By ARCHIE MOUNTAIN
NEWPORT — At the outset it looked like Newport, 0-6, and Kearsrge/Mount Royal, 0-6. would be locked in a low-scoring game Saturday at Maryn Field.
The two teams battled to a 0-0 tie at the end of the opening period with Kearsarge scoring first at 9:07 of the second period on a 36-yard field goal by Noah Cooper.
By halftime the Cougars enjoyed a 17-0 lead and went on to an easy 42-14 victory over Newport.
The Tigers travel to Laconia for a Friday night game with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Sachems are 4-3 on the season. Newport will close out its season on Saturday, Oct. 27 with a home contest against Epping-Newmarket at 1:30 p.m.
A small turnout of Newport fans got something to cheer about in the fourth period when the Tigers got on the scoreboard with a pair of touchdowns on pas plays from quarterback Austin Malool to JT Blaine, closing the gap to 30-14.
Kearsarge was not done for the afternoon, however, picking up the final two scores, including the final one with 13 seconds remaining in the game by running back Gavyn Magistro from the 5-yard line that drew some attention from the Newport sideline.
Newport Coach Dennis Borcuk Jr. elected to end the game at that point, telling the officials to start the clock running to tick off the final 13 seconds of play.
Magistro was the leading rusher for Keararge, gaining 84 yards on 24 carries and a pair of touchdowns. He picked up a third touchdown through the air. He caught 5 of 7 passes good for 69 yards.
Jak Jallah gained 66 yards rushing on 5 plays for Kearsarge from his quarterback position. His biggest contribution, however, was completing 19 of 29 passing attempts for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
For Newport, Blaine caught 2 passes good for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Malool had his best passing game of the season for Newport, connecting on 7 of 13 attempts for 140 yards along with the 2 TD strikes to Blaine. Cole McNamara hauled down 3 of 3 passes for 35 yards for the Tigers.
Joey Ackerman picked up 91 yards for Newport on 18 carries. His longest run was 32 yards.
As a team, Newport ran 48 plays to 63 for Keararge and grained 272 total yards to 365 for the Cougars. Newport turned the ball over four times to only 1 for Keararge. In the first-down department the Cougars had 18 to 11 for the Tigers.
Josh Sharon, a sophomore, led Newport on defense with 11 tackles including 2 for losses. Cooper, Jake Galluzzo, Nathan Harris and Ben Bigelow all had 5 tackles for Kearsarge.
Weatherwise, it was cloudy and cool afternoon Saturday with a light rain falling briefly at one point and the sun coming out at the end of the contest.
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