Souhegan's J.J. Bright tries to run past the Gilford defense during the Sabers' 29-28 semifinal win on Saturday in Gilford. (Courtesy photo by Kim Casey)

GILFORD – At halftime, the Souhegan High School football team talked about how ‘The only team that stopped us is ourselves.’ The Sabers beat themselves in the first half, but they took it to their opponents in the second.

No. 4 Souhegan (10-1) trailed by 14 at the break, but J.J. Bright ran for 235 yards – 147 of them in the second half – two touchdowns and a pivotal two-point conversion, and the Sabers defense made some key stops in the fourth quarter to upset No. 1 Gilford-Belmont (10-1), 29-28, in Saturday’s NHIAA Division II semifinal.

The Sabers will play No. 2 Pelham (11-0) on Saturday at Bedford High School at 1 p.m.for the championship.

“Our kids believed. They never quit,” Souhegan head coach Robin Bowkett said. “We talk about one beat. To get us to where we want to go it takes one heartbeat. We’re all doing it together. Today, second half, good lord, when they were hurt, when they were tired, when it mattered the dudes made plays. And it was awesome. Really proud of this group.”

Gilford-Belmont running back Michael Kitto (111 yards on 28 carries) scored a 4-yard touchdown on the first possession of the game and Brady Heyman’s tackle forced Souhegan to fumble the ensuing kickoff. That set up Kitto for another short TD run (6 yards) to put the Eagles up 14-0 with 3:49 left in the first quarter with the Sabers yet to attempt a play.

Quarterback Romy Jain (8-for-13, 113 passing yards) connected with Madux McGrath (90 yards on four catches) on a couple long pass plays to set up a 1 yard keeper from Jain to make it 14-7 with 1:29 left on the clock in the first quarter.

Eagles quarterback Isaiah Reese (156 yards on 28 carries, 0-for-2 passing) scored on 22- and 35-yard runs, sandwiched around a Bright 53-yard TD to make it 28-14 at halftime.

The Sabers’ first two drives only combined for eight plays and still produced two touchdowns, but a bad snap on Souhegan’s third and final drive of the first half caused a loss of 11 yards, forcing the Sabers to punt it away.

The second half didn’t start much better, with Kitto intercepting Jain to end the opening drive.

But the Sabers’ defense, led by linemen Finley Raudelunas and Luis Toledo (sack and tackle for loss each), linebackers Brady Melvin and Sam Stevenson, and defensive end Willem Aiston, didn’t let Gilford-Belmont get anything going either.

“Coach (Brian) Beane, Coach (Brandon) O’Connell, our main defensive coaches, just an awesome job by them to make a quick adjustment and put up a different front versus certain looks and it helped a ton,” Bowkett said. “We started winning first down and making them earn it.

Jain connected with Cole Manning (two catches for 19 yards), Charlie Maroun and Connor Cassidy to set himself up for another 1-yard keeper to make it 28-20 with 2:17 left in the third quarter.

Joe Bernasconi had a perfect day kicking extra points, but an offsides call against the Eagles on the third kicking attempt moved Souhegan closer to the goal line, and Bowkett opted to swap out Bernasconi for a two-point conversion attempt, which Bright ran in to make it 28-22.

A big sack by Toledo on the next drive forced Gilford-Belmont to punt.

A few plays later, Bright broke up the middle through the Eagles’ line, cut towards the sideline, and sprinted away for a 66-yard touchdown. Bernasconi’s extra point gave Souhegan its first lead of the game, 29-28, with 6:25 to play

Raudelunas had a big sack and McGrath broke up a couple pass attempts, forcing the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs, and Bright quickly picked up the first down to set up Souhegan’s victory formation.

“I’m super proud of this group,” Bowkett said. “A bunch of war daddies here, man. It’s been a lot of fun to coach. We’re looking to go 1-0 one last week.”