Thanksgiving H.S. Football Roundup: Jellison paces Souhegan; North slips past South

Souhegan of Amherst senior running back Steve Jellison moved into a tie for second place in state history for career touchdowns -- behind his big brother -- with three more yesterday in a 35-21 high school football win over Merrimack.

The trio of scores gave him 76 over four years, which equals the number that Matt Jordan earned at Pinkerton of Derry in the 90's. The state record holder is Steve's older brother, UNH junior running back Sean Jellison, who accumulated 103 touchdowns at Souhegan.

Souhegan and Merrimack have been playing on Thanksgiving Day for 13 years and the Sabers now hold a 9-4 advantage in the series, including wins in the last seven match-ups.

Sabers quarterback D.J. Petropulos earned Offensive Player of the Game honors yesterday by connecting for four touchdowns and 370 passing yards. On the season, Petropulos had 26 scoring passes against just two interceptions.

The teams went touchdown-for-touchdown during the first half and entered the break with the score tied at 21.

Jellison scored on a 25-yard run and Petropulos hit Alex Lyon with a 55-yard touchdown pass for the only second-half scores. Zack Harris had a rushing touchdown for Merrimack and Harris and Tyler King both fired touchdown passes for the Tomahawks.

Nashua North 28, Nashua South 21: Dylan Brodeur ran his way to a 140-yard day with three touchdowns for the Titans yesterday at Stellos Stadium in Nashua. Trevor Rancourt had the other score for the Titans on a pass from quarterback Brandon Karkanis.

Trevor Rancourt of Nashua North dives for a pass as Matt Valcourt of Nashua South keeps him covered during their Thanksgiving day matchup. (BRUCE PRESTON)

Kevin Rosenburg led the Titans' defense with four sacks and two deflected passes.

South quarterback Keith Farkas found Derek Paradis for a 70-yard screen pass touchdown and Nick Haskel for another TD strike. Sophomore center John Bieren returned a kickoff for South's last score with about four minutes remaining in the game.

Dover 28, Portsmouth 6: Justin Dube had all four touchdowns for the Green Wave while Billy Lane had a 50-yard touchdown run for the Clippers' points.

Somersworth 36, Spaulding 14: After completing its Division V schedule with five straight wins, Somersworth continued its strong finish with a win over Division II opponent Spaulding yesterday.

Ryan Theriault had 125 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Toppers while Shante Cunningham had 56 yards and a score. On defense, Sean Wynot had seven unassisted tackles.