Bedford football completes undefeated season with win over Pinkerton in D1 title game

DURHAM - The Bedford High School football team made it to Saturday's Division I championship game doing just about whatever it wanted against opponents.

The highest-scoring offense in the state, and the stingiest defense in the division, the Bulldogs were put to the test against Pinkerton Academy, and like they had all season, they passed.

With the running game and defense leading the way, No. 1 Bedford overcame adversity in the second half to beat No. 4 Pinkerton 28-14 at the University of New Hampshire to finish the season undefeated and win its second D1 title in three years.

Ryan Toscano had a game-high 185 yards rushing and a touchdown, averaging 7.1 yards per carry, and Harrison LeGoullon added two rushing scores as the Bulldogs (12-0) rumbled for 246 yards on the ground. The defense forced four turnovers, intercepting Pinkerton's Aiden Goujon three teams and recovering a fumble late in the third quarter that seemed to swing momentum.

"They’re a physical group of guys that like to play the game of football," Bedford coach Derek Stank said. "They’re emotional and they play that way. They’re smart and with a lot of the intangibles that are hard to teach. These guys are good football players and they play for each other."

Pinkerton (9-3) scored twice in the third quarter after recovering Bedford fumbles inside the Bulldogs' 10-yard line.

After Lucien Mumpini lost the kickoff to start the second half, Pinkerton's Evan Wilson recovered at the 7-yard line, and on fourth-and-goal, Gannon Fast scored from a yard out to make it a 14-7 game.

Bedford answered that with a 3-yard touchdown run by LeGoullon to go back up by two scores, but on the first play after Goujon was picked off by Solomon Sanchez, Robbie Fahey knocked the ball out of the hands of Bedford quarterback Thomas Morgan. Fast fell on the ball at the 9, and two plays later, the senior scored again from 1 yard out.

"We knew we had to stay calm," LeGoullon said. "If we started to stress out, that’s not what we needed there. We got pinned in and we’ve got to play the next play. We could come out in the end victorious if we played the next play."

The Bulldogs had to do that again late in the third quarter, as Pinkerton's defense stopped LeGoullon on a fourth-and-1 at the Bedford 47. The Astros took over in Bulldogs territory, but on the first play, Gennaro Marra fumbled and Zachary Garron recovered for Bedford.

"That was disheartening," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "That was a blown assignment, let somebody walk right into the backfield. A power play that was designed to go up the middle and the last thing I expected was a fumble, but it is what it is."

Six plays later, Toscano scored from 13 yards out to make it 28-14 with 10:40 remaining.

"Not the best feeling at the midfield, but we have a ton of confidence in our defense," Toscano said of the play before the Pinkerton fumble. "We have the best line in the state, so we knew we’d be in a great position no matter what."

Pinkerton got down to the Bedford 30-yard line on its next possession, but on third down, Goujon was again picked off by Sanchez. The Astros got the ball back with 4:39 to play and got to the Bulldogs 18, but turned the ball over on downs with 1:46 remaining.

"Defensively, they played pretty well," O'Reilly said. "We’ve got a decent offense and I was scratching everywhere for our plays. They held us to minimal gains."

Marra finished with 96 yards rushing for Pinkerton while Fast had just 32 yards on 12 carries and Goujon was 4 of 15 passing for 70 yards and the three interceptions.

Morgan completed 13 of 20 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown to Tim Greene in the second quarter.

"We knew all season that this was going to be the team to beat," Toscano said. "I think we brought a lot here (Saturday) and did a great job."