HAMPTON - If there were any doubts about whether or not Winnacunnet of Hampton is one of the best high school football teams in the state, they were erased Friday night.

The Warriors received three touchdowns from senior running back Ben Franzoso and knocked off previously unbeaten Exeter, 27-24.

Winnacunnet trailed 24-21 until quarterback IngHao Veasna scored on a 2-yard run with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

Exeter failed to move the ball past Winnacunnet's 46-yard line on its final two possessions. Any hope for an Exeter victory vanished when quarterback Ethan Joyce tossed a incomplete pass on a fourth-and-13 play from the Exeter 45-yard line with 33 seconds to play.

The non-league victory improved Winnacunnet's record to 4-0 overall. The Warriors are 2-0 in Division II. Exeter, last year's Division I state champion, dropped to 3-1 overall. The Blue Hawks have won both of their Division I games.

Franzoso gained 217 yards on 17 carries. His three touchdowns came in the first half on runs of 76, 2 and 77 yards.

It was a 21-21 game at halftime. Exeter's touchdowns came on Tyler Grant's 4-yard run; a 24-yard pass from Joyce to halfback Colby Swane; and Swane's 65-yard run.

Grant, who entered the game as Exeter's leading rusher, gained 99 yards on 18 carries.

Exeter took a 24-21 lead when Logan Laurent kicked a 35-yard field goal with 8:33 left in the third quarter, but Winnacunnet responded with a TD on its next possession. The Warriors moved the ball 68 yards in 12 plays.

Among the big plays in the drive was Franzoso's 20-yard run that put the ball on Exeter's 2-yard line. Veasna then capped the drive with a TD run that gave Winnacunnet the lead for good.