The Souhegan offense takes the field in the first quarter against Hanover. The Sabers ran for over 400 yards and scored 35 points despite missing their starting quarterback Friday night. (Photo by Dan Attorri)

AMHERST – When everybody does their job, a team can work through anything. The Souhegan Sabers were without starting quarterback Michael Fiengo when they hosted the Hanover Bears at Calvetti Field on Friday night, but senior Brody Smith stepped up under center, running for three touchdowns and 198 yards.

Classmate Ryland Raudelaunas ran for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, and the Saber defense put together another dominating performance as Souhegan (5-0) remained undefeated with a 35-7 win.

“It starts up front, on both sides of the ball,” Souhegan head coach Robin Bowkett said. “The offensive line dominated. We rushed for over 400 yards. That’s big time. The D-line dominated too, we were in (Hanover’s) backfield all game. I’m really proud of our team’s performance tonight.”

The Sabers line opened up holes that gave Smith (198 yards on 14 carries, 1-for-2, 13 passing yards) and Raudelunas (207 yards on 18 carries) plenty of space to display their speed.

Smith ran the ball 88 yards up the sideline to put Souhegan up 6-0 with 4:45 left in the first quarter. Raudelunas had a 2-yard punch up the middle for a touchdown and had a long run that set up a 10-yard scoring run from Smith to make it 21-0 at halftime.

Raudelunas broke away for a 54-yard gain, setting up his own 3-yard TD early in the third quarter, and Smith weaved through defenders for a 55 yard touchdown with 4:49 left in frame, sending the game into running time with Souhegan up 35-0.

“We knew we were going to be without our quarterback,” said Bowkett. “I don’t know (Smith’s quarterback experience. He’s a baseball kid so he can sling it a little bit. I didn’t even ask him. I just said ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ It worked out. He’s a great athlete, and great athletes do great athlete things.”

Smith also attempted a pair of passes, completing a 13-yard connection with senior Chase Knuckles. The Saber offense dominated the line of scrimmage, but the defense also did its job. While Souhegan garnered over 400 yards on the ground, Hanover had negative yardage running the football.

Hanover quarterback EJ Frechette did a fine job, going 7-for-13 with 122 passing yards. Frechette completed a 65-yard pass to Roy Lucas for a touchdown with three minutes left in the third. Lucas was both the top receiver (two catches for 99 yards) and rusher (23 yards on four carries). That touchdown were the first points Souhegan had allowed since Week 1’s 47-14 victory over St. Thomas.

“Coach Brandon O’Connell does such a great job with them,” Bowkett said. “Everybody does one eleventh. They do their job. They do all the things it takes to win games throughout the season.They get lined up, they fly to the football, they tackle with aggression, they get the ball back and they stop the run. They do all the things championship defenses do.”

“Coach Brandon is really good at scheming up plays. I think that we really focused on stopping what they do best and we tried to emphasize that at practice, stopping their run,” added senior Alex Sarfde, a middle linebacker and defensive captain who Bowkett referred to as “an unsung hero of the defense.”

Sarfde and Raudelunas each had half a sack, while Reardon led the team with three tackles-for-loss and junior Liam Bright intercepted Frechette in the fourth quarter.

The Sabers are now in sole possession of first place in the Division II Western Conference. Souhegan and Pelham both have 5-0 records, although Souhegan has a slightly higher rating based on the strength of the Sabers’ schedule. Those two will meet on Oct. 24 in Pelham.

Souhegan will host Milford (2-3) next Friday.