By Dan Barile
EAGLE TIMES CORRESPONDENT
LANGDON, NH — As the captains for the Kearsarge Cougars returned to the sideline after winning the coin toss, one of them lowered their voice to announce, “We’re going to score.”
But Fall Mountain linebacker Patrick Connors had other ideas.
Connors registered tackles on the first two plays of the game as the Cougars tried to establish the running game out of the jumbo set. On 3rd & 12, quarterback Parker Goin dropped back to pass, but Connors quickly entered the backfield and pressured him into an incomplete.
This was just the beginning of a long day for the Kearsarge offense. The Cougars’ five first-half possessions resulted in three punts and two turnovers on downs.
On the other side of the ball, the Fall Mountain Wildcats quickly put points on the board as they drove 32-yards on their first possession for a touchdown. After a couple of runs sent the Wildcats backward, Eric Franklin Jr. connected with Josh Devore for a 30-yard completion. Owen Riendeau finished the drive a couple of plays later as he went untouched into the endzone from 3-yards out.
Fall Mountain’s next possession quickly drove 68-yards for another touchdown. The Wildcats reached the endzone after a Kearsarge defensive back bit on an out route, which allowed Charlie Dussault to break up the sideline for a 22-yard touchdown reception from Franklin. Austin Guerriere booted the extra point through the uprights to give Fall Mountain a 13-0 lead with 1:06 left in the 1st quarter.
Both teams would go scoreless the rest of the half as the heat and humidity began to take its toll.
Fall Mountain received the second-half kickoff and quickly drove the ball to Kearsarge’s 13-yard line. As it was starting to look like the Wildcats were going to increase their lead to three scores, Kearsarge’s hopes of a comeback were revived when they pounced on a fumble.
Fall Mountain was able to force a quick punt and quickly drove the ball into the red zone again. However, the Cougars forced another turnover as they intercepted a pass near the goal line.
The momentum swing did not last long for Kearsarge as on the next play, Finnegan Brodeur blasted through the offensive line and forced Goin to fumble. A mad dash ensued that resulted in linebacker Owen Waysville diving on the ball for a Wildcats touchdown. Guerriere added another extra point to give Fall Mountain a 20-0 lead with 4:16 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Kearsarge’s next drive started off similarly to the rest as Evan West recorded a sack for Fall Mountain. The Wildcats defense continued to establish residency in the Cougars backfield on the next play as they forced Goin to throw the ball far out of bounds. Their fortunes would turn on the next play when Goin connected with a receiver around midfield who managed to slice and dice his way past the defense for a 64-yard touchdown. The Cougars elected to go for two, but their attempt was unsuccessful after a sack from Tyson Patch.
The final score of the game would come with 9:43 remaining when Connors took a shovel pass 8-yards to the endzone. Guerriere added his third extra-point of the day to give Fall Mountain a 27-6 lead.
“We played really well today,” said Fall Mountain Head Coach Orion Binney. “We were aggressive on defense, and it was a gutsy win in the heat.”
Connors led Fall Mountain offensively with 126 total yards and a touchdown. Waysville, West, Brodeur and Josh Town joined Connors in leading an impressive defensive attack for the Wildcats.
With the win, Fall Mountain moves to 1-1 on the season. The Wildcats will make the long drive to face Epping- Newmarket on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.
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