PORTLAND — Momentum can come in many different ways and take many different forms.

It can come at any time, anywhere. It can last for seconds, minutes or seemingly for an eternity.

While difficult to attain, it’s easy to lose.

Or, as was the case Saturday for Lawrence, it sometimes never comes at all.

Cheverus capitalized on five Lawrence turnovers and returned a kickoff for a touchdown to win its second consecutive Class A state championship in dominating fashion.

Final score: Stags 49, Bulldogs 7.

“We just didn’t have any momentum,” Lawrence coach John Hersom said. “They didn’t give us much opportunity to get things going. Offensively, they got on a roll and had a lot of things go their way.”

Added Cheverus junior fullback Brent Green, who rushed for a game-high 179 yards: “We took the heart right out of them.”

The Stags (12-0) — who won their 24th straight game — parlayed four of Lawrence’s five turnovers into touchdowns.

The turnovers, coupled with the big play, prevented Lawrence from gaining any momentum, something it needed to upset Cheverus.

The first two turnovers led to two first-quarter touchdowns, stuffing the Bulldogs (11-1) in a hole they would never climb out of.

Cheverus won the toss and deferred to the second half. Instead of gaining momentum early, the Bulldogs gave it away when junior Luke Lawrence hauled in a 15-yard pass but fumbled it away four plays into the game.

Cheverus took over at the Lawrence 49-yard line and went up 6-0 seven plays later on a Green 1-yard rush. Louis DiStasio added the extra point and the Stags were off and running.

“We didn’t play a team like that all year,” Lawrence quarterback Alex Leathers said. “We had it rolling in the first quarter but then, it was tough.”

Lawrence again turned the ball over on its next possession, this time on an interception by Liam Fitzpatrick, who returned it for a touchdown. A Cheverus penalty negated the score.

Still, the Stags had the ball.

“It was a big turnaround in the game,” Fitzpatrick said. “I knew we’d put it in.”

The Stags took over at their own 24-yard line and scored just three plays later on the first of five touchdowns by Don Goodrich.

Two turnovers, two Cheverus touchdowns.

“It was definitely not something we anticipated, to say the least,” Hersom said of the team’s rough start. “It’s part of the game, but turnovers in big games do make a difference.”

Added Cheverus coach John Wolfgram: “Momentum played a part.”

And the Stags had it all game — even when Lawrence scored its first touchdown on a 52-yard run from Anthony Sementelli about five minutes into the second quarter.

After all, Goodrich returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a score to help Cheverus go up 28-7.

“There were a lot of key blocks,” Goodrich said. “That was big.”

Hersom acknowledged the Bulldogs never recovered from the kickoff return.

“We tried to get some life going after our score,” he said. “As soon as the kickoff return resulted it was tough to get the kids back. It was pretty quiet in halftime.”

The Bulldogs were quiet for much of the game, their title hopes dashed by two costly mistakes early and one big kickoff return.

“It wasn’t where we’d like to be,” Leathers said of the 14-0 first quarter deficit. “We couldn’t catch up. We know they were bigger and stronger, (but) our heart wasn’t big enough.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

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