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Souhegan 14, Pelham 11

Defense carried fourth-seeded Souhegan to this year’s Division II title. There’s no question about that.

The fourth-seeded Sabers upset top-seeded Plymouth 36-7 in the semifinals two weeks ago, and knocked off second-seeded Pelham 14-11 in Saturday’s Division II championship game at Pinkerton Academy.

Souhegan (10-2) had a 235-79 edge in total offense, and limited second-seeded Pelham (10-2) to 37 offensive plays.

Running back Junior MacKinnon led the Pythons with 41 yards rushing and a touchdown, and quarterback Kevin Hardy was 2 of 4 passing for 37 yards. That was about it for the Pelham offense.

Souhegan QB Michael Fiengo had 108 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 carries and also tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Brody Smith that opened the scoring in the second quarter.

The Sabers led 14-0 until Hardy intercepted a Fiengo pass and returned the ball to the Pelham 40-yard line. The Pythons cashed in when MacKinnon scored on a 2-yard run with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Pythons pulled within six, 14-8, when the ball sailed over Brayden Hickman’s head while the Sabers were in punt formation. Hickman picked up the ball, but then stepped out of the end zone for a Pelham safety.

Pelham added a Colby Crear 27-yard field goal to trim Souhegan’s lead to 14-11 with 46.1 seconds left in the third, but failed to score in the fourth.

The Pythons had won four straight titles, two in Division III and two more in Division II.

The championship was the second in the last five years for Souhegan, which beat fifth-seeded John Stark 34-6 in the quarterfinals.

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