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Owls shock defending champions

Saturday, October, 18 By Chris Helms
Staff writer

PLAISTOW, N.H. — To call Timberlane’s victory over Exeter an upset would be an understatement.

After all, this is the Exeter team that crushed the Owls 28-0 last year and went on to win the Division 2 title. This is the Exeter team that entered yesterday’s game 6-0 overall (5-0 in D2). This is the Exeter team that, along with fellow powerhouse Bishop Guertin, was widely considered to be one the top two teams in the division.

All that changed yesterday as Timberlane announced itself as a legitimate playoff contender with a stunning 21-7 win.

“We did a good job of controlling the game on both sides of the ball,” said workhorse running back Derek Furey. “Usually, the defense saves us every week, but now the offense is starting to step it up. We’re starting to look more like a team every week, getting better and better.”

According to Furey, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in last night’s win (he now has an area-leading 1,073), this year’s squad is far different than the one that was shut out on its home field last season.

“This is a special win. We’ve just been working hard this year, working way harder in practice,” Furey said. “We’re more like a team, not really fighting amongst ourselves. Last year, there’d be feuds between the offense and defense, but this year we’re a complete team.”

Furey (31 carries for 103 yards, one reception for 12 yards) failed to find the end zone, but his ability to pound the ball up-the-gut as well as evade tacklers while bouncing the run outside the tackles helped control the clock and keep the potent Exeter offense off the field.

“Derek gets himself open in space and is tough to tackle,” said first year coach Kevin Fitzgerald. “He comes up to the ball and sees the field real well. He’s just a great back.”

While Furey wasn’t directly responsible for putting points on the board, quarterback Erik Hatton was in on all three of the Owls' scoring plays.

On just the 12th play of the game, Hatton connected with senior Matt Caiazzo on a mammoth 67-yard strike for the game’s first score. Caiazzo gained separation deep down the middle, and Hatton led him perfectly as the receiver never slowed his stride. Hatton finished with 196 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-18 passing, and he also had a 2-yard touchdown.

“Erik’s a good quarterback. Teams want to load up on Derek, so Erik will put the ball on the money, like he’s been doing for a couple weeks now, and find people that are open,” Fitzgerald said.

The Timberlane defense was just as stingy as its offense was powerful. The Owls had a pair of excellent fourth-down stands in the first half to go along with a pair of interceptions, courtesy of Matt Faia and Dan Diodati, in the second half.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Fitzgerald. “We didn’t come in here expecting to dominate the game or anything like that, but we felt good about our chances, we had a good game plan coming in, and we executed.”