BLUE HAWKS SOAR
Batstone scores 2 TDs as Exeter holds off rival Winnacunnet
EXETER — Trick plays, an onside kick, big plays on the field, and screaming fans from enthusiastic student sections, it had all the makings of a high school rivalry football game Saturday at Exeter High School.
Exeter and Winnacunnet were locked in a one-possession battle for more than three quarters, with each team at one point holding at least a touchdown lead.
But, with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, the Blue Hawks created enough distance and defeated the Warriors, 23-7 in the 99th meeting between the two schools in the storied history .
“I’ve been through too many of these games, and you can forget the records and forget all of it, it’s Exeter and Winnacunnet,” Exeter head coach Bill Ball said. “We’re going to get their best, and hopefully they get our best. That’s what it’s about.”
Exeter improved to 4-0 with the win, while Winnacunnet is 0-4.
“I don’t think we can ask anymore of our kids today, I really don’t,” Winnacunnet head coach Ryan Francoeur said. “We know we’re getting better every week, but we have to be pretty close to perfect for the game to go completely how we need it to go. We missed a few opportunities today, and the kids know that. It was not for a lack of effort or heart, or anything along those lines. We’re extremely proud of them.”
Francouer, who took over as Winnacunnet’s head coach after the 2018 season, expressed his gratitude of being a part of the storied rivalry that dates back to 1924.
“This rivalry has been the greatest sports experience of my life,” said Francoeur, who served as an assistant under Ron Auffant for 14 years before him taking over the program. “There are so many aspects of the rivalry that make it great, but as much as anything, it’s been the opportunity of knowing Coach Ball.”
Here are five highlights from Exeter’s win
Warriors make presence felt on rival turf
From the opening kick, the Warriors
made it known they would not be backing down from their undefeated rival, and they were going to put it all out there for a chance to win.
Exeter won the coin toss and chose to receive, but the Warriors had different plans on which team would actually be receiving the ball first.
“We were at breakfast with the coaches this morning,” Francoeur said. “We had taken the ball every time we won (the toss) this year, and I said ‘hey, let’s leave it out there today. I said if we win the toss, we’ll defer and we’ll onside (kick) to our sideline and see how it goes.”
The Warriors recovered the ball at midfield, and the momentum didn’t stop after the kick. The Warriors went seven plays, and it finished with a 35yard touchdown reception on fourthand-6 by Jack Strother from quarterback Riley McDaniel for an early 7-0 lead with just under 8 minutes left in the quarter.
“We talked about it all pregame and all week, and (Winnacunnet) executed well,” Ball said “It took a tough hop. Credit to them, good job by them. They played well.”
Daniel Batstone scores eight points in response
The next two drives resulted in each team turning the ball over on downs. For Winnacunnet, a McDaniel incompletion on fourth-and-8 gave the Blue Hawks the ball at their own 37.
Exeter went on a 10-play drive, ending with junior Daniel Batstone’s 14yard run for a touchdown. The Blue Hawks, after the Warriors were whistled for an encroachment on the point-after attempt, elected to go for two, and Batstone ran in from the 1, giving Exeter an 8-7 lead with 10:01 left in the half.
“Coaches told me where to go,” Batstone said. “They said get that hole a little wider and I found it. I found my backside cut, and got in the end zone.”
Batstone had two carries for 20 yards on the drive. For the game, he had 115 yards on 13 carries; having four carries of 10-plus yards.
“He’s a football player,” Ball said. “He’s a really good player and he’s done a great job for us.”
Tyler Graney adds to Exeter lead in second quarter
After forcing another Warriors’ turnover on downs, the Exeter offense was back on the field. This time, the Blue Hawks put together a 12-play, 66-yard drive ending with quarterback Jack Bove finding Graney for a 17-yard touchdown reception.
“I hear my name called, and I’m like this better go to me, I’m scoring a touchdown here,” Graney said. “I see the ball, and this kid is about a foot shorter than me. I catch it, he’s not guarding me, I stiff arm him to the ground and it was nothing but green. That’s a touchdown.”
It was Graney’s second touchdown of the season and increased Exeter’s lead to 15-7 with 24 seconds left in the half.
A pair of fumbles halt promising Winnacunnet drive
Winnacunnet received the kickoff to start the second half, and was moving the ball down the field, getting a first down at the Exeter 39. However, a a pair of mishaps put an end to the drive.
A fumble cost the Warriors 15 yards on first down, and another fumble on second down cost them five more yards. Now, the Warriors were faced with a third-and-30, Hoping to catch Exeter off-guard and pin them deep, McDaniel punted on third down and Exeter took over at the 23.
“We’re trying to hop on turnovers and we didn’t get them, that’s the disappointing part,” Ball said. “We’ve got to start doing that and be good to ourselves. We take the ball for 8 or 9 minutes at a time, and if you get a couple of turnovers, we can roll a little bit better, I think.”
Blue Hawks add insurance score in the fourth quarter
Exeter, leading 15-7, took over on downs on its 32 with 11:39 left in the fourth. The Blue Hawks went on an 11play, 68-yard drive, and took nearly 7 minutes off the clock. The drive ended on Batstone’s 1-yard touchdown run. Batstone appeared to have scored on the previous play, a 22-yard run, but was ruled down just shy of the goal-line.
Exeter lined up in its usual PAT formation, but holder Kenny Verhelle pulled the snap, ran right, turned left, and threw to Evan Delorie for the successful two-point attempt, and giving the Blue Hawks a 23-7 lead.
Winnacunnet wasn’t giving up, taking over at the its 26 with 5:07 to play. McDaniel picked up a tough 2 yards on a fourth-and-1 run. McDaniel was banged up on the play and went to the sideline. Mason McDonald then connected with his brother, Jaxon, a freshman, for a 41yard gain to the Exeter 12.
That’s where the drive stalled as the Warriors lost 11 yards on the next play. McDaniel ran for 1 yard, and then connected with Mason McDonald for an 8yard gain, setting up a fourth-and-12. McDaniel then misfired, giving the ball back to the Blue Hawks, who ran out the final minute.
“We never take our foot off the gas, we’re always going as hard as we can,” Batstone said. “Running really hard, and doing everything that we do. We’re never going to stop.”