Top-notch defense key to Somersworth championship | Sports | unionleader.com – The Union Leader
Somersworth High School football coach Jeremy Lambert will tell you that defense, more than anything else, allowed his team to defeat Fall Mountain in Saturday’s Division IV championship game.
Second-seeded Somersworth recorded seven sacks and scored two defensive touchdowns en route to a 40-13 victory at Laconia High School. The Hilltoppers held the Wildcats to 169 yards of offense (23 rushing).
“Defense played fantastic for us,” Lambert said. “Our defense has been very stout all year.
“The biggest factor was slowing down Luke Gay, their quarterback. He was fantastic all year and we wanted to keep him in the pocket. We gave him a lot of pressure up the middle.”
Somersworth (9-1) trailed 7-6 until it stripped the ball from Gay and freshman linebacker Blayne Belanger pounced on it in the end zone. That play helped the HIlltoppers carry a 12-7 lead into halftime.
The next score came when Somersworth junior Calvin Lambert, Jeremy’s son, intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a TD. Somersworth outscored Fall Mountain 22-0 in the third quarter.
“Fall Mountain came out with a lot of energy and those defensive touchdowns broke their emotion,” Jeremy Lambert said.
Calvin Lambert scored five TDs in the victory. In addition to the interception return, he had TD runs of 2, 1 and 4 yards, and caught a 51-yard TD pass from quarterback Jeff DeKorne. Lambert rushed for 113 yards on 22 carries.
“Very proud of him,” Jeremy Lambert said. “He ran hard. That’s the most carries he’s had all year.”
Somersworth’s Tayshawn Sheppard added 107 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Fourth-seeded Fall Mountain (6-4) received two TD passes from Gay. Brady Elliott had a 60-yard TD reception, and Josh Devore caught an 11-yard TD pass. Gay was 8 for 23 for 146 yards. He was intercepted twice.
The Wildcats reached the championship game by handing top-seeded Newport its only loss in the semifinals.
Somersworth, which lost to Newport in last year’s championship game, has only four seniors on its roster. Saturday’s victory gave the Somersworth program its first championship since 1997, when it beat St. Thomas to win the Division IV title. It was the 15th championship for the program overall.
“I had a lot of confidence in this team this year,” Jeremy Lambert said. “They put in a lot of work in the offseason. We talked a lot about getting as far as we can and excellence over outcome. Play your best and see where that takes you.”