Balanced offense lifts Pinkerton football to win over Londonderry

LONDONDERRY - The Pinkerton Academy football team was going to have to try something different.

Losing eight of nine meetings against Londonderry will do that.

The Astros aimed to take advantage of their team speed, specifically through the air, and it worked like they'd been doing it for years.

Aiden McDonald threw for three touchdown passes and ran for another and Pinkerton's defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns on the way to a 38-15 win over Londonderry to cap Mack Plaque Weekend.

Pinkerton (3-0 in Division I, 4-0 overall, No. 3 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) gained 302 yards on the ground, split evenly on the ground and through the air. McDonald was 7 of 15 passing for 151 yards to go with his three scores.

"It was part of the game plan (Saturday) because, let’s be honest, the last four or five years, running against them, they outsize us up front," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said of the passing game. "We still ran the ball on them, but I’ve had no choice over the last several years to knock heads with them. I was limited in what I could do. But with the speed we have in our running back and receiver core, and with a quarterback who now is as comfortable as anything throwing the ball, it’s a weapon."

Two of McDonald's scoring throws went to Jamie Isaac, who had three catches for 82 yards, while Camren Dillon caught a 41-yard touchdown. Anthony Caruso and Matt Morrison each had a defensive touchdown, while Morrison also ran for 117 yards.

"Teams aren’t prepared for it," McDonald said. "We’ve ran so much and we were able to execute throwing the ball. We have a lot of weapons to be able to do that."

The Astros displayed it on their opening drive, as McDonald completed passes to Caruso and Morrison to help set up a 25-yard touchdown pass to Isaac for a 6-0 lead with 9:32 left in the first quarter.

"He’s been high on his quarterback," Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. "I’d say we expected the pass. We probably didn’t expect as much spread. They’ve been dabbling with that each game and then kind of lived in it with us."

It was still 6-0 into the second quarter, when Caruso got a hand on a pass by Sam Ogden, tipping the ball up in the air.  The senior was able to get under it and went untouched into the end zone for a 23-yard return and a 13-0 lead.

The Lancers (2-1, 2-2, No. 2) answered with a seven-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Ogden's 15-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Wheeler. But Londonderry's offense struggled to do much else in the first half, and McDonald's 1-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left in the half capped a six-play, 76-yard drive to give Pinkerton a 19-7 lead at halftime.

Londonderry was set to receive the kickoff to open the second half, but an onside kick by Pinkerton's Andrew Perfetto was bobbled by Carson Palma and recovered by Landon Mackiernan to give the Astros a first down at their own 47.

Five plays later, McDonald connected with Isaac for a 41-yard touchdown and a 25-7 lead. The Lancers moved into Pinkerton territory on their next possession, but a strip sack on fourth down gave the Astros the ball at the Londonderry 39.

On third-and-12, McDonald hit Dillon for another 41-yard score and a 31-7 lead with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter.

"Not to take anything away from Pinkerton, but I felt like we gave this one away in a lot of ways," Lauzon said. "The blocked punt (in the first half), the kickoff to open the second half, the encroachments. Things we don’t typically do."

Londonderry was penalized 10 times for 63 yards, with three of them giving Pinkerton a first down.

Alex Villa scored on a 9-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter and Adrian Cruz ran in the conversion to make it 31-15. Morrison's 67-yard pick-6 with 20 seconds remaining finished out the scoring.

Ogden finished 11 of 21 passing for 122 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and also had 49 yards rushing. Palma had 31 yards on the ground and Villa finished with 24.