Claremont
Between the end of the last high school football season and the start of the current one, two good-sized players moved into the Somersworth area. Owen Dow-Veres, all 320 pounds of him, was one, and Mexican exchange student Daniel Osuna, who weighs 275 pounds, was the other. Since then, the two-way linemen have joined a Somersworth trench unit that includes 295-pound Chase Sprague and 220-pound Justin Estevez, and the unit plowed the road on Friday night as the Hilltoppers wore down Stevens for a surprising 35-8 NHIAA Division III win at Barnes Park.
The game was considered a tossup as both teams were coming off lopsided season-opening wins. It continued to look that way as the teams went into the break tied, 8-8. But the Hilltoppers scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to win going away.
Still, Somersworth coach Dan Hodsdon said he didn’t think it was a statement game even though it came against the defending Division III champions.
“You know, I never felt comfortable until late in the game because Stevens is still a very dangerous team” he said.
Not only did the Hilltoppers have a huge line, they had swift runners. Christian Abkarian and Ray Miles scooted through the holes created by their capable blockers.
“We’ve got some guys that can carry the ball,” Hodsdon said.
The game turned the visitors’ way on the Cardinals’ first series in the second quarter. Stevens drove to the Somersworth 1-yard line, in position to break the 8-8 tie, but the Cards fumbled the football away.
“We certainly did have some mistakes and that fumble was one of them, and we had some unnecessary penalties,” Stevens coach Paul Silva said. “Hey, when we lost our second game of the season at InterLakes(-Moultonborough) last year, not many people were thinking that we would be state champions. We’ve still got a good team. This was just part of the learning process.
“We’ll be OK. We’ll just get back at it on Monday.”
Somersworth changed the complexion of the game between the halves, a change that became apparent early in the third quarter as the Toppers’ large line started to open huge holes. On the first three plays of the third quarter, Abkarian ran for 16, 14 and nine yards as the Toppers blasted their way downfield, with Miles eventually scoring from the 5.
Stevens went three-and-out and punted to the Somersworth 15. Again, the Toppers gobbled up huge chunks of yardage, with Abkarian first getting 15, Miles going 35 and Abkarian scoring on a 23-yard cutback. The rout was on.
A Stevens fumble set up Somersworth up on the Cardinal 41 and, three plays later, Abkarian went in from the 23. Somersworth added a wild final score when Abkarian dropped the football on a punt attempt before picking it up and scrambling 71 yards for the TD.
Stevens scored relatively easily to start the game, marching 63 yards down the field to take an 8-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Keaghan McAllister to Derrick Stanhope. Halfback Quentin Bicknell followed that with a 2-point conversion pass to Lucas Mudge. Somersworth responded in quick fashion, using a 55-yard pass to tie the contest.
While the Cardinals drove to the Toppers’ 1 and fumbled early in the second quarter, they didn’t come close to the end zone the rest of the night. Stevens punted three times and lost another fumble in the second half.
The Cardinals will hit the road next Saturday for a 2 p.m. game at Winnisquam.