The Cougars picked a bad time to go cold. A combination of frigid temperatures, whipping winds and a stifling Saint Thomas defense led to ConVal’s sloppiest game of the season, a 21-6 loss to the Saints that puts the Cougars in a virtual must-win situation against undefeated Windham on Friday night.
Saturday’s game was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Saint Thomas, but heavy rains deteriorated the Saints’ already soggy field, and the game was moved to that night at Portsmouth’s pristine turf field. Ostensibly, that move should have played to ConVal’s favor, with good field conditions allowing them to avoid a ground-and-pound mud bowl and take to the air. And with quarterback Dan Spezzaferri making his return after missing a game and a half due to a concussion, hopes were high that ConVal could grab a road win over the defending champs.
Once the ball was kicked, however, it was readily apparent that this would be a defensive game. Temperatures sank into the 40s with wind gusts flaring up to nearly 30 MPH — not the best conditions for a team which likes to air it out.
Senior Cam Goodell and the Saint Thomas defensive line immediately applied pressure, breaking through and collapsing the pocket, forcing Spezzaferri — perhaps a bit gunshy after being knocked out of his last game — to scramble and take a number of hits. The Saints were able to bottle up running back Danny Parker as well, stacking up the box, and it quickly became clear that Saint Thomas was content to let the Cougars try and beat them through the blustery fall air.
Fingers numbed by the cold, the usually sure hands of the ConVal receivers turned to stone, as the Cougars would combine for a season-high ten drops, after accruing only 11 through the entire season to that point.
Fortunately, the ConVal defense was able to keep the Cougars in the game. Saint Thomas’s Shawn Dekorme started the game at quarterback, for the first time since being knocked out at Souhegan, and though he can throw it, the Saints went run-heavy. With wide receiver Connor Hayward coming across on a jet sweep look, Dekorme would either hand it off to him, or find a way to get it to all-around athlete Tim Bouchard on a pitch, screen or counter.
ConVal defensive tackle Daniel Curran was having none of it. Curran continuously blew up the center and got into the backfield, finishing the game with 11 tackles (three for loss), two sacks, two forced fumbles and six quarterback pressures. Linebackers Jake Phillips and Andrew Stockwell got into the action, too, and made seven tackles with two for loss apiece.
With that strong defensive showing, ConVal limited Saint Thomas to just six points in the first half. After Jimmy Stewart made a key second-quarter interception, ConVal had the ball with prime field position. Spezzaferri would take a big first-down sack, but bounce back on third, when he scrambled out of a collapsing pocket, stepped up and fired the ball into the prevailing winds, a 24-yard heave that found Stewart standing unguarded on the goal line for a touchdown. Spezzaferri would mishandle the snap on the PAT and the game would remain tied at six going into the half.
Unfortunately for ConVal, this was a classic tale of two halves situation. The Cougars fumbled the ball a season-high four times, losing two in the second half. Saint Thomas found their legs, adding touchdown runs of seven and 60 yards on their way to 15 unanswered points. The clock ticked its way down to zero, and ConVal ended up with a 21-6 loss to the defending champions.
Spezzaferri finished 18-51 for 245 yards and a touchdown on the night. Stewart led all receivers with six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. ConVal only managed 40 rushing yards — a season low — on the night.
With the loss, ConVal finds themselves on the playoff bubble, despite one of the best seasons in team history to this point. Now 6-2, ConVal hosts undefeated Windham on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Cougars don’t necessarily have to win that game to make the playoffs, but it would guarantee them a spot. With a loss, ConVal would then need help from any number of upsets to get them into the playoffs.
Windham (8-0), Hanover (8-0), John Stark (7-1) and Bow (7-1) have clinched four of Division II’s eight playoff spots. The remainder will go to some combination of ConVal, Plymouth (6-2), Saint Thomas (6-2), Milford (6-2) and HollisBrookline (6-2), with Lebanon (5-3) just on the outside looking in. Milford plays Plymouth on Friday, Hollis-Brookline has Souhegan (3-5), and H-B has lowly Trinity (1-7).