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Sanborn stumbles in season-ending loss

Saturday, October, 30 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

KINGSTON — Yesterday against Bow in its season finale, Sanborn took a step backwards.

Five minutes into action, Bow's all-star running back Alex Foley was knocked out of the game after a face mask penalty. Sanborn also forced four Falcon turnovers as savvy pass coverage led by Dylan Spence (two interceptions) and Ryan Manasian (a diving first-quarter pick) shut down Bow's passing game. Defensive end Seth Sherman added a fumble recovery to the list, and solid work on the kick return game gave the hosts strong field position.

Opportunities were plentiful, but the Indians couldn't take advantage. Each possession created by the defense saw Sanborn's offense turn it back over as the hosts suffered five giveaways and gave the ball back on downs four other times.

But, most importantly, the Indians couldn't find a consistant replacement for injured running back Glen Smith. Bow, on the other hand, had two answers for Foley in tailback Anders Hanson (101 yards) and wingback Erik Michaud (89 yards along with two pass interceptions defensively) as the Falcons cruised to a 21-0 victory.

"Definitely when you lose one of your better players, your offense is going to struggle," Sanborn head coach Mike Drouin said. "We just don't have that killer instinct. We don't have the drive, the desire. We've got to get tougher, we've got to get better, we've got to get back to work.

"It's almost like the kids don't believe in themselves," Drouin continued. "They're almost saying, 'When are the wheels going to fall off the bus,' instead of saying, 'Hey, Let's do this.' It comes with a young team."

The defense did its part to keep Sanborn in the game. Linebacker Manasian was a beast early on with six tackles, while Dylan Howard (team-high 10 tackles) and Dane Seargent (nine tackles) played tough between the tackles. All they yielded was a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Joe Marshall for an 8-0 Bow lead at halftime.

Sanborn looked to climb closer with an 11-play march sparked by the running of QB Ryan Morris (team-high 53 yards). However, the drive stalled at the Bow 45 to start the fourth quarter and Michaud, tight-roping the left sideline behind the blocking of Matthew Espinoza, toted the ball 88 yards to the house to lock up the victory.

The Indians had one good shot to score. Trailing 21-0 with 6 1/2 minutes left to play, Morris hit a wide-open Billy Wydola for a 36-yard gain as Bow's Jonathan French had a touchdown-saving tackle at the 10. But three plays only drew Sanborn to the 5 and Falcons lineman Riley Johnson swatted down a fourth-down pass to end the possession.

"We kind of left the defense out to dry for the whole first half," Drouin concluded. "We were lucky to go in down 8-0 at halftime. But we just couldn't get any momentum rolling. It's frustrating, the kids are frustrated and I'm frustrated."

Additional stories:

• Sanborn stumbles in season-ending loss