Campbell's Scott Hershberger makes a move ahead of Gilford's Noah Harder in the third quarter of Campbell's 50-22 win over Gilford in the Division III semifinals. He finished with 188 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.(Photo by Dan Doyon)

LITCHFIELD – Scott Hershberger didn’t know until around a month ago of how close he was to approaching the New Hampshire high school record for career rushing yards. The Campbell senior aimed to make history ever since finding out.

After a monster 349-yard effort during last week’s 46-27 Division III quarterfinal win over Somersworth brought him to within 15 yards of the mark of 5,890 yards set by Souhegan’s Sean Jellison in 2006.

Hershberger didn’t waste any time in breaking the record by taking his first carry 57 yards for a touchdown to begin top-seeded Campbell’s 50-22 victory over No. 4 Gilford in Saturday’s semifinals.

“It feels great to write your name into the history books and it’s just good to know that people know what I did and how hard I worked for it,” Hershberger said. “I didn’t anticipate it to happen on the first play, but that’s just how it worked out.”

Hershberger added a 21-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter to give Campbell a 14-7 lead and finished with 188 yards on 17 carries. He now carries 6,063 rushing yards into a third straight Division III championship game.

Campbell (10-0) looks to claim the program’s fourth championship next Saturday when it plays No. 2 Inter-Lakes (9-1) at Souhegan High School. The Lakers advanced with a 14-8 win over No. 3 Monadnock (8-2).

Hershberger’s focus turned to winning his second championship after his sophomore season ended with a 16-14 victory over Trinity in 2022. Campbell dropped a 42-12 decision to Trinity in last year’s title game.

“Getting the state rushing record is great for me personally, but just playing with my friends and my teammates that I’ve grown up with my whole entire life is even better,” Hershberger said. “Winning this game and getting one more chance to play with them makes it better.”

One of Hershberger’s teammates has been there since the first day of his life is twin brother, Nick, who also scored a pair touchdowns and has also been a vital cog in Campbell’s success.

Braydon White led Campbell with three touchdowns, including a pair of scores that broke a tie to give the Cougars a 30-14 halftime lead.

“It’s just amazing; I couldn’t be more happy for him,” Nick Hershberger said. “He works so hard on and off the field. He’s more than a great football player. He’s a great student and he’s worked his butt off. Nobody deserves more than him.”

Campbell’s Scott Hershberger poises with a trophy after becoming the all-time N.H. leader in career rushing yards (6,063 and counting) during Campbell’s 50-22 win over Gilford in the Division III semifinals. He’s joined int the picture (from left to right) by Campbell coach Glen Costello, his parents Andy and Tara, and his twin brother Nick. (Photo by Dan Doyon)

Campbell coach Glen Costello realized after gaining over 2,200 yards during his sophomore season that Scott Hershberger was quickly climbing the record books and he’s been enjoying the ride ever since.

“There was a chance that I never talked about with him but this year he slowly started chipping away at it,” Costello said. “All the credit goes to him because very similar to Jellison, how many quarters did both of them actually play? There have been numerous times when he’s done at halftime and the first quarter.”

Next up is Inter-Lakes, a team the Cougars beat 34-12 earlier this season. They expect a tougher game this time around.

“It should be fun,” Costello said.