RallyNorth.net

Fri, Sep 04, 2015 07:00 PM @ Salem

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Winnacunnet	7	7	7	0	21
Salem	0	14	0	12	26

Salem rallies late to beat Winnacunnet

Thursday, September, 10 By Dave Dyer

SALEM — When he looked downfield after taking a pitchout near midfield late in the fourth quarter Friday night, Salem senior Nick Shumski didn’t see an excess of daylight.

But he saw something better.

“I saw (Salem offensive tackle) Tim Dodier in front of me and I knew I had a chance to go all the way,” said Shumski, who completed a 57-yard option pass to Matt Ayotte earlier in the game. “Dodier is the man as a blocker.”

Indeed, with Dodier leading the way, Shumski cut back slightly and, despite stumbling and nearly falling twice, kept his balance and went 42 yards for the winning touchdown with 2:11 left to play in a thrilling 26-21 season-opening comeback victory over Winnacunnet.

“Nick is always a threat,” said Salem coach Rob Pike. “He has quick feet and good balance. That was a great run.”

After battling to a 14-14 halftime score, Winnacunnet seemed to be in control late in the third quarter when it scored on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Patrick MacDougall to Brian Auffant. The Warriors had been moving the ball on Salem’s defense all game.

But that changed in the fourth quarter as the Warriors gained just nine yards in their only two series and Salem played its best ball of the game.

Taking over on its 37 after Winnacunnet’s final score, Salem needed nine plays to reach the end zone. Charles Sibanda ran it three times for 22 yards and then caught a short pass over the middle, made a quick cut and zoomed 24 yards for the score, his second of the game.

Trailing 21-20, the Blue Devils attempted a fake kick and pass for two extra points, but they were denied and, with 8:32 left, they still trailed.

But Winnacunnet managed just one first down when it got the ball back as Ben Genest made a key stop on a 3rd-and-5 to force a punt, giving the ball back to Salem on its 34 with 4:09 left to play and leading to Shumski’s heroics.

On the final drive, sophomore Matt Soldano completed a key 12-yard pass to Matt Ayotte. He was an impressive 5 for 7 for 50 yards after looking a bit shaky (0 for 4) in the first half.

Sibanda led the Salem rushing attack with 120 yards on 11 carries, with 54 coming on a TD run in the first half. Sean Nartiff and Dodier keyed the defense in the second half and Jacob Dufton had an interception in the last minute to rule out a last gasp by Winnacunnet.

“That (Winnacunnet) is a good football team and we were a little fortunate,” said Pike. “We have some things to work on, but our kids played hard and I thought our defense did pretty well to hold them to 21 points. Sean Nartiff and Tim Dodier controlled the line in the second half.”

The 6-2, 270-pound Nartiff also scored Salem’s first touchdown of the season when he capped a nine-play drive early in the second quarter with a one-yard plunge through the middle of the line.

Salem is back home next Friday against Dover (0-1).

Salem 26, Winnacunnet 21

Winnacunnet (0-1): 7  7 7  0 — 21

Salem (1-0): 0 14 0 12 — 26

First Quarter

W — Mike Lewis 25 run (Anthony Primivera kick), 3:47

Second Quarter

S — Sean Nartiff 1 run (Jacob Bosworth kick), 11:25

S — Charles Sibanda 54 run (Bosworth kick), 7:19

W — Brian Auffant 5 run (Primavera kick), :56

Third Quarter

W — Auffant 14 pass from Patrick MacDougall (Primavera kick), 2:03

Fourth Quarter

S — Sibanda 24 pass from Matt Soldano (pass failed), 8:31

S — Nick Shumski 42 run (run failed), 2:11

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: S (34-238) — Matt Soldano 1-0, James LeBlond 3-16, Doug Maroun 5-38, Charles Sibanda 11-120, Johnny Bartose 5-12, Nick Shumski 8-53, Solomon Ortiz 1-(-1); W (40-189) — Mike Lewis 12-73, Brian Auffant 17-55, Patrick MacDougall 10-57, Anthony Primivera 1-4

PASSING: S — Soldano 5-11-0, 50; Shumski 1-1-0, 57; W — MacDougall 6-8-1, 82

RECEIVING: S — Sibanda 1-24, Shumski 2-8, Matt Ayotte 3-75; W — Lewis 1-4, Auffant 3-46, Logan Keene 2-32