RallyNorth.net

Lancers fall short

Saturday, September, 05 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

LONDONDERRY, N.H. — Poise gave Londonderry the lead last night, and lack of poise enabled Keene to come back.

A turnover and strong defensive stand allowed the Division 1 Lancers to score two touchdowns within 56 seconds, taking a 21-12 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.

Division 2 Keene rebounded behind a fumble recovery of its own, riding quarterback Tanner Luopa’s arm to a tie score with 2:30 left in regulation.

The Lancers looked for the winning score, but a circus catch on third down near midfield with two minutes left was ruled out of bounds. Londonderry complained too vociferously and Keene took advantage of the big unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Senior Eric Haas popped through a 27-yard field goal with 20.7 seconds remaining for a 31-28 victory.

“We preach keeping our composure and playing smart football,” Londonderry head coach Jon Rich said. “I hope the young man learns from his mistake, it doesn’t happen again and we move forward.”

Luopa (14 of 31, 224 yards and two touchdowns) missed on 7 of 8 passes on the last drive, but his lone strike to senior Aaron Pickering (142 offensive yards, one TD) converted a fourth-and-10. Pickering also rushed for 24 yards to set the stage for Haas’ heroics.

Despite the efforts of defensive end Jake Finnegan (10 tackles) and defensive back Josh Roberts (7 tackles and a defended pass), Keene did a fine job of forcing Londonderry to defend the entire field. Attacking from sideline to sideline, Keene rolled up 389 yards as senior flanker Mike Tateosian slithered through the secondary for 141 receiving yards on seven catches with a pair of TDs.

With Joey McLaughlin (700 rushing yards last year) sitting out the game, the Lancers discovered other weapons in seniors Alex Lambert and Ross Johnston.

Taking several direct snaps out of the funky Single Wing attack, the 150-pound Lambert showed speed and strength in rolling up 133 yards and three touchdowns.

Lambert broke through a linebacker’s clutches and sprinted 51 yards for Londonderry’s first TD.

He closed out an 11-play, second quarter drive after Troy Mansfield’s fumble recovery with a 1-yard off-tackle trot to the end zone. Then he gave the Lancers their final lead with 4:06 left in the game on a 9-yard counter carry.

“He worked hard in the weight room,” said Rich. “He didn’t miss many days and he played that way (last night).”