Seventh-seeded Memorial took the opening kickoff and drove from its own 20-yard line to the Exeter 2, where the Crusaders were facing a fourth-and-goal situation with 4:38 left in the quarter. Second-seeded Exeter came up with the fourth-down stop and kept the momentum for the rest of the game en route to a 33-6 victory.
"We were on our heels," Ball said. "They did a great job on the opening drive. I thought that goal-line stand kind of turned the tide for us a little bit.
"I give Memorial a lot of credit. I think they've turned from a real good team to a good program, and there's a difference between the two. Those guys have done a great job there."
"I think that set the tone for the rest of the game," added Exeter halfback/linebacker Daniel Batstone. "That was a really big deal for us. Goal-line stand ... you gotta get that done, and that's who we are as a team. We make those kind of plays, we turn the momentum around and it's all us from there."
Exeter (10-0) scored 17 points in the second quarter to take a 17-0 halftime lead, and had a 33-0 advantage with 11:13 to play. Memorial (7-4) committed four turnovers in the loss and the Blue Hawks turned those turnovers into 13 points.
"Not being able to punch it in there was kind of a foreshadowing for the rest of the day," Memorial coach Rob Sturgis said. "Who knows? It could have been a different game. Unfortunately as soon as you give them a little rope they take a mile. Against really good teams, ball security matters."
Exeter fullback Tyler Bland scored on runs of 29 and 6 yards. The Blue Hawks, who beat Memorial 13-6 during the regular season, also received TD runs from halfback Jack Kavanaugh (11 yards) and Batstone (1 yard). In addition, John Adams made field goals from 27 and 24 yards.
Memorial QB Collin Beaulieu scored on a 44-yard run with 3:51 to play. The loss came one week after Memorial beat Winnacunnet to collect its first playoff victory since 1973.
"So proud of our kids," Sturgis said. "I think the biggest thing that was missing was not just being football players during the season but being football players all year round. Our team bought in during the offseason and they just got a little taste of what those results look like."
Exeter will face third-seeded Londonderry in Saturday's semifinals in Exeter. Memorial will play Manchester West on Thanksgiving morning (10 a.m.).
"It is nice to know we do have that rivalry game on Thanksgiving Day and it's a good way to send out our players and our seniors on hopefully a good note," Sturgis said.
Key players
- In addition to his 11-yard TD run that helped Exeter take a 24-0 lead, Kavanaugh intercepted a pass early in the fourth quarter.
- Beaulieu rushed for 84 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
Key plays
- Memorial ran an option to its left on the fourth-and-goal play from the 2-yard line on its opening drive, but Beaulieu was stopped for a 3-yard loss.
- Seven plays after Charlie Dulac recovered a Memorial fumble, Adams made a 27-yard field goal into the wind that gave Exeter a 10-0 lead with 6:57 left in the first half.