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# Bedford football hangs on to beat Bishop Guertin (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bedford-football-hangs-on-to-beat-bishop-guertin-video/
- Published: 2015-11-08T19:57:19.000Z
- Updated: 2015-11-08T19:57:19.000Z
- Description: Bedford rallies, hangs on late to beat Bishop Guertin
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, Bishop Guertin, football, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Derek Stank thought that two-point conversions might play a big part in Saturday's Division I football quarterfinal.

The first-year Bedford High School coach knew Bishop Guertin liked to go for two and had his Bulldogs spend some extra time practicing their defense of them all week.

![Bedford's Connor Robert carries the ball during Saturday's game.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/jmbedbgfball110815-b4-1.jpg)

Bedford's Connor Robert carries the ball during Saturday's game.

The practice paid off, as Bedford stopped the Cardinals twice on two-point conversions in the final four minutes, including one that would have tied the game with 4.8 seconds left, giving the Bulldogs a 41-39 win over Bishop Guertin at Stellos Stadium. The win sends Bedford to the semifinals, where it will face Goffstown on Nov. 14.

"We had two-point play scenarios going on all week, just because we knew this was the team that will go for it on a regular basis," Stank said. "The game came down to it, so it was a good thing we prepared for it.

"I wasn't shocked for them to go for two at all. They believe in their offense. They took the ball on the kickoff. I'm not shocked. We weren't shocked they went for two, but we were happy our boys were able to respond."

Bedford (9-1) responded in a big way after falling behind 21-3 in the first quarter, as Bishop Guertin (6-4) quarterback JT Hiscoe threw for three touchdowns on the Cardinals' first three possessions. The senior finished the day with five scoring toss and threw for over 350 yards.

But the Bulldogs began chipping away at the lead in the second quarter on the strength of their running game.

"We got back to the ground and we were able to hand it off to a good running back," Stank said. "We were able to rely on five seniors up front and get the momentum rolling. We noticed they had a lot of three-techs going, so we started punching it up the gut, then we started going outside. It was just a matter of getting back to the ground-and-pound."

Nick Leahy had 198 yards rushing and a touchdown for Bedford while quarterback Connor Robert also went over a hundred (111) and had three rushing scores, while throwing for another.

"I knew they were going to wear us down," Bishop Guertin coach Jeff Moore said. "We started fast this time. I couldn't be more proud of our team for fighting and clawing. They never quit, they traded punches with these guys and had a chance to win at the end.

![Bedford's Nick Leahy picks up yards.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/jmbedbgfball110815-b14-2.jpg)

Bedford's Nick Leahy picks up yards.

"Their offensive line is great. Derek does a great job with their zone scheme. They do so many different things. It’s so hard to prepare for. It's a lot."

Robert tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, and after an interception by Connor Collins, Leahy scored to put the Bulldogs ahead 34-27 with 8:33 to play.

The Cardinals answered by driving down to the Bedford 25-yard line, but the drive stalled and on fourth-and-3, Jackson Housman could only get two yards, turning the ball over on downs.

Bishop Guertin's defense held, forcing a punt, and a big return by Housman set the Cardinals up at the Bedford 14\. Two plays later, Hiscoe found Nick Lorden (three touchdowns) for a 5-yard scoring pass that made it 34-33 with 3:04 left.

Hiscoe's pass to Sarveen Shafian-Raad hit the turf as he tried to catch it and the Cardinals still trailed.

"Our kicking game was inconsistent and we felt we had a better chance putting the ball in JT's hands and our receivers," Moore said. "We all voted on it and felt right away we were going for two."

Bedford got a great return on the kickoff from Zachary Tucci and a late hit gave the Bulldogs the ball at midfield with 2:58 left. Four plays later, Robert scored on a 28-yard run, and the extra point by Cooper Anibal made it 41-33 with 1:11 remaining.

"He's a sophomore quarterback in a very big situation with a lot of decisions to make, and that was one you're not going to come across very often," Stank said of if he wanted Robert to not score. "It's a coachable moment that we're definitely going to use for next time."

Moore had thought about telling his defense to let Bedford score, to try to get more time, but it turned out not to matter.

"We talked about (letting them score)," he said. "I'm calling the defense and I couldn't stand letting anyone score, but it made sense, and they did score. Maybe we would have had more time, but we scored anyway."

Facing fourth-and-9 from the Bedford 15, and without any timeouts left, Hiscoe found Housman over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 4.8 seconds left. The Cardinals lined up for two and Hiscoe tried to throw a fade to Lorden in the far corner of the end zone, but Collins got a piece of the ball to break up the play.

"If we liked the matchup there, we were going there," Moore said. "Otherwise we had the double slide and I think it was a decent throw. We wanted it up if it was there. That was the play we worked on all week. We liked it, we went with it."