Hughes, East stun West

By rbrown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: June 26, 2016

CHaD NEW HAMPSHIRE EAST/WEST ALL-STAR GAME
East 28, West 14

Timberlane quarterback Jason Hughes tossed three touchdown passes to highlight the East’s victory. Londonderry’s Nick Donnelly caught a 12-yard TD pass and a 20-yard TD pass, and Hughest also hooked up with Exeter tight end Hunter Long for a 10-yard TD pass.

Hughes, who was named the game’s MVP, also rushed for 21 yards and had five punts for 201 yards. His longest punt traveled 69 yards.

“We were confident coming in,” Hughes said. “Everyone here knew we were the underdogs, but we didn’t think that.”

Hughes completed 13 of 20 pass attempts for 179 yards. He was intercepted twice.

Moment that mattered

The East seized the momentum when Winnacunnet defensive back Brian Auffant intercepted a J.T. Hiscoe (Bishop Guertin) pass and returned it 50 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Auffant’s TD came with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

“That started it all,” Hughes said. “That just fueled us. That was the turning point I think.”

Quarterly report

The East led 7-0 after one quarter, 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 at the end of three. The lead grew to 28-0 before the West scored on two Casey Gervais (Goffstown) touchdown passes. Gervais tossed a 39-ayrd TD pass to Merrimack’s Ian Roberts with 8:03 left, and a 6-yard TD pass to BG’s Nick Lorden with 3:42 left. Nashua South’s Collin Morrow caught a two-point conversion pass from Gervais following Lorden’s TD.

Rush to judgement

West running back Connor Bourque (Goffstown) ran for a game-high 119 yards on 23 carries. The West ran the ball 55 times for 177 yards, and the East gained 71 yards on 38 attempts.

Stat package

The West had a 363-250 edge in total offense, a 23-14 advantage in first downs and a 33:26-26:34 edge in time of possession. East defensive back Matt Shea (Windham) made a game-high 10 tackles. Nashua North’s Mike Muchemore led the West in tackles with eight.

Coaches quotes

West coach Paul Lavigne: “Our offense sputtered in the first half. In a game like this an early touchdown is definitely a spark that you need. We just couldn’t get going.

“The East team was very well coaches. I give them a lot of credit. They were prepared. They took advantage of our mistakes and they deserve it.”

East coach Craig Kozens: “I think the Pick 6 was huge. It made them feel like they weren’t a machine, and it made our kids believe in the game plan. We had a hard time moving the ball. We decided we were going to have to move them around and get creative. I’m so proud of this group of kids. They’re all chuggers and hard workers. Pick-up truck boys. Chemistry is everything. These guys were all in it for one another. Good boys.”

Big picture

The West now leads the series 3-2. The East has won two in a row since losing the first three games.