were called for a hold and a block in the back in the span of three plays, setting up second-and-18 at their own 45. Fuller picked up two yards on second down, and on third down, MacDougall dropped back to pass.

"I had all the time in the world I felt like," the quarterback said. "I knew I could scramble and make a play. I saw Evan and saw the safety leave him. I just threw it to him and hit in stride. I knew where he was going to be. I felt calm and collected. The o-line gave me four long seconds. That was the line making that play."

Winnacunnet went up 17-7 on the score and it looked like Exeter might answer with another long drive, but Welch picked off Morissette near midfield, and five plays later, MacDougall ran it in from 3 yards out to make it 23-7 with 7:38 to go.

"That was huge," Auffant said. "I think having that two-score lead was a nail in the coffin. We’ve worn teams down in the fourth quarter. We learned a lot about ourselves. The first two wins, we weren’t sure who we were. We faced two very good football teams. It’s still a long way to go."