A win unlike many others for the Cardinals

The history books will note it as just another win for the Bishop Guertin High School football team on the road to a seventh consecutive Division II title-game appearance.

But the Cardinals’ 28-21 win over Keene in last Saturday’s semifinal game was anything but just another win. There have been plenty of Ws for coach Tony Johnson and his crew since 2004, but not many of them have come with the feeling of doubt that hung over Stellos Stadium into the fourth quarter.

Whether it was Bishop Guertin mistakes – the Cardinals missed an extra point and had four turnovers – or Keene players being in the right place at the right time, there was a chance that the Division II championship game could have been without its most consistent participant.

“The resilience of this team is unbelievable,” Johnson said. “They (the Cardinals players) showed a lot of character and a lot of pride. Frankly, I thought our character and our pride won this one.”

Miscues negate fast start

The game had the look of a traditional Bishop Guertin win early, as the Cardinals led 14-0 after one quarter. Sure, Keene had success on its first drive, but the Blackbirds went three-and-out on their second and had to punt again on their third, giving the Cardinals the ball at their 37 early in the second quarter.

But then momentum turned when Matthew Ammann hit quarterback Steve Cuipa as he threw and the ball was intercepted by Oakley Singer. Two plays later, Keene scored on a 17-yard option pass from James Boulay to Benjamin Galanes.

Then Kyle Remillard fumbled on the Cardinals first play from scrimmage following the kickoff and Ammann recovered to give Keene the ball at Bishop Guertin’s 24. Three plays later, Chris Lacroix scored on a 13-yard run and Eric Haas’ extra point tied the game.

“We got off the mark pretty quickly and then we let them back in the door,” Johnson said. “The momentum switched and we just held tough.”

Here it comes

The Cardinals led 20-14 at halftime, thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run by Cuipa with 3:51 left in the second quarter.

After Broderick Smith intercepted Keene quarterback Lucas Luopa on the opening drive of the second half, Bishop Guertin looked poised to extend its lead.

Instead, the Cardinals were stopped on fourth-and-4 at the Blackbirds’ 23-yard line. Keene marched right back down the field, putting together its best drive to that point, and faced a fourth-and-6 at the Bishop Guertin 18.

After the Cardinals took a time out, Luopa lined up in the shotgun with an empty backfield. Boulay came in motion and Luopa faked the handoff before completing a shovel pass to Alex Parenteau, who rumbled through the defense to not only pick up the first down, but get in the end zone. The extra point by Haas put Keene up 21-20.

Before the snap, the coaches on the Bishop Guertin sideline were yelling to watch No. 21, Parenteau’s number.

“We knew what was coming when they scored and we didn’t execute what we wanted to,” Johnson said. “They ran a great inside shovel. They froze (Kyle) Karaska. He knew it was coming, but went to the wrong person.”

Fourth full of fumbles

Down 21-20, the Cardinals put together a drive on their next possession, getting the ball inside the red zone when the third quarter ended. On third-and-1 from the Keene 9, Cuipa ran for eight yards to set up a first-and-goal from the 1.

But then both teams caught a bad case of fumblitis.

Cuipa turned to handoff to Zach Mailloux, but the running back couldn’t get a hold of the ball. It bounced around the goal line, where Boulay had a chance to scoop the ball up and run, but instead it went off his hands and right to teammate Benjamin Galanes. Then, on second-and-11 from his own 1, Luopa found Boulay for a 31-yard reception.

On the next play, the ball was snapped over Luopa’s head and rolled back to the 10-yard line, where Bishop Guertin’s James Carver was the first one to it. With no one from Keene near him, Carver raced for the end zone with what turned out to be the winning score.

“They made a mistake, but we also made a mistake on the 1,” Johnson said. “The official said he (Mailloux) didn’t have control. He didn’t have security of the ball the whole play. I thought he crossed the line.”

The fumbling wasn’t over. On first down from his own 35, Luopa fumbled the snap and had to fall on the ball. Then on the next play, he tried to scramble but was hit by Carver and Brian Bottari and the ball came free again, this time recovered by Kyle Karaska.

But instead of getting the score that would put the game away, the Cardinals turned the ball over again, as Mailloux’s second fumble gave Keene a first down at its own 8.

“We just fumbled the ball a couple of times and there’s nothing we can do about that,” Johnson said. “We could have won this early on. We made errors. I’m just proud of these kids.”

The Cardinals will have another chance to make their coach proud. Bishop Guertin will host Winnacunnet, which defeated Dover in overtime in the other semifinal, in the Division II championship game at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Stellos Stadium.