CLAREMONT — Kick the extra point for the tie, or go for two points and the win? Stevens High football coach Paul Silva left that decision to his seniors in a double-overtime thriller in the quarterfinals of the NHIAA Division III playoffs at Barnes Park on Saturday afternoon — and it paid off in the form of a 22-21 win over Laconia.
The decision was made to go for two and an instant berth in the state semifinals. With the season riding on one final play after a marathon battle with the visiting Sachems, Stevens fumbled the snap. With all hopes seeming dashed, the Cardinals found salvation when Owen Taylor grabbed the loose ball and ran around the far end of the line and into the end zone for t
Phew.
“I thought it was over,” Silva said about the fumbled snap. “Then he pulled it out of the pile and turned the corner. That’s as wild a finish as I’ve ever been a part of to win a game. I wanted to make sure the seniors were okay with (going for two points). Owen didn’t give up, he’s a senior and didn’t want it to end.”
The Cardinals trailed, 7-6, at halftime with the lone score a touchdown pass from Taylor to Braxton LeBlanc in the second quarter. Stevens then took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Luke Forrest followed by a Taylor 2-point conversion.
Laconia blocked a punt and took advantage of a short field early in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 14-14 through the end of regulation. Neither team scored in the first overtime in large part thanks to Stevens’ Jai-Lique Ribeiro intercepting a Laconia pass on third down to keep the score tied.
The Sachems broke through to start the second overtime with a touchdown and a successful PAT kick to lead, 21-14. The Cardinals then took possession knowing they needed a score to keep the season alive. Forrest saw to that, plunging in from short range for touchdown run to make it 21-20 in favor of the visitors. Having seen quite enough of Laconia for one afternoon, Stevens ended it right away with the game-winning two-point conversion.
“It was two evenly matched teams. We had some younger guys step up. We found a way to overcome the adversity and I couldn’t be more proud,” Silva said.
The Cardinals will play at Winnisquam in the semifinals on Saturday.
NEWPORT — The Tigers (5-1) pulled away from the Royals (1-4) to advance to the NHIAA Division IV semifinals.
Newport will host Fall Mountain in the semifinals on Saturday. The Tigers dispatched Mascoma from the start, building a 37-0 lead at halftime.
Mascoma scored on a 68-yard kickoff return by Josh Evans midway through the third quarter.
“The boys played tough. We controlled the ball, just couldn’t get over our mistakes,” Royals coach Kyle Colburn said.
The Royals will graduate Evans, Bryan Lowell, Zack Mardin, Cooper Peavey, Mike Evans, Kolbi McBee, Caleb Hobbs and Elyas Jenkins.
MANCHESTER — A little snow on the ground and temperatures in the 30s did little to slow the pace at the NHIAA state championship cross country meet at Derryfield Park. The Hanover girls had a pair of runners in the top-10 on their way to claiming second place while the Marauder boys clustered three runners in the top 15 to take third place overall.
Riley Roach led the way for Hanover girls, finishing fourth out of 120 runners in 19 minutes, 51.48 seconds. Teammate Sarah Glueck was just behind in seventh (20:10.31). The Marauders also had Ann Rightmire in 22nd (21:17.00), Lauren Eiler in 23rd (21:23.50) and Caroline Loescher in 24th (21:32.80).
The trio of Mack Levy, Sam Murray and Daniel Frost paced the Hanover boys. Levy took 12th in 16:36.86, followed close behind by Murray (13th, 16:39.29) and Frost (15th, 16:42.13). The Marauders also had strong showings by Spencer May in 24th (17:41.79) and Luke Holmes in 34th (18:03.05) out of a total of 135 runners.
“The field was surprisingly fast considering the bizarre conditions,” Hanover coach Eric Picconi said. “Riley and Sarah ran confidently and settled into the top-10 group early (in the girls race). The 10-second wave starts gave Mack a chance to shine, along with Sam and Daniel. They like to race together and all three now rank among the top 15 all time for Hanover at Derryfield Park.”
Zoe Chinn took 18th overall for the fifth-place Lebanon girls in 20:51.67, just edging teammate Sofia Amaro in 19th (20:52.79). Brianna DeBanico took 35th for the Raiders in 22:13.15 followed by Isabella Hastings in 40th (22:29.59).
Thomas Wolfe was 54th (18:51.31) for the Lebanon boys, who also had Carlos Kennelly (64th, 19:15.25), Sam Shipman (75th, 19:31.87) and Ethan Eshbaugh (82nd, 19:56.71) with scoring runs.
Dirk Andrew paced the Mascoma boys, who took fifth overall in the Division III race, in 18th place (18:10.94). Teammates Gabe Rocke (24th, 18:34.86), Michael Loynds (46th, 19:25.92) and Jack Buffington (51st, 19:38.75) also had strong showings to account for the Royals’ scoring runs.
Benefitting from slightly warmer temperatures with a later starting time, Alayna Miller led the Mascoma girls in the Division III race with a 36th place finish in 23:05.11. Elena Trempe (43rd, 23:44.35) and Ella Barrat (27:45.10) rounded out the Royals lineup. Mascoma was one runner short of clocking a team score in the girls race.
Boys Division II team scores (16 teams): 1. Coe-Brown 36, 2. Hanover 80, 3. Souhegan 93, 4. Kearsarge 147, 5. Lebanon 161.
Girls Division II team scores (20 teams): 1. Coe-Brown 23, 2. Windham 77, 3. Hanover 98, 4. Sanborn 111, 5. Oyster River 114, 14. Lebanon 374.
HANOVER — Jacob Kubik-Pauw scored the game’s only goal to help the defending NHIAA Division I champion Marauders get back to the semifinals by taking down Bedford in a rematch of last season’s state title game.
Hanover leading-scorer Henry Aspinwall set up the goal, sliding a pass to Kubik-Pauw at the top of the penalty area in perfect position to allow Kubik-Pauw to fire a shot just inside the left post in the 66th minute.
Coach Rob Grabill praised the play of seniors Alex Stevens, Dylan Kotlowitz and Nathan Subrahmanian along with juniors Evan Nichols and Palmer Okai. The Marauders have allowed only six goals all season and have five shutouts.
Keeper Ty Nolon (four saves) made a diving save early in the game to keep Bedford from taking the early lead. The Marauders remain unbeaten at 9-0-1 and now ride an 18-game unbeaten streak into the semifinals where they will host Windham (9-0-1) on Wednesday.
BOW, N.H. — The Raiders took an early lead but couldn’t keep pace with the surging Falcons in a frigid NHIAA Division II quarterfinal matchup.
Aidan Yates got things started in the right direction for Lebanon, dribbling up the right baseline in the seventh minute. Yates’ goalmouth pass was deflected into the back of the net for an own goal and a 1-0 Raiders lead.
The Falcons tied it up in the 34th minute, then took the lead for good in the 66th. An insurance goal in the 75th minute sealed the Raiders’ fate.
Lebanon (7-3-1) had Ryan Tanski and Colbie Delisle split time in net, each making one save. The Raiders will graduate Yates, Tanski, Thomas Belk, Alex Felix, Preston Hewett, Jake Kriplin, Tyler St. Martin, Emmanuel Bello and Joey McGranahan.
WINDSOR — Elliot Rupp had three goals and Evelyn Page tallied four points to lead the Yellowjackets (10-1-0) to a comeback victory in the VPA Division III quarterfinals.
Windsor trailed, 2-0, with five minutes to play in the first half. The Jacks got a much-needed momentum shift with a pair of goals before the break to knot the score at halftime. Another goal in the 42nd minute gave the hosts the lead for good.
“We showed great heart today. Being down late in the first half, we could’ve easily shut down. We kept our heads up, kept playing the way we had all season and came out with a great win over a quality opponent,” Windsor coach Jeff Bachey said.
Page scored the other two Windsor goals while assisting on a pair of Rupp’s goals. Bachey credited the defensive work of both Kate Murphy and Kansas Marsh, while Morgan McKeen and Holly Putnam were stalwarts in the midfield. McKeen and Oliva MacLeay also had assists. Keeper Adi Prior had five saves.
The No. 3 seed Yellowjackets will host No. 10 Stowe, which upset No. 2 Thetford on Friday, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
RUTLAND — Adele Tilden found the back of the net for the game’s only goal to give the No. 5 seed Raptors a win on the road in the VPA Division IV quarterfinals.
Tilden, assisted by Alex McFate, fired a long, low shot in the 22nd minute to stake Rivendell (5-3-1) to a lead. Coach Tim Goodwin explained the defensive work of McFate, Kylie Taylor and Ryleigh Butler as key to then shutting down a potent MSJ attack for the duration of the game.
Cora Day made 10 saves to earn the shutout in net for the Raptors, anchoring a defense featuring McFate, Colleen Underhill, Iris Fukushima, Lauren Hair and Lexa Smith in featured roles.
“It was a very competitive game of soccer. Both teams were evenly matched,” Goodwin said. “I’m really proud of this group of girls for getting off the bus after a long ride and playing like they were on their home field.”
The Raptors will visit No. 1 seed Proctor on Wednesday to play for a berth in the state championship game.
FAIR HAVEN, Vt. — The No. 9 seed Hurricanes (5-6-0) were tied at halftime, 0-0, against the top-seeded Slaters (9-0-0) but couldn’t keep the momentum after the break.
Fair Haven took the lead on Emma Briggs’ goal in the 53rd minute. Briggs would add the third goal of the day and finished with two goals and an assist.
Hartford keeper Erin Thompson made a jumping stop on a Megan Ezzo shot in the first half to keep things scoreless. The Canes, who beat Missisquoi in the first round, will graduate Cassidy Beisler, Eleanor Hinckley, Gretchen Josselyn, Regan Mock, Naveah Murphy and Reilly Slusser.