Somersworth football keeps playoff hopes alive with win over Bishop Brady

CONCORD – It might only be mid-October, but the postseason is already here for the Somersworth High School football team.

That’s what coach Dan Hodsdon told his crew heading into Saturday night’s game against Bishop Brady. If the Hilltoppers take care of business from here on out, they’d be playing in November.

If not, well, Somersworth won’t know for at least another week, as it scored three times in the first half and then held off the Giants long enough in the second for a 21-9 win in Division III South Conference action.

“My point of emphasis this week was that we needed to come out with a sense of urgency,” Hodsdon said. “Every game is going to be a playoff game for us and we’re playing a good football team. I thought our kids responded pretty well in that first half and put some points on the board. I really like the way the kids responded. Our intensity was good and we played a lot better on defense than we had in recent games.”

Matt Menz rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while Rich Mills added 71 yards and two scores on 14 totes, and also intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter to end Bishop Brady’s comeback attempt.

But perhaps more importantly for Somersworth (3-3), its defense showed up. The Hilltoppers held the Giants (4-2), who were again without running back Moses Murenzi, to just 20 yards on offense in the first half.

Somersworth also held Bishop Brady to a field goal on three trips inside the red zone in the second half.

“We’ve had an atrocious time on defense this year,” Hodsdon said. “We started to make plays in the secondary and started to cover better. We’re getting more plays from our linemen. We got good push up front (Saturday) and that was the catalyst.”

Mario Fusco led Bishop Brady with 137 yards on 9 of 21 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions, but all of that came in the second half, as the Giants struggled to move the ball in the first 24 minutes. Bishop Brady finished the game with just 55 yards rushing on 42 carriers.

“Nothing was working,” Giants coach Matt Shawn said. “We couldn’t really get out of our own way. Every time something started to work, we shot ourselves in the foot. Any time we’d get something rolling, we’d get a first down, we’d get a second-and-short, (then) we’d get a penalty and get pushed back. I don’t really have a designed run to gain 18 yards. You’re forced to get away from what’s working based on field position and situation that you’re in.”

Somersworth opened the game with a 16-play drive that took up the first 8:38 of the game, but the offense stalled at the Giants’ 32-yard line. But after an interception by Aidan Anderson, Mills rumbled 44 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to make it 7-0.

Bishop Brady’s offense couldn’t get going on its second drive, and with the Giants ready to punt on fourth down, the snap sailed over the head of Rich Sullivan. The sophomore was able to recover the ball, but it gave the Hilltoppers a first down at the Giants’ 21-yard line. Two plays later, Menz ran it in from 18 yards out and then scored on the conversion to make it 14-0.

A good kickoff return by Fusco gave Bishop Brady decent field position, but the drive stalled at the Somersworth 38-yard line, and the Hilltoppers went 59 yards in nine plays, scoring on Mills’ 1-yard run with two seconds left in the half.

The offense got going for Bishop Brady in the second half, as the Giants opened with a 12-play drive that ended with Sarah Plourde’s 27-yard field goal to make it 21-3.

“For us to hold them to three points, that’s something we wouldn’t have done two weeks ago or three weeks ago,” Hodsdon said. “I was proud of our guys for making that adjustment and being able to firm up and hold them to three points.”

Somersworth fumbled on its next two drives, but the Giants were unable to capitalize, despite getting to the Hilltoppers’ 13-yard line. After stopping the Hilltoppers again, Bishop Brady drove to the 4-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs.

Another Somersworth fumble gave Bishop Brady the ball at the Hilltoppers’ 40, and the Giants finally found the end zone, as Fusco hit Sullivan for a 34-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but Bishop Brady recovered the onside kick with 2:27 remaining, down 21-9.

The Giants had a first down at the Somersworth 36, but two plays later, a pass from Fusco was tipped and intercepted by Mills to end the game.