CLAREMONT — Standing in a “U” shape on Tuesday night at Barnes Park, Eddie Brodeur, Luke Forrest, Braxton LeBlanc, Owen Taylor, JJ Tursky and Clayton Wadsworth all agreed on one thing: It’s been an awfully unusual Stevens High football season for them.
The six players are the only seniors for the Cardinals. A bit of a ragtag group, they’ve gone from a summer of doubt, unsure if they would even play a snap, to a fall filled with lopsided losses.
They opened up the year with a 59-14 defeat at Lebanon and finished the regular season with only one win.
But somehow, the six seniors suddenly find themselves playing for a NHIAA Division III crown on Saturday at Pelham.
After pulling out a double-overtime victory over Laconia in the quarterfinals and advancing past Winnisquam in the semis off a forfeit, Stevens will have a chance to win its second state title in four years.
“I never thought I’d ever have a chance to be in a state championship,” said LeBlanc, who came to Stevens from Merrimack Valley before the start of his junior year. “From looking at us at the start to now, I just feel like we’re going to go all out. This season has been all over the place; it’s been unreal. Everything we’ve had to do — our games being canceled last-minute — we’ve been through it all, to be honest.”
The group of six isn’t necessarily the most skilled, but they’ve embraced the roles coach Paul Silva has given each of them.
Taylor has the most playing experience, now in his second year as the starting quarterback for the Cards.
Last season, he threw for 729 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games, but he also relied heavily on Keaghan McAllister, who rushed for an Upper Valley-leading 1,462 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Stevens hasn’t had that reliable rushing attack this season because McAllister has graduated, but Taylor has developed. Offensive coordinator Josh Duford said Taylor has been much improved in reading coverages and stepping up in the pocket.
The stats provide the evidence, too, as the signal caller has thrown for five touchdowns and 533 yards in only five games. He also has a 56.7% completion rate and leads the Cards with 41 total tackles on defense.
“I feel like, from this year to last year, everyone has improved a lot,” said Taylor, who also has rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns. “A lot of guys have really stepped up and just played incredibly. We just have to focus. We can play with and beat anybody if we play like we can.”
Alex Taylor and Lucas Mudge were the main wideouts last year, but Tursky and Wadsworth have stepped up and helped out Taylor’s passing game. The two have combined for 437 receiving yards and four scores.
Tursky’s also carried the ball six times and served as the primary punt returner.
Wadsworth has been a reliable defensive back, racking up 17 tackles and intercepting opponents twice, taking one 59 yards to the end zone. He also has returned 12 kickoffs this year and returned one 81 yards for a score.
“We had a big role to step into,” said Tursky, who said the regular-season finale loss at rival Newport was a turning point for the seniors and team. “We have a small class, so we’re a tight group.”
Forrest didn’t play his junior year but returned for a final season. Silva said he started the season on the scout team, but in the quarterfinals Forrest rushed for two scores. He’s quietly pieced together a strong campaign with 87 rushing yards on 24 carries.
“He was here all summer and worked himself into shape,” Silva said. “Look at him; he’s scored three touchdowns in our last two games.”
LeBlanc has possibly embraced his role the best because he’s done a little bit of everything. He’s caught a touchdown pass, and his 39 tackles are the second-best on the team. He’s the Cards’ punter, too, averaging 33.1 yards on 12 kicks; his long is 43 yards.
And Brodeur is the only lineman in the senior class. At 6 feet and 280 pounds, he plays on both sides of the ball and even recovered a fumble this season. He opted to take online classes only, so going out to practice is a chance for him to see his teammates. But that didn’t stop him from studying Pelham ahead of the championship.
“Their pass rush (is going to be important to stop),” Brodeur said. “They have just have a very good, disciplined defensive line. They had the best defense in Division II last year. They just fly to the ball, lot of gang tackles.”
The last time the Cards won the state title, Taylor and his five other classmates were in eighth grade.
His brother was a freshman on the team, and Taylor remembers running around and cheering for Stevens as it defeated InterLakes-Moultonborough, 46-20, at UNH’s Wildcat Stadium.
The atmosphere will be very different Saturday at 1 p.m. from what it was four years ago, as fans will be limited in number due to COVID-19 protocols. Yet the Cards, who are 3-3, will be able to have a chance to bring the program its fifth state title.
That’s something the six seniors can talk about for the rest of their lives, no matter how odd of a path it’s been.
“I never thought we would get our own chance to do it,” Taylor said. “But here we are. Now we have to go all out and do it.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.