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Owls get defensive, whip Spaulding

Friday, October, 29 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

PLAISTOW — Thanks to the Timberlane defense, Nick Lawrence got a much-needed break in the second half last night.

Seen icing his sore legs earlier in the day, Lawrence rushed for 88 yards and two TDs in the first two quarters and went 60 yards on a swing pass for another score as the Owls built a 31-0 halftime lead over Spaulding on their way to an easy 38-7 victory.

The win lifted the Owls to 5-4 overall and 5-2 in Division 2, with one game left next week in Dover. They'll probably need a win over Dover to qualify for the playoffs.

Lawrence probably could have played in the second half, but the way the defense was playing, why risk it? Timberlane allowed just one first down and 24 yards of offense in the first half and were nearly as effective in the second half.

Although the entire defense played well, three players — Jared Diorio, Connor Sproul and sophomore Joshua David — stood out.

In addition to intercepting a pass, Diorio kicked a 27-yard field goal, was 5 for 5 on extra points and — just as important — booted three kickoffs into the end zone and two others within the 3-yard-line.

"That's just huge," said Timberlane coach Kevin Fitzgerald. "If you make the other team go 80 yards all the time, that's really important. It really helps us."

Diorio was pleased with his kicking, but even more excited about the Owls' defense.

"We were down about last week (a 31-13 loss to Keene) and we knew we had to do better," said Diorio. "We really worked at it."

Sproul helped set the tone by recovering a fumble in the end zone for the first score of the game and later recovered another fumble before capping off his evening with a batted-down pass that he somehow turned into an interception.

As for David, he was a menace at linebacker filling in for Nate Lawrence, who was limited to offense. In one five-play sequence, he was in one four plays, making two tackles for a loss, pressuring the Spaulding QB into an incompletion and making a curshing tackle on an intended receiver, forcing him to drop the ball.

Because of the huge lead, the Owls substituted freely in the second half. Luke Ouellette ran hard with Nick Lawrence resting his legs and junior Anthony Gillis ran hard while picking up 28 yards and a touchdown in five carries.

Even while sitting the final two quarters, Nick Lawrence has now rushed for 1,411 yards and 19 TDs in just nine games.