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Timberlane rolls to 35-7 victory

HUDSON, N.H. — Timberlane sophomore Joshua David spent many mornings this past offseason hearing his alarm clock sound at 4:45 a.m.

David woke up at that early hour at least twice every week to lift weights with coach Kevin Fitzgerald and some teammates, including Brian Hassard, Cam Gargano, Anthony Gillis and Connor Sproul.

The early morning weight training is paying off for David, who is not starting on varsity but playing quite a bit. The sophomore defensive back stepped in front of a pass by Alvirne quarterback Patrick Reidy, made the interception and ran in for a 58-yard touchdown to help Timberlane to a 35-7 victory over at Alvirne High School yesterday.

As David ran in for the score, the Timberlane bench and coaches went nuts, sprinting down the sideline following the sophomore back.

“It felt great because I felt like it was a game-changer,” David said about his pick. “It kind of closed the game away.”

That’s exactly what happened.

Timberlane led only 13-7 at halftime. The Owls scored a touchdown with 3:05 left in the third quarter to take a 21-7 lead. Then, David made his interception and returned it for the score 1:09 later to give Timberlane a secure 28-7 advantage.

“I’m really excited just to get the chance to play on the varsity squad,” said David, who played on the freshmen team last year.

Fitzgerald added: “One of our points of emphasis was scoring on defense. He was in the right spot. He did what he was supposed to do and made the play. ... He doesn’t start at that position. Nate Lawrence starts there but we were giving Nate a break because he was playing both ways. It’s a classic example of a kid being given an opportunity and making a play when he’s given a chance.”

Lawrence, also the quarterback, returned to the starting lineup after missing last week with a concussion.
Lawrence looked strong in his return. Maybe the nicest play he made was running 11 yards for a first down on a third-and-seven play to help set up the Owls’ second touchdown.

“I felt real good,” Lawrence said. “I felt healthy. And the team played strong. Everyone worked their assignments.”

With Lawrence out of the lineup last week, Timberlane did not attempt a single pass. Yesterday, Lawrence threw eight passes and completed five of them for 48 yards, although he did throw two interceptions.

“We’re trying to pick up our passing more and the line is doing a lot better job with pass protection,” Lawrence said. “We just need a little better communication between me and the receivers.”

Lawrence’s brother, Nick Lawrence, rushed 18 times for 157 yards and three touchdowns.