Souhegan's Riley Lawhorn breaks away for a 70-yard touchdown run on the Sabers' first play from scrimmage in Saturday's Division 2 state title game vs. Plymouth.

AMHERST – Plymouth had ground Souhegan High’s 20-7 halftime lead to a pulp. The Sabers, who had hardly trailed all year, were down, 21-20, and reeling with the state’s most heralded small-school football power ready to deliver the knockout.

Heads hung, panic was imminent. For answers, the Sabers searched … Desperately.

They found each other.

“Adversity is going to happen. There’s no way around it, especially in a championship game against a great, great team,” said Souhegan coach Robin Bowkett. “We just kept playing. Continued the mission. We held fast. We got in the boats. We stuck together. And there we go.

“Our kids, my gosh, you talk about mental toughness, it speaks volumes to those guys, that senior leadership.”

The Sabers simply found a way, rallying late in the fourth for a dramatic 26-21 victory in the Division 2 state championship game.

For Souhegan, it was the school’s first football title since 2010, fifth ever. Competing in its fifth straight title game, 17-time champ Plymouth suffered its second straight championship defeat.

“Souhegan has been waiting for this for a long, long time,” said running back Riley Lawhorn, who ripped off a run for the ages, a 70-yard game-winning TD with 4:01 left in the game. “Every single senior here has wanted this championship since freshman year. We told ourselves we’d be back. We did that.”

Souhegan finished at 8-0, and Plymouth 7-1, as this battle of heavyweights more than lived up to the billing.

The Bobcats set the tone for the day early, opening with 10-rush, 68-yard touchdown march that chewed up the first 6:02 on the clock. Lawhorn squelched that chatter on the visitor’s side with a 69-yard touchdown run on the Sabers’ first play, making it 7-7.

Oh, it was on.

“We knew it was going to happen. We talked about it all week. ‘They think they’re more physical than you. They think you’re soft Amherst/Mont Vernon kids,'” said Bowkett. “We’ve been tough all year, physically and mentally tough. It’s different when you punch back.”

Souhegan built the early advantage with big plays. Quarterback Austin Jain clicked on his first four passes – three to Connor Holland and one to Luke Manning – to set up Mitch Hauser’s 13-yard touchdown speed sweep. Later in the second quarter, Jain threw a quick one to Manning, who dashed 28 yards to paydirt, making it 20-7 at the break.

But Plymouth’s body punches were taking their toll. The Bobcats dominated time of possession, 18:43-5:17 in the half (33:27-14:33 for the game). And the visitors fought like champs.

Near-disaster struck early as Jain suffered a third quarter nightmare, courtesy of Plymouth linebacker, Joe D’Ambruoso, who picked the Saber QB off twice during a 1:41 span in the third quarter.

Jain was devastated. Souhegan was stunned. And Plymouth found another gear.

The Cats gobbled up 61 more yards on 14 straight runs, erasing nearly nine minutes off the clock and punching in with Cody Bannon’s 1-yard TD to slice it to 20-14 with 10:28 remaining.

Less than two minutes later, following a short punt, Plymouth again had the ball.

Bannon took to the air this time, with his only two completions on the day, setting up D’Ambruoso from 5 yards out. The PAT made it 21-20 with 5:29 left.

There may have only been a 100 or so fans on the Bobcat sideline, due to Covid-19 restrictions. They sounded like a legion of thousands. When the Sabers, backed up to the 12, netted just 1 yard on two plays, they went berserk.

But on third-and-9, reality struck for Jain, and he handled it like Division II’s top QB would.

“I mean ups and downs. I made some mistakes,” said the two-year starter, who because of the two picks could have been fitted with the wrong kind of goat horns. “It’s definitely not how you want a championship game to go. I knew that wasn’t me. Sometimes you’ve just got to try to make the next play. My boys trusted me. They kept fighting for me. And we finally got something going.”

Nobody broke open on third down, though.

“We had to convert regardless. I didn’t see much. They had our receivers covered. I went outside to try and buy some time, maybe see something,” said Jain. “But I couldn’t even see the sticks when I took off. I just tried to get every piece of yardage I could.”

Seventeen yards later on the scamper, Souhegan had a first down and a life.

Enter Lawhorn, the UMass Lowell lacrosse recruit turned football super hero, taking a handoff from Jain on what looked like a simple inside counter.

“I had Mike Maroun lead-blocking for me, and I just followed him into the hole,” said Lawhorn. “All 11 guys were working there, I’m just happy to have every one of them.”

Lawhorn covered the full 70 yards for the game-winner in a blink, capping an explosive 18-carry, 197-yard, two-TD rushing day.

“That kid’s been a war-daddy for us all year. A workhorse,” said Bowkett. “In big games, you’ve got to look to your best players.

“(Jain) got the first, kept it going. That’s one of those championship plays we needed. All the guys played tremendous today. I just couldn’t be happier for this group.”

With the lead, Souhegan saw the glory and refused to relent.

Jake Civiello’s interception on Plymouth’s first play, a halfback pass, extended the Saber sideline party.

Still, there was 3:40 left to churn off the clock. Souhegan faced a 4th-and 9 from the Plymouth 34, and Bowkett made a call they’ll be talking about in downtown Amherst for decades, eschewing the punt and throwing for the kill.

“Those are the plays I live for, making the big plays and showing everybody what I can do,” said Jain. “I trust my receivers wherever I put it, they’re going to make a play.”

Holland certainly did, making his fourth catch of the title game. Jain sprinted right and found him, right at the sticks for 10 yards and a first down that all but clinched it.

“I’ve been preparing for this all year. We’ve got Luke Manning on the other side of the ball. I don’t get too many targets because he’s basically D’Andre Hopkins. He’s amazing,” said Holland. “But I know I have to step up when the team needs it. We designed the play right before. I mean, we’ve always had it, it’s called Aloha. We run it a lot. I’ve just been prepared.”

Bowkett, who savored those two special words, “state champs,” throughout the postgame festivities, said punting there was not an option.

“We felt like it was there, it had been there all day. We just had to hit it. We got to the sticks and got the first down we needed,” he said.

Throughout this fall, Souhegan had checked all the boxes – athletic, explosive, physical, dynamic – but one final test remained. Could the Sabers counter-punch and win the close one when it mattered?

“I’m proud of how we responded, and we pushed through,” said Lawhorn. “We haven’t really had many close games, but I just knew as a family, we could push through. Back and forth the entire game, it was just a matter of guys stepping up.”

Mission complete.

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