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# Bedford dominates Pinkerton on both sides of the ball to win D1 football title (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bedford-dominates-pinkerton-on-both-sides-of-the-ball-to-win-d1-football-title-video/
- Published: 2025-11-30T11:00:10.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-30T11:00:10.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - Going into Saturday's Division I championship game, Zach Matthews thought his Bedford High School football team would match up well up front against Pinkerton Academy. It didn't take long after the opening kickoff to realize those thoughts were a reality. Top-seeded Bedford set the tone on
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, championship, football, Pinkerton, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Going into Saturday's Division I championship game, Zach Matthews thought his Bedford High School football team would match up well up front against Pinkerton Academy.

It didn't take long after the opening kickoff to realize those thoughts were a reality.

Top-seeded Bedford set the tone on the opening possession, going on a 13-play drive that ate up more than seven minutes to start the game, as the Bulldogs scored on their first five possessions on the way to a 35-7 win over No. 3 Pinkerton in the D1 finale at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.

It's the third championship in four years for Bedford (12-0), the program's fifth title overall, and fourth undefeated season. The Bulldogs have won 37 of their last 38 games, with the lone loss coming against Pinkerton in the semifinals last season.

This time around, Bedford had the ball for more than 16 minutes and ran for 189 yards in the first half, while holding Pinkerton's offense to just 50 yards in the opening 24 minutes to lead 28-0.

“I think we felt good about our game plan, we felt good up front about the matchup, but you never know until you get out there how the actual matchup is going to pan out,” Zach Matthews said. “We wanted to come out and send a message. We felt like we were better than them up front. We wanted to come out and make a statement that weren’t going anywhere and they weren’t going to push us around (Saturday).”

Bennett Matthews, the coach's son, led the way for Bedford with 165 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while going 8 of 9 passing for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Brody Helton added 104 yards rushing while Landon Ellsmore and Brycen D'Urso each had a touchdown reception.

Aiden McDonald had the lone score for the Astros (8-4) running in from 3 yards out on the second play of the fourth quarter to make it 35-7 Bedford. Pinkerton had three first downs on the drive after having three to that point in the game.

“They were too much for us to handle,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said. “If we couldn’t run the ball on them, then we didn’t have much of a chance. They took away our running game the first couple of series, and more importantly, we were unable to get them off the field.”

The Bulldogs were 7 of 10 on third down and 2 of 3 on fourth down, with two touchdowns coming on fourth-down plays.

Bennett Matthews capped the opening drive with a 2-yard run on fourth-and-goal, and made it a two-score game with a 15-yard touchdown run with 8:41 left in the first half to end Bedford's second possession.

Pinkerton answered with its best drive of the first half, getting to Bedford's 36-yard line on a 20-yard run by Brady Spellman. After the Astros got nothing on the next two plays, Ryson Michaud ran for nine yards on third-and-10, setting up fourth-and-1 at the Bulldogs' 27.

McDonald had Spellman open in the flat for the first down, but the pass sailed and went over the head of the junior to give Bedford the ball back on downs.

Three plays later, Bennett Matthews connected with Ellsomore for a 51-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 with 3:45 to play in the half. Pinkerton went three-and-out on the next possession, and Bennett Matthews found D'Urso for a 9-yard touchdown with 28.1 seconds remaining to put the Bulldogs up by four scores.

“I know Bennett felt really good running with the football (Saturday),” Zach Matthews said. “We were getting a lot of the other bodies up front. The linebackers and linemen were blocked. It was the safeties and defensive backs that were there. That’s a credit to what our offensive line has done for him and Brody all year long. He made some special plays with his legs and then a couple with his arm.”

Pinkerton went three-and-out to open the third quarter and Bedford countered with an eight-play, 63-yard drive that ended with Bennett Matthews scoring on another fourth down, this time from 28 yards out, to put the game into running time with 5:32 left in the third quarter.

“We have no answer for him,” O’Reilly said of Bennett Matthews. “When you have a kid who can throw like he does, but he’s even more dangerous running the ball, there’s not a lot for that. A lot of missed tackles by us, but he’s done that all year to everybody.”

It all added up to another championship for the Bulldogs.