By Chris LaClair
EAGLE TIMES SPORTS EDITOR
CLAREMONT, NH — In a battle of 0-3 teams, the Stevens Cardinals came out hot on a chilly Friday night homecoming game, Sept. 22, against the visiting Kearsarge Cougars, walking away with a 32-8 victory.
Junior Cardinal Zach Richardson took the opening kickoff from around the 20-yard line for a touchdown, which ignited the crowd and set the tone for the rest of the game. The momentum carried over to the first play off the line of scrimmage for the Cougars as Stevens forced a fumble.
Stevens would increase their pressure on the Cougars as they forced a safety in the endzone while Kearsarge was whistled for intentional grounding. Stevens took advantage of this and scored on their next drive. This move was a nicely designed double reverse from Karson Thyne to twin brother, Karter Thyne, for a 17-yard touchdown, marking the score 14-0.
Kearsarge would convert a big 3rd & 11 from their own 39-yard line with a long reception to the Stevens 33. The Cougars couldn’t move the ball past the 26-yard line as they turned the ball over on downs.
Tyler “Tank” Christian would have a huge run called back by an illegal formation on the first play of their next drive. Another double reverse from the Thyne brothers brought them to Kearsarge’s 37-yard line. Christian would pick up another rushing first down before finding the endzone from 15 yards out.
The crowd would explode as he then picked off the pass from about 19 yards out on the first play of the Cougars next drive. He pointed to the screaming student section who were decked out in construction outfits for theme night. Stevens found themselves with a 26-0 lead and plenty to get their adrenaline pumping.
Cougar Colin Croto tried to insert some hope into his team with a big run into Cardinals territory at the 43-yard line. Aiden Berry silenced the Cougar sideline with a big sack for a loss of 8 yards. They would get another team sack on the next play to force a punt.
Christian bulldozed the Cougar defense on his way to a huge 30-yard gain. A facemask penalty against Kearsarge tacked on an additional 15 yards to the end of the play to spot the ball at the Cougar 29-yard line. Stevens received an unsportsmanlike penalty on the next play, negating the previous call. Christian broke off another big run down to the 10-yard line. Richardson scored his second touchdown of the game with a run from 5 yards out.
Stevens would head to halftime with a commanding 32-0 lead.
The third quarter wasn’t as action packed as the first half. Berry earned another huge sack before a failed fake punt by the Cougars.
The fourth quarter saw the second string and JV players from both teams getting their chance to make their marks. Kurtis Chaloux laid down one of the hardest hits of the season to break up a pass.
Kearsarge illuminated the scoreboard when Parker Goin scored from 1-yard out on a nice field position set up by Croto. Jack Cicoria ran it in to convert the 2-point conversion.
“I thought we did a good job coming out and playing physical,” said Stevens Head Coach Josh Duford. “The opening kickoff was well executed by the special teams and Special Teams Coach Matt Bean. Coach Paul Silva put together a strong game plan defensively and put us in wonderful positions for the offense. There are still some details we need to clean up, but it was a solid overall performance by the team. We need to build off this for next week when we travel a long way to Epping.”
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