Hanover
Playing without its injured top running back in a steady rain on Friday night, the Marauders held Kennett to 29 yards of offense and forced punts on all nine Eagle possessions in a 10-0 win at Merriman-Branch Field.
Unbeaten Hanover (8-0) effectively clinched a home game in the quarterfinal round of the upcoming NHIAA Division II playoffs and set up a showdown for first place next Friday night against D-II North rival John Stark at home. The Generals are 7-0 entering today’s game against 6-1 Bow.
Junior running back Caleb Putnam ran for 151 yards and a touchdown, his second straight week eclipsing 150 in place of injured tailback Reed Winter (ankle).
It was also a strong game for kicker/punter Moises Celaya, who converted a 24-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, forced touchbacks on both of his kickoffs and gave the Eagles an average starting position of the 20-yard line on three punts.
Field position was at a premium in steady rain that was heaviest in the middle quarters.
“We saw the forecast heading into this game, and one thing we worked on all week with Moises was every kickoff was going into the end zone and every punt was going at least 40 yards,” Hanover coach Sam Cavallaro said.
“In poor conditions, we knew (controlling field position) would take a lot of the pressure off of us, as long as the defense could do its job.”
That it did and then some, holding four running backs to a combined 30 yards and twice sacking Kennett junior QB Brett Miller, a first-year starter. Miller, who completed 1 of 12 passes for 12 yards, was constantly harangued by Hanover ends Putnam and Michael Staiger.
“They’re probably the best ends in the league,” said Cavallaro after a rare two-score game — the Marauders had won by an average score of 37-12 coming in. “Kennett’s a good team, better than their record shows. With John Stark coming here next week, we wanted a good test to get ready for them. They gave us one, but I’m really proud of the way our guys responded.”
It was tough going on the slick artificial-turf field for both offenses early, each managing a single first down and combining for four punts and a turnover on downs in the first quarter.
Early in the second, Hanover reached the Eagles’ 32 and called a timeout before going for it on fourth-and-11. QB Connor Stafford’s pass deflected off the intended receiver and Eagles linebacker Shawn Kenny, who’d been beaten on the play, ended up with a gift interception.
As it did during its final eight possessions of the game, Kennett went three-and-out, and the Marauders took advantage of good field position to get on the scoreboard.
After a holding penalty negated a first down and set up third-and-long, Stafford connected with Alex Mosenthal for 15 yards to move the chains. Putnam did the rest, rushing six times for 49 yards on the drive, including bursts of 18 and 11 before his 2-yard plunge to the end zone made it 7-0 with just under four minutes before halftime.
Putnam, a fullback when he isn’t filling in for Winter, rushed a career-high 32 times.
“Reed is a back who really knows how to hit holes, and our line does a great job creating holes,” Cavallaro said. “Caleb is a power back for us, and he really put us on his back in the first half tonight and showed that he can get between the tackles.”
Because of scoreboard issues, the time was only being kept on the field in the second quarter, leaving coaches and spectators to estimate how much time was remaining. Hanover entered into its hurry-up offense during this scenario on its touchdown drive, but it wasn’t because the Marauders didn’t know how much time was remaining, Cavallaro said.
“We saw that (Kennett’s) linemen were dragging a little bit, getting a little tired,” Cavallaro said. “We had a good tempo going and wanted to take advantage.”
The Marauders also managed the (invisible) clock well at the end of the half, Stafford finding Simon Roach for 16 yards before Hanover called a timeout with what officials later confirmed was two seconds remaining. Celaya’s 24-yard field goal came as time expired to make it 10-0.
With the clock operational again to start the second half, Hanover received and chewed up the third quarter’s first 7:29, garnering four first downs before a high snap nixed a would-be 31-yard Celaya field goal attempt.
The Marauders joined the Eagles in struggling to move the ball from there but converted when they needed to.
Taking over with 5:07 left in regulation following Kennett’s ninth punt, the Marauders twice moved the chains on fourth-and-1 and were able to kneel for the win on first-and-10 from Kennett’s 22.
“It would have been nice to stick in one more score, but making those first downs at the end of the game was key,” Cavallaro said. “A game like this, I think, will be good for us going forward.”
Extra Points: Hanover snapped a five-game losing streak against the Eagles (3-5). … Alexander Mosenthal had 15 carries for 42 yards and a pair of catches for 18 yards. … Winter is expected to return next week against the Generals.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.