Turnovers doom Newport’s shot at the title

By Chris LaClair
Eagle Times Sports Editor
LACONIA, NH — The Somersworth Hilltoppers scored 21 unanswered points thanks to a defense that caused 6 turnovers, stymieing the Newport offense to win the NHIAA DIV Championship for the third straight year in a row. The final score was 21-7.

Newport created the first turnover of the game after recovering a fumble, bringing the Newport fan section to their feet. Even though the Tigers couldn’t capitalize on the drive after going three and out, senior captain Kyle Ashley booted a punt all the way down to the Somersworth 4-yard line. Senior Logan Ash made back-to-back monster tackles to stall the Hilltoppers setting up a fourth down. A questionable fake punt attempt gave the Tigers great field position when Ashley tackled senior Tayshawn Sheppard for the turnover on downs. Ashley would find the endzone a few plays later for their only lead of the game with junior Tanner Fournier connecting on the extra point attempt.

The Hilltoppers wouldn’t allow Ashley to do any more first-half damage as the star running back was forced into 3 fumbles.

“You can’t negate a player like Kyle Ashley,” said Jeremy Lambert, Somersworth head coach. “We put some things in place to spy on him when he was on offense and try to slow him down on defense. Those efforts proved to work in our favor as we were able to cause a few turnovers and score more points than when we met in the regular season. Ultimately it came down to playing as a team. We needed everyone to do their part to beat a team as talented and well coached as Newport, and our team came through. They really played as one and it was great to be a part of.”

After a trio of fumbles from each team, the Hilltoppers capitalized with a scoring drive in the second quarter to even the score. Junior Thomas Rees caught a long ball to set up the Hilltoppers with excellent field position deep into Newport territory on the 21-yard line. After a series of stops from the Tiger defense, Somersworth called a timeout on 4th down and goal from the 11-yard line. Senior Kayden Bickford would find the endzone on the right side for a crucial fourth down conversion to get his team on the scoreboard.

Newport received the ball in the second half but failed to pick up the first down, forcing them into a punt situation. Junior Gabe Howe would recover the fumble on the punt return to continue the drive, or at least for one play. On the next play, Howe fumbled the ball for a long fumble recovery for the Hilltoppers. Sheppard would show off his offensive abilities as he found the endzone from 12 yards out for another Hilltoppers touchdown, as well as the lead. A partially blocked extra point attempt would leave the score at 13-7 in favor of Somersworth.

“Tayshawn was great offensively, as he has been all year, but he also played his strongest defensive game of the season,” Lambert said. “He pounded out some key yards for us on the ground and made a great run to score the go-ahead touchdown. Defensively he was very aggressive off the outside edge which allowed us to limit the potent Newport run game. But Tayshawn will also be the first to tell you, he can’t do any of that without the other 10 guys on the field with him all doing their individual job. We’ve said all year, ‘It takes what it takes to win a championship,’ and the team all did their part to do what it takes. The team is what made the difference in this game.”

Newport would have their last best scoring opportunity and a chance to regain control of the game when Ashley made it down to the Hilltoppers 9-yard line setting up first-and-goal. A costly delay of game pushed Newport back and they had to call a timeout to avoid back-to-back delay of games as there was confusion with the play calling. Junior quarterback Aaron Fellows was pressured in the backfield as he attempted to jump to throw the ball but couldn’t get it off setting up a long fourth down and 27. A pass deflection ended the drive for Newport as they turned the ball over on downs and missed a golden opportunity to score.

With under 2 minutes remaining in the game, Seth Worell made the play of his high school career with a game clinching interception that he took to the end zone. He added the icing on the cake with a fake extra point kick for a run to the left to convert the 2-point play for a 21-7 lead.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to coach amazing student-athletes surrounded by great assistant coaches, and supportive parents, administrators and a community as a whole,” Lambert said. “We ask for a lot of work and dedication from our student-athletes, and they could not have achieved this incredible 3-peat without all of Topper Nation. It truly does take a village, and in Somersworth, we all bleed Topper blue.”

Ashley would try to give his team a miracle, but his pass was picked off as the Hilltoppers ran over to celebrate as Newport had no timeouts left to stop the clock. Tears abounded by both players and parents as the athletes kneeled to run out the clock while Somersworth celebrated.

“It was a great game,” said John Proper, Newport head coach. “We played really well on both sides of the ball. I told the kids if we win the turnover and penalty battle, we win the game. Unfortunately, we came up short on both ends and that was the key to the game.”

Coach Lambert cherished the championship as he sat back and watched the excitement and emotion of his players, slowly taking it all in.

“Every championship is special and wonderful because these student athletes are all different; every team is unique and they have to find their team identity throughout the season and find their way to be successful,” Lambert said. “It’s never the same year to year, that’s one of the reasons I love coaching. As coaches we do what we can to prepare them for success, but it is up to the team to buy in, unify and put in the work to get it done. Their efforts must always match their goals.”

Next fall, the Hilltoppers will be moving up to Division 3 as their school size has increased. It is the perfect time for a move as there isn’t anything left for them to prove.

“I’m excited for the challenges every new season brings,” Lambert said. “D3 certainly promises to have some stiff competition and we’re looking forward to testing our mettle next year.”