DERRY, N.H. – Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly knew it was not going to be easy against Bishop Guertin on Friday night.
Not only did his Astros team have a bye the week prior, thanks to their No. 1 seed, but they were facing a team that scored 56 points en route to a victory over Dover last Saturday.
“Bishop Guertin has a high-powered offense, with one of the best quarterbacks in the state,” said O’Reilly. “It put us in the position for a trap game, but we stepped up big time tonight.”
“Big time” put it as simply as possible, as Pinkerton trounced Bishop Guertin, 55-20, in the New Hampshire Division 1 state quarterfinals.
“We have speed in our backfield, so we can go up against anybody,” said O’Reilly. “Our secondary is as fast as anybody in the state, and this is what we expect to do game after game defensively.”
From the opening kickoff, the Astros dominated in all facets. Matt Morrison started off the evening with two big gains, before a Caden Michaud touchdown immediately gave Pinkerton a 7-0 lead.
Morrison finished the evening with 289 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns. The junior returned two kickoffs for scores, from 90 and 82 yards, respectively.
“I can’t do anything without the hogs up front,” Morrison said with a laugh. “Schematically, we were great tonight, especially on the two kickoff returns. Big thank you to Coach O’Reilly.”
After Timmy Hersom and Ryan Catineau each rushed in touchdowns, the Astros led 21-0. But, the Cardinals would not go down without a fight.
Bishop Guertin quarterback Mike MacDonough found Ronan Balistreli on third down in the red zone for a 20 yard touchdown, but all hope for a comeback dwindled away as Morrison immediately returned the ensuing kickoff for a 90 yard touchdown, his first of the two. Morrison then ran in a two-yard touchdown after a Cardinals turnover one minute later.
“I didn’t think they would kick it deep and give him a chance, and I don’t think they tried to,” said O’Reilly “Matt found the crease, and he did what he does best.”
Catineau then added his second score of the game, before Morrison’s final touchdown, an 82-yard kickoff return, put the dagger in the Cardinals with just 20 seconds to go before halftime.
Sophomore Joseph Osanya added a three-yard touchdown later in the fourth quarter.
The Astros will next take on the winner of Londonderry/Exeter, at Pinkerton, in the state semifinals.
“We are all psyched for next week,” said Morrison. “Either another rematch against one of our rivals, or a team we haven’t seen yet. It’s going to be a fun one.”
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Pinkerton 55, Bishop Guertin 20
Pinkerton – 14 35 0 6 – 55
Bishop Guertin – 0 13 0 7 – 20
First Quarter:
P – Caden Michaud 16 run (Peyton Harmony kick), 8:58
P – Timmy Hersom 1 run (Harmony kick), 6:32
Second Quarter:
P – Ryan Catineau 2 run (Harmony kick), 11:21
BG – Ronan Balistreli 20 pass from Mike MacDonough (kick good), 9:17
P – Matt Morrison 90 kickoff return (Harmony kick), 9:02
P – Morrison 2 run (Harmony kick), 7:51
P – Ryan Catineau 4 run (Harmony kick), 3:01
BG – Cody Szymansky 4 pass from MacDonough (kick good), 0:24
P – Morrison 82 kickoff return (Harmony kick), 0:10
Fourth Quarter:
P – Joseph Osanya 1 run (kick missed), 11:35
BG – Sam Franco 20 pass from MacDonough (kick good), 7:21
Pinkerton Individual Stats:
RUSHING – Matt Morrison 12-103, Caden Michaud 8-66, Ryan Catineau 8-40, Joseph Osanya 6-41, Timmy Hersom 2-21, Ryson Michaud 2-8, Brady Spellman 2-7
PASSING – Hersom 2-2, 16 yards; Aiden McDonald 0-1
RECEIVING – Catineau 1-12, Daniel Hersom 1-4