PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth High School rallied late and pulled out a win for the opportunity to play fall sports this season.
The school’s football team fell just short of another memorable victory on Friday night in the season opener against Winnacunnet at Tom Daubney Field.
Portsmouth, trailing by a touchdown with 6 seconds left on the clock, faced a fourth-and-1 on its own 40 yard line. Junior quarterback Billy Omahen took the snap out of the shotgun, scrambled around and lofted a deep pass down the middle of the field. Joe Sigmon hauled in the long pass just inside the 5 yard line, but was tackled by Winnacunnet senior Ben Chase at the 2 as the Warriors held on for the 14-7 win.
"I didn’t even know (Sigmon) was that close," Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said. "(Omahen) kept his head, stepped up in the pocket, set his feet and found (Sigmon) down the field. The kids were where they were supposed to be, and he found one of them."
Chase dropped back in coverage and saw an open Sigmon in the middle of the field inside the 10.
"I just started running towards him and the quarterback just bombed it like 60 yards," Chase said. "I went in for the tackle instead of going up for the ball; luckily, I got him inside the 5."
Winnnacunnet head coach Ryan Francoeur put the blame on the coaches for allowing that final play to happen.
"We had the call we wanted to have, but we’ll have to practice that situation because that can’t happen," Francoeur said. "Yes, it’s nice we made the tackle, but that is something that absolutely can’t happen. It was a hell of a play by the quarterback. He must have thrown it a million miles down the field. It was a nice play by him, and it was a great catch. I am just glad (Chase) made the tackle."
Winnacunnet improved to 2-0 on the season and surpassed last year’s win total.
"Don’t get me wrong," Francoeur said, "we’re thrilled we won. But there will be a lot of film work this week. We have to play much better to play against a very tough Dover team next week."
Winnacunnet broke a 7-7 tie as junior quarterback Kyle Tilley scored on a 1-yard run with 41 seconds left.
Tilley, who picked up 26 of his team-high 53 rushing yards on the first play of Winnacunnet’s final drive, took the direct snap from center Jack McCann on third-and-goal from just inside the 1 yard line with 49 seconds left on the clock. Tilley tried to sneak in for the score just to McCann’s right, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage; he then bounced it out right and managed to get into the end zone, giving the Warriors a 14-7 lead.
"That was all (Tilley)," Francoeur said. "I wasn’t really happy with how we played offensively in short yardage situations, and I don’t know if we had enough in our arsenal. But we went right at them. We didn’t have that much success (in short yardage situations), but we were so close, and I was kind of hoping we could sneak it in. Kyle made a nice play."
After getting good field position at the Portsmouth 35 to start the drive, Tilley scampered around right end on first down and gained 26 yards before being brought down by Portsmouth’s Caleb Comstock at the 9.
Consecutive 4-yard runs by Matt Alkire and Tucker McCann gave the Warriors the third down from inside the 1.
"I saw they put all their big boys in the middle, and I had a feeling I may not be able to get it in on the first punch," Tilley said. "I saw an open look and went for it.
"We had to get this game. It was down to the final seconds and we knew what we had to do."
Added Pafford: "Our safety came in and filled the C gap, everyone else clogged it up. And just like if we were playing Exeter, you lose them in the pile, and they bounce it out to the corner."
After a scoreless first half, the Warriors went on six-play, 51-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the third quarter.
McCann (10 carries, 42 yards) picked up nine yards on two carries, and senior Ryan Eaton’s 2-yard run gave Winnacunnet a fresh set of downs at the Portsmouth 40. McCann picked up 2 yards on first down and Eaton gained a yard on second, setting up a third-and-7 from the Portsmouth 37. Tilley, who completed four of his six passes for 43 yards, found senior Elynn Houston for the touchdown reception.
The ClipperCats tied the game at 7-7 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when Omahen and senior Matthew Koener connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 8:14 left.
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October 03, 2020 at 12:57PM
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Warriors stop PHS just short on wild final play, 14-7 - Seacoastonline.com
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