Four weeks in, the Hanover High football season has begun to take a decidedly different shape.
Two weeks ago, the Bears were 0-2 and had scored just 11 points all season. They had lost their opener to Plymouth, 18-11, then traveled to Milford and came home with a 7-0 loss.
Both Plymouth and Milford are now 4-0, having beaten other Division II teams handily, but Hanover is also on a two-game winning streak, and the Bears have done so in two very different ways.
The Bears beat previously unbeaten Pelham, 12-7, behind defense, turnovers and four Dima Petrov field goals. A week later, Hanover’s offense exploded in a 34-22 victory at ConVal, led by a huge passing night from quarterback EJ Frechette and tight end Peak Temple. The victory improved Hanover to 2-2.
Now comes a much stiffer test, as unbeaten Souhegan visits Hanover on Friday at 7 p.m. The Sabers are 4-0, have outscored their opponents 133-27 and are coming off an impressive 35-7 victory over previously unbeaten Manchester West.
Recent history favors Souhegan heavily, but the Hanover team that takes the field Friday night appears considerably more dangerous than the one that began the season a month ago.
The gritty 12-7 win over Pelham wasn’t quite as offensively limited as it looked
On paper, Hanover’s Sept. 18 victory over Pelham looked like the quintessential defensive struggle. There were no official Hanover touchdowns and Petrov accounted for all 12 points, converting field goals from 26, 29, 39 and 46 yards. Caleb Franklin and Temple intercepted passes, while Jack Richardson recovered a fumble as Hanover held a Pelham team that entered the game 2-0 to seven points.
However, Hanover had two apparent touchdowns erased by penalties on calls that were subjective enough to be debatable. The Bears won the line-of-scrimmage battle on both sides of the ball and gave the passing game time to make some big plays. Frechette was efficient throughout, finishing 12-for-16 for 125 yards. Temple caught four passes for 92 yards, while Richardson displayed incredible toughness, carrying 17 times for 46 yards.
Frechette and Temple erupt at ConVal
Through three games, Hanover’s official point totals had been 11, 0 and 12. Against ConVal, the Bears scored 34. Frechette completed 16 of 24 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns in Hanover’s 34-22 victory. The centerpiece of the performance was Temple, who caught eight passes for a staggering 231 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring receptions of 48 and 70 yards.
The offensive performance showed a dimension Hanover had not previously demonstrated this season. Passing for 291 yards, with one receiver producing 231 yards and three touchdowns in a high-school football game, will certainly get Souhegan’s attention.
The big question coming out of ConVal is Hanover’s defense, which struggled to bottle up talented ConVal running back Wetu Selby.
Souhegan presents an entirely different challenge
If Hanover’s trajectory is encouraging, Souhegan’s first month has been imposing.
The Sabers have beaten Bow (1-3), 41-7; ConVal (1-3), 29-13; John Stark (1-3), 28-0; and Manchester West (3-1), 35-7. They are averaging more than 33 points per game while allowing fewer than seven. https://www.maxpreps.com/nh/amherst/souhegan-sabers/football/schedule/ Souhegan has unquestionably been the more dominant team, but the Bears appear to have faced the more demanding schedule. Hanover has already faced unbeatens Plymouth and Milford and handed 3-1 Pelham its first loss after the Pythons opened 2-0.
Souhegan junior quarterback Luke Fallon completed 11 of 12 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns against Manchester West, finishing the game with 10 consecutive completions. Cole Brandt caught four passes for 128 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown. Jacob Bryan rushed for 91 yards and a score. Taven Beamer, Kobe Morin and Lucas Steckbeck also caught touchdown passes.
Therein lies the difficulty for Hanover. The Bears will have to stop both the running game and Fallon’s ability to attack downfield.
Can Hanover prevent the explosive play?
Souhegan isn’t merely efficient. It has shown the ability to erase large stretches of the field with one play, even against a strong Manchester West team. Brandt’s 81-yard touchdown reception and Bryan’s 54-yard scoring run demonstrated how quickly the Sabers can punish a defensive mistake.
Hanover’s first priority is making Souhegan work for its points. If the Bears can prevent the Sabers’ receivers from getting behind the secondary, tackle immediately after completions and force Souhegan to execute repeatedly over long drives, Hanover gives itself an opportunity to create turnovers without giving up big plays and easy points.
Souhegan has some problems to solve, too
There is an important difference between this matchup and the way Hanover might have looked two weeks ago. The Sabers must worry about Temple. Souhegan can’t afford to approach Hanover purely as an offense that intends to run the football, control possession and move close enough for Petrov to attempt field goals. Hanover has demonstrated a legitimate downfield threat, and if Souhegan dedicates additional coverage to Temple, the Bears will need to exploit the resulting opportunities elsewhere. If the Sabers leave Temple isolated, Frechette can get him the football.
While that’s a significant tactical development, Hanover cannot count on producing another 34 points simply because it did so at ConVal. Souhegan’s defense is allowing fewer than seven points per game, and it just kept Manchester West out of the end zone on repeated fourth downs and two drives that penetrated the 10-yard line. The Bears must protect Frechette, establish enough of a running game to keep Souhegan honest and find ways to get Temple the ball without becoming predictable. And Hanover must get back to being the stingy defense that kept Plymouth, Milford and Pelham from putting up too many points.
Hanover’s formula
An upset probably requires several things to happen simultaneously.
First, Hanover needs to get back to playing defense and stay close early. Souhegan built a three-score first-half advantage against Manchester West. A similar start Friday would put Hanover in exactly the position it wants to avoid, forcing Frechette to throw against a defense that knows he has to throw.
Second, the Bears need first downs. Long Hanover possessions accomplish two objectives. They keep Fallon and Souhegan’s explosive offense on the sideline, and they reduce the total number of possessions in the game.
Third, Hanover needs touchdowns. Petrov is a significant weapon. The Pelham game demonstrated that Hanover’s effective scoring territory extends farther from the goal line than it does for most high-school teams. But trying to beat Souhegan 12-7 will put too much pressure on the defense. If Hanover reaches the red zone Friday, it needs to reach the end zone on some of those drives, coming away with seven points rather than three.
Finally, the Bears need a few of the potentially game-changing plays that have begun appearing over the last two weeks.
A measuring-stick Friday night
Souhegan deserves to be considered the favorite. The Sabers are undefeated, they have won every game by at least 16 points, their offense has scored at least 28 in every game, and their defense has kept opposing offenses to under two touchdowns.
But the Bears have recovered from starting 0-2 against two very strong opponents. They beat a Pelham team that had routed them in each of the previous two seasons. They overcame two touchdowns being erased in that game rather than allowing the frustration to decide it. A week later, their previously quiet offense produced 34 points.
Friday night should reveal whether that improvement is sufficient to close what has recently been a substantial gap between these two programs. Souhegan has administered that test harshly the last two years. This Hanover team looks better equipped to answer it.
Prediction: Souhegan 21, Hanover 17.
Souhegan remains the more proven team. But after what the offense showed at ConVal, expect Hanover to create more problems for the Sabers than they have encountered yet this year. If the Bears can eliminate Souhegan’s explosive plays and keep Friday’s game close into the fourth quarter, the combination of their newfound big-play ability and Petrov’s leg puts an upset within reach.