Bedford football picks up where it left off with win over Nashua North (video)

NASHUA - The Bedford High School football team went into this season knowing the target on its back was going to be a lot bigger than a year ago.

After one game, the Bulldogs showed they still know how to handle it.

Bedford withstood Nashua North's best shot in the first half Friday night, regrouped at halftime, and blew the game open in the third quarter for a 35-3 win in a Division I West Conference game at Stellos Stadium.

The win extended Bedford's streak to 17 in a row, dating back to the start of 2022 playoffs for the two-time defending champions.

"Every year, it gets harder to do what we do," Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. "The target gets bigger on your back. Everybody knows what we bring to the table and people focus and talk about the things that we do. Our kids know they have to step up their game in a game like this.

"A lot of respect for what Nashua North does, they’ve got a lot of great athletes. They’re a physical team and we had to fight for it."

Brody Helton ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries while Jack Maye, making his first varsity start at quarterback, completed 6 of 8 pass for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Bennett Matthews, Dustin Westcott and Peter Suozzo each caught a touchdown pass from Maye.

"Jack is a super special kid," Bennett Matthews said. "He’s got great leadership at the quarterback position and he really kept his composure throughout the game. I feel like that’s what helped us pull through."

The Bulldogs (1-0, No. 1 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) were also able to pull through thanks to a bend-but-don't-break defense in the first half. North's Kobe Perry returned the opening kickoff to Bedford's 47-yard line and the Titans held on to the ball for almost 10 minutes.

But once got inside the Bulldogs' 10-yard line, the defense tightened up and forced a field, which the Titans missed. Taking over at its own 20, Bedford needed just eight plays and three minutes to cover 80 yards, scoring on a 19-yard run scamper by Helton with 10:18 to go in the second quarter.

North went on another long drive on its next possession, using up almost seven minutes and again getting down inside the Bedford 10-yard line. Again, the defense tightened up, but this time, the Titans' got a 25-yard field goal from Marco Raposo to get on the board.

The kick made it 7-3 Bedford with 3:26 left in the first half, but North needed to get more.

"First half, exactly what we wanted," North coach Chad Zibolis said. "Mental mistakes when we got close to the end zone. Then it’s a different game from there. Wheels came off the bus in the third quarter, but we played hard and we played tough.

"We did everything I thought we should have done. We just need to finish, and it’s not just the game. Finishing drives, finishing tackling, and then finishing the football game. The kids did everything we wanted them to, but it caught up to us."

Bedford responded with another quick drive, finding the end zone on Maye's 31-yard scoring toss to Westcott to make it 14-3 and that's where it stood at halftime.

After being forced to punt on the first possession of the third quarter, the Bulldogs scored on three straight drives, needing just seven plays and a total of three minutes to go up 35-3.

"The first half was kind of rough around the edges, we had to clean some things up," Zach Matthews said. "Typical first game stuff, some missed execution. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of kids though. The adjustments we made at halftime, the adjustments we made on the sideline with the kids, I think you saw that growth and development."

Darius Smith led North (0-1, No. 6) with 44 yards rushing on 15 carries while John Canaway was 13 of 21 passing for 73 yards and an interception. Perry added 35 yards on the ground and Shawn Burrus caught four passes for 35 yards.