SOUTH HAMILTON — It’s a good thing the Pingree football team spent the last six weeks working hard to be in shape to battle for all 48 minutes of a game — because it took every last one of those minutes to get by Proctor Academy on Saturday.
The visiting Hornets had one last shot at the end zone from 43 yards away on a rainy night under the lights at The Farm. Quarterback Kaden Silton’s desperation heave fell incomplete, though, and Pingree could finally exhale with a 20-13 opening night win in Pat Downey’s debut as head coach.
Pingree was forced to punt with 1:48 on the clock and leading by a touchdown. Though Proctor drove over midfield after starting at its own 23, frequent pressure from Highlanders captain Joey Lussier and defensive tackle Jacob Medeiros kept Proctor from building true momentum and constantly knocked Silton off his spot as he tried to line up deep passes.
“It’s the end of the game. I was tired, I was sore, but I heard my teammates cheering and that’s what pushed me through. That’s what football is all about,” said Lussier.
“Up by seven with two minutes left is all about energy,” he added. “The energy was there from the sideline and the crowd, and we fed off that.”
Downey credited his offensive line (especially tackle Jonathan Panagou) with helping overpower Proctor in the second half. Game balls went to defensive coordinator Scott Shairs and to senior captain Cole Piaseczynski, who amassed 178 yards from scrimmage and scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
A versatile ballcarrier who can line up in the slot or any place in the backfield, Piaseczynski took over after Proctor took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. Moving to tailback, Piaseczynski ran for 131 yards on 14 carries and sparked a scoring drive that was capped by Jack Spear’s 21-yard pass to Jonah Richardson.
“I’m really comfortable running with the ball,” said Piaseczynski. “Just get it to be any place and I love it.”
The Highlanders missed a short field goal to end the opening half, and it was anyone’s game at 7-7. After the teams traded a few punts, Pingree dialed up the perfect call as Richardson ran a post that split the Proctor safeties and Spear hit him in stride for an 80-yard touchdown pass with 3:05 left in the third.
“Football is all about momentum shifts, and that play was a big time momentum shift,” said Downey. “That’s an example of big time players stepping up in big spots.”
Richardson finished with 110 receiving yards on four grabs with two scores. Spear was 8-for-14 for 158 yards, hitting Piaseczynski five times for 48 yards.
With 5:06 to play, Piaseczynski sprinted into the end zone from eight yards away and Pingree led 20-7.
Proctor answered, though, as Silton directed a quick scoring drive, finishing with his second rushing score of the day to make it a one-score game. The Highlanders picked up one first down but had to punt, setting up the game-clinching defensive stand.
“Their QB was pretty tough with breaking through tackles, so we had to stay in every play to contain that,” said Lussier. “Our secondary did a really good job of sticking with their guys, so that gave me a ton of time to get to the QB.”
Sam Brodsky had a key pass breakup for Pingree, and captain Brady Daniels played well at his linebacker spot.
Pingree 20, Proctor 13
at The Farm, South Hamilton
Proctor (0-1);0;7;0;6;13
Pingree (1-0);0;7;7;6;20
Scoring summary
PCT- Kaden Silton 3 run (Jake Lantis kick)
PG — Jonah Richardson 21 pass from Jack Spear (Trevor Payne kick)
PG — Richardson 80 pass from Spear (Payne kick)
PG- Cole Piaseczynski 8 run (kick failed)
PCT- Silton 4 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Proctor — Kaden Silton 15-83, Max Poirier 13-48 ; Pingree — Cole Piaseczynski 14-131, Jack Spaer 2-21, Brady Daniels 10-12, Baron DiMeco 1-1.
PASSING: Proctor — Silton 8-16-92-0-0; Pingree — Spear 8-14-158-1-0.
RECEIVING: Proctor — Cam Chambers 2-36, Conor Geier 3-26, Martin Alissandro 1-15, Poirier 2-15; Pingree — Jonah Richardson 4-110, Piaseczynski 5-48.