Robin Bowkett goes to the town dump in Amherst on Saturday mornings, and sees some of the same faces, including a town selectman.

“They’re invested,” he said.

In what? In Souhegan High School football, that’s what.

There’s something about these Souhegan Sabers when they play the game that you have to love:

Fun.

Yes, the “F” in Football stands for Fun. No question.

And there’s no question that it starts with the energy and enthusiasm of their coach, Saber alum Bowkett, and then goes all the way down to the players. Now sure, it won’t be a whole lot of fun if the Sabers are on the wrong side of the scoreboard in Saturday’s Divison II championship game vs. No. 2 Pelham, but getting to Bedford’s Bulldog Stadium was sure an enjoyable ride.

Souhegan won the title two years ago, Bowkett’s first as their head coach. They’ve been to the Division II playoffs every year since 2017. He’s a former quarterback, has a great offensive mind, great assistants, and certainly has had two superb quarterbacks as the extension of his philosophy in first Austin, then Romy Jain.

They ain’t ground and pound, that’s for sure. Speed. Points. Good defense on the flip side with a mix of size, strength and speed.

In other words, fun. A great atmosphere.

“I think it’s better than anything else you can get,” Romy Jain said. “From the standards he gives us, be as a team. The bonds we’ve created, being good people, when we’re on the field, playing to the standards he gives us.

“At the end of the day, it’s about having fun. Playing football, it’s really fun. He makes sure we’re always having fun, we’re enjoying it.”

Of course, winning is fun. And the Sabers win. Last year, with the senior cupboard cleaned out after a title, the Sabers still won and made the playoffs. And now they’ve taken a couple more steps.

“We treat it as a huge family, we stand up for each other, are there for each other,” Saber senior Madux McGrath said. “He pushes us to get the best out of everyone. I love it, it’s amazing.”

Yes, football matters at these two schools, which is why they’re squaring off in a title game. And Bowkett is energized because he’s at his alma mater.

“It’s different when it’s where you went to high school,” he said. “I love my high school coach, love being a Souhegan Saber, and you have a little more invested into that.”

But don’t forget the real key. The kids in the uniforms. They bought in. Period. Kids buy in, coaches can be successful. Kids don’t, forget it.

“It’s happened because we’ve got great players,” Bowkett said. “This is my sixth year, we’ve been able to establish a real good culture here, our staff continuity has been the same since I’ve been here.

“It takes a lot of buy-in, a lot of commitment from the top down, from the superintendent, to the principal, our athletic director, it takes a village. Our team parents are awesome, our booster club is awesome. It’s a whole community efffort.”

It may start at the top but it also starts down the ladder, to the youth program. Bowkett says the Amherst Patriot numbers are super.

“Our youth program, our numbers are fantastic,” Bowkett said. “Kids are playing a lot of football and having fun again.

“It’s a lot of different things. But first and foremost, it comes down to our players. We wouldn’t be in this situation if we one, didn’t have great players, and two, didn’t have players committed to the program and each other. It’s all about them. They’re the ones that have to go out and make the plays.”

And Bowkett is the one who has to coach. His first year, yours truly went out to practice his first preseason, and he was right in there with the hitting drills, the energy incredible. It has to spread to the players.

“At the end of the day,” Jain said, “we’re just having fun, playing the sport we love.”

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

Newsletter