The Hermon High School football team stayed undefeated Friday night thanks to a total team effort against Skowhegan.
But it was consecutive first quarter plays by wide receiver Conner McAlpine that set the victory in motion for the Hawks.
One loose ball recovery can make the difference in a football game. McAlpine made two — on back-to-back plays.
He scored Hermon’s first touchdown in an unconventional way, coming up with a fumble recovery in the end zone after teammate Owen Lang hauled in a 37-yard pass but lost the ball just before crossing the goal line.
It was also McAlpine’s first-ever varsity touchdown, he pointed out after the game.
After that critical clean-up, McAlpine picked right up where he left off on the ensuing kickoff. He beat the Skowhegan receivers to that kick, earning Hermon the ball back just one play after his touchdown recovery.
Hermon coach Kyle Gallant called those “huge plays” for the Hawks in Friday night’s win.
“Conner’s a great kid. His motor never stops,” Gallant said. “I’m so proud of him. He’s a really, really good football player, but he’s an even better human being.”
McAlpine made those two critical hustle plays, and Skowhegan could never recover.
The Hawks capitalized on the short field that McAlpine gifted them, and Lang scored a touchdown to put Hermon up 15-0 after a two-point conversion.
And they never looked back, powering to a 38-14 win over Skowhegan.
It was an all-around team effort on both sides of the ball for Hermon, but thanks to those early recoveries from McAlpine, the win was never much in doubt.
McAlpine said Gallant encourages the Hawks to provide relentless effort.
“He’s just telling me to go 100 percent, keep the pedal to the metal, and that’s what we’re doing,” McAlpine said.
Hermon is now 5-0 on the season.
