By Chris LaClair
EAGLE TIMES SPORTS EDITOR
NEWPORT, NH — The Newport Tigers finally got to play their first game of the season Thursday night as the original game against Claremont was cancelled due to the extreme heat and the Wednesday game with Hanover being pushed back due to thunderstorms.
The Tigers were never ahead, but they fought hard to make a game out of it. There was a strong display of passion as they lost a nail-biting 20-12 defeat to the visiting Hanover Middle School program.
The first two series played by the Tigers in the game were an indication of things to come. Both possessions resulted in turnovers in the way of fumbles, launching the first of several.
Hanover capitalized as they found the endzone on a long touchdown pass from their own 21-yard line for a 79 reception with only 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter. They started off the second quarter with a blocked punt attempt from Newport and quickly scored on a 14-yard rushing touchdown with a successful 2-point conversion to make the score 14-0.
Newport got on the board with an electrifying touchdown run from eighth grader Cam Ranney to breathe some life back into the game for the Tigers. Their defense was pumped as Wesley Wheeler made a big tackle that stopped a first half ending drive by Hanover just short of their endzone.
The big defensive play gave them a sense of momentum going into the second half.
The Tigers came out strong in the second half as Wheeler and Joey Gosselin picked up big first downs to bring the ball down deep into Hanover territory. The drive stalled as Newport suffered a deflating turnover on downs as Hanover took over possession on the 24-yard line.
Gosselin picked off the pass and ran it into the endzone. As he celebrated, a yellow flag was thrown. A block in the back negated the touchdown and the ball was placed on the 18-yard line. On third down, quarterback Jaxon Lord tried to make a big play, but the throw was picked off and taken for a game winning touchdown.
The Tigers would put together a comeback drive on their next possession. Zach Meyette brought back the kickoff to their 49-yard line for great field position. Gosselin broke off a big 39-yard run to put the Tigers into scoring position. Lord would sneak the ball over the goal line for a 20-12 score.
Newport’s Walker Barton would get a huge stop with a bone crushing tackle on a Hanover 4th & 4 drive that would have sealed the victory with a successful first down conversion.
Lots would happen as time was running out.
Chad Hemingway launched a deep pass in the air as a Newport coach screamed, “Don’t pass that.” It was quickly negated, though, as Meyette caught the pass before being tackled at the Hanover 30-yard line. The Tigers would fight for a huge first down with 21.8 seconds to go on a 4th & 2. Hemingway would try for the miracle on a long scamper to find an opening to throw the ball but was tackled as time expired.
“We think there were some lost opportunities,” said Newport Head Coach Collin Shaughnessy, who is in his second year with the team. “We need to do a better job at protecting the ball and pass blocking; however, I’m proud of the character that these boys showed on the field. When things were down, they didn’t point fingers and kept fighting to the last minute.”
Newport will host Lebanon on Wednesday, Sep. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Newport Middle High School football field.
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