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Second half shutout hurts Owls

KEENE — Trailing 13-10 at the break, Keene found the best way to slow down Timberlane standout Nick Lawrence — by not letting him get a shot at the ball.

A crushing third-quarter where the Blackbird offense ran all but three of the period's plays turned the tide and lifted the hosts to a 31-14 victory last night.

The victory helps cement Keene's playoff status with a 5-1 Division 2 record, tied with Bishop Guertin for the top spot. The Owls fall to 4-2 and a tie for third with Winnacunnet.

Timberlane started the night off with a bang, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but the score was taken off the board due to a penalty.

From there, Nick Lawrence (game-high 117 yards) busted loose on a 44-yard first-quarter romp to the end zone that countered an Owl turnover converted into a Keene TD.

Quarterback Nate Lawrence bulled his way to paydirt from a yard out in the second quarter to put Timberlane on top, but sustained drives behind Jimmy Boulay and Ben Hardy, along with a fourth-down Owl defensive penalty that helped Keene score, put the Owls in its rearview mirror.

"We didn't tackle particularly well and we hurt ourselves with penalties," head coach Kevin Fitzgerald said. "We didn't play well enough to win."