MANCHESTER, NH — Senior wingback Jacob Schuff ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns, leading Memorial to an historic 28-21 win over Exeter, on a windy Friday night at Chabot-McDonough Field.
With the win, Memorial clinched the Division I East championship and its 8-1 regular season record is the program’s best in 53 years.
The Crusaders have earned a first-round bye in the upcoming Division I State Tournament and could be seeded as high as second, behind unbeaten Bedford (9-0).
”These kids deserve all the credit,” said Memorial Head Coach Rob Sturgis. “These kids and this coaching have worked tirelessly, week after week, to get better. All credit to them just battling through all the injuries. We just put it all together.”
Memorial got another strong performance from senior quarterback Alex Sutherland, who had a 27-yard touchdown run and connected with Jathyen Torres on a 45-yard scoring strike. The latter came late in the second quarter and gave the Crusaders a 21-6 halftime lead.
But it was Schuff who electrified the crowd with a pair of highlight-reel scoring runs. Late in the first quarter, with Memorial facing fourth-and-five from the Exeter 41, Schuff took a pitch from Sutherland, glided around right end and raced, virtually untouched, to the end zone, giving the Crusaders a 7-0 lead.
In the third quarter, with Memorial clinging to a 21-14 lead, Schuff scored on the same play, this time from 50 yards out. Once again, Schuff got sensational blocking from the offensive line and the Crusader receivers.
”These kids take such pride in blocking. A kid like Joel Gomez, he’s so tall and such a good athlete, we could throw to him all day,” said Sturgis. “He’s completely bought into blocking. He and Ladue, on the edges, they play with such intensity, such violence.”
In addition to his scoring runs, Schuff had runs of 51 and 20 yards.
Exeter came into the game with a 5-3 record, in search of a signature win heading into the tournament. The Blue Hawks kept the game close, thanks largely to a punishing ground attack anchored by seniors Cole Kelley and Max Corzatt.
With Exeter trailing, 14-0, in the second quarter, Kelley capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Corzatt opened the second half with a 29-yard scoring run. And when Kelley hauled in the two-point conversion, Exeter had pulled to within 21-14.
Schuff’s second touchdown run gave Memorial a bit of breathing room at 28-14 but Exeter refused to go away. Blue Hawks’ quarterback Tyler Ream engineered a 14-play scoring drive, completing four passes for 61 yards along the way.
Brendon Jelinek capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, pulling Exeter to within 28-21 with just 4:00 remaining.
Exeter would get the ball back with 2:23 remaining but any hope of miracle finish was snuffed out when Ream was intercepted by Pharell Therenciel. A senior safety, Therenciel had a huge game, with two passes broken up in the first half.