Bedford football continues playoff run with win over Timberlane in D1 semifinals (video)

PLAISTOW - The Bedford High School football team has never really figured out if Colby Snow is a running back or a receiver.

In Friday's Division I semifinal, for Timberlane, Snow was a problem no matter where he lined up.

The senior scored four touchdowns, two rushing and two receiving, to help No. 10 Bedford's playoff run continue with a 32-0 win over No. 6 Timberlane. The Bulldogs move on to the D1 final for the first time since 2018, where they will face the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between No. 1 Londonderry and No. 4 Pinkerton on Nov. 26 at Exeter High School.

"We talked all week, this is an opportunity to punch our ticket to play for a championship," Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. "We knew we were going to have to come here and play our best football. I still don’t even know if we did that.

"We did some really good things. We had some fumbles, we had a couple penalties, some mistakes. The focus these guys have had all week in practice, they’re definitely focused on the job at hand and couldn’t be prouder of the effort."

One of those fumbles came from Snow on Bedford's second play from scrimmage, but he more than made up for it, catching two passes for 109 yards and two scores to go with 101 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

"I didn’t expect to do this, but when the opportunity shows, I try to take it every time," Snow said. "It’s a team effort every game."

That has been the case defensively for Bedford (9-3) all year and the Bulldogs have ramped it up in the playoffs. Friday's win was their seventh shutout of the season, with three of those coming in their three playoff games, and they've allowed an average of 6.4 points per game this season.

"They’re very good defensively," Timberlane coach Kevin Fitzgerald said. "They're physical. Their ends got after us. They knew we had to throw and they’re sending a three-man rush at us and we couldn’t protect it. They’re aggressive. They’re good in coverage. They played very well."

The Owls (9-3) finished with 120 yards on offense, including just 48 in the second half after Bedford sacked quarterback Dom Coppeta four times for a combined loss of 36 yards. The senior finished the game with 32 yards on 17 carries but was just 5 of 16 passing for 52 yards and three interceptions.

On the other side, Bedford was able to find open spaces in Timberlane's pass defense, as Danny Black went 7 of 11 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, both to Snow. The Bulldogs added 195 yards on the ground, including 52 yards and a touchdown from Logan Sfeir.

"I really thought we dominated the line of scrimmage and that was the difference in the football game," Matthews said. "The kids just took every aspect of the game plan on both sides of the ball and totally digested it and attacked Timberlane. I thought we attacked all night long, we weren’t on our heels and we got after them."

Bedford was able to force a punt after the early fumble and went on a 11-play, 85-yard drive that looked like it might stall inside the Timberlane 20-yard line. Two incompletions and a run for a loss of a 1 yard left the Bulldogs facing fourth-and-11 from the Owls' 19, but Black found Joel Poltronieri for an 18-yard gain to the 1.

Sfeir plowed his way into the end zone on the next play to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 3:06 left in the first quarter.

Timberlane moved down to the Bedford 40-yard line on the ensuing drive, but on fourth-and-6, Coppeta's pass to Jaden Mwangi was broken up by Poltronieri to turn the ball over on downs.

Three plays later, Black found Snow along the visitors' sideline for a 53-yard touchdown that made it 14-0 just 58 seconds into the second quarter.

Bedford was driving again late in the half, but a fumble by Black was recovered by Timberlane's Braden Perras, giving the Owls the ball at their own 12 with 2:17 left until halftime. But three plays later, Coppeta was intercepted by Alex Grudinskas and Snow scored on a 12-yard run to make it 20-0 going into the half.

Snow added a 56-yard touchdown reception on the Bulldogs' first possession of the third quarter, catching a short throw from Black and racing down the middle of the field to make it 26-0. That came after Coppeta was picked off by Dom Tagliaferro on the Owls' opening drive.

"Colby is a special kid," Matthews said of Snow. "He’s been in our football program for four years, and seeing where he has started, to be honest, we didn’t know if he was a running back or a receiver. I think (Friday night) he showcased why. He runs with the ball well and he catches the ball well. His skill set is very unique."

Timberlane started the next possession with Coppeta completing passes of 18 and 19 yards to Liam Corman and Matt Williams, respectively. But Corman was stopped for a loss on the next play and Evan Cibotti picked off Coppeta in the end zone to end the drive.

Snow added a 53-yard touchdown run with 36.1 seconds left in the third quarter to cap the scoring.

Bedford will play in a championship game for the sixth time in program history and will be looking for its third D1 title at 1 p.m. Nov 26 at Exeter High School.