Luis Toledo, left, and Brayden Hickman dump the water cooler on coach Robin Bowkett after Souhegan defeated Pelham 14-11 in Saturday's Division II championship game. (Photo by Joe Marchilena/NH-HighSchoolSports.com)

DERRY – Robin Bowkett could fill a book with sayings.

Some are clever, some are clichés, but one of them was fitting following Saturday’s Division II football championship game.

“Offense wins games, defense wins championships,” the Souhegan High School football coach said. “It’s a cliché, but it was proved this playoff for sure.”

The No. 4 Sabers definitely did prove it, keeping No. 2 Pelham’s offense in check for all but one drive, while clinging to a lead for what felt like the entire second half, as Souhegan won 14-11 in the title game held at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.

Souhegan (10-2) got out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, but left the door open for the Pythons after getting stopped twice inside the Pelham 5-yard line. Then, an interception on the Sabers’ opening drive of the second half gave the Pythons life.

Pelham (10-2) chipped away at the lead, closing within three points with more 12 minutes remaining, but the Souhegan defense did everything it could to keep the Pythons from getting closer.

“We got after them,” Bowkett said. “The interception gave them a little life and then they hit a big play. We dipped inside on one of those counters. We bent, but didn’t break, got a stop down there again. I’m so proud of them. They believed and stuck together and that’s what it takes.”

Souhegan held a 235-79 edge in yards, ran 61 plays to just 37 for Pelham, and had almost a 12-minute advantage in time of possession.

Junior MacKinnon led the Pythons with 41 yards rushing and a touchdown and Kevin Hardy was 2 of 4 passing for 37 yards, but no one else finished with seven yards on offense.

“Stopping the run was working well for us,” Souhegan senior Brayden Hickman said. “Stopping (MacKinnon), he’s a baller. Limiting them on their yards helped confidence-wise. When you see that they’re struggling to move the ball, and then they start yelling at each other, blaming each other, that’s definitely a confidence booster for us. Then we just feed off it.”

The Sabers’ offense did most of its damage in the first half, getting into the red zone on all four of its possessions before halftime.

Michael Fiengo had 109 yards rushing and a touchdown on 29 carries and also connected with Brody Smith for a 27-yard catch-and-run that got Souhegan on the board early in the second quarter.

But Pelham’s defense twice stopped the Sabers on fourth-and-goal, once at the 1-yard line and again at the 5.

“Our kids fought hard,” Pelham coach Justin Hufft said. “They made stops when they had to so that the game was still in reach at half. Then they showed how tough they are coming out in the third quarter and really showed some heart.”

Souhegan was driving again to open the third quarter, but on third-and-7 at the Pelham 25, Fiengo was picked off by Hardy, who returned it to the Pythons’ 40-yard line. Four plays later, MacKinnon ran in from 2 yards out, but the Sabers stopped the conversion, keeping it 14-6 Souhegan with 7:30 left in the third.

The wind became a factor after that. Souhegan went three-and-out, but with Hickman back to punt, the snap sailed over his head, and after he recovered it, the senior stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Pelham went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but the punt by MacKinnon was downed by Justin Bowlan at the Sabers’ 1-yard line. Souhegan gained just five yards and Hickman’s punt went just three yards after getting blown sideways by the wind.

But again, the Souhegan defense stepped up, limiting Pelham to a 27-yard field goal by Colby Crear to make it 14-11 with 46.1 seconds left in the third.

“Huge,” Bowkett said. “It was first-and-goal from the 8 or something. For them to come away with (a field goal), the defense, (assistant coach) Brandon O’Connell, did an awesome job running the defense. Credit to our kids for just getting after it.”

Souhegan quarterback Michael Fiengo tries to get around Pelham’s Kevin Hardy (No. 4) and Pat Muise.(Photo by Joe Marchilena/NH-HighSchoolSports.com)

It was a field position battle from there, with neither side picking up a first down before each punted twice.

With 5:40 left, Souhegan took over at its own 45-yard line and finally picked up a first down. A hold on the next play pushed the Sabers back, and with a chance to get the ball back, Pelham started using its timeouts.

Runs of 12 and 5 yards by Fiengo set up a fourth-and-2 at the Pythons’ 36 with 2:56 left, but the Souhegan quarterback was able to get Pelham to jump, giving the Sabers a first down and allowing them to just about run out the clock.

Pelham got the ball back with 3.4 seconds left on the clock, and thanks to a Souhegan penalty, had two cracks at a final desperation play. Neither worked and the Sabers rushed the field to celebrate their second D2 title in five years.

“We’ve got great players who play so hard for each other,” Bowkett said. “They drink the Kool-Aid. Our culture is awesome. Nothing changes. It’s a credit to our kids.”