Bedford football plays near-perfect first half in win over Merrimack (video)

BEDFORD - If the seniors on the Bedford High School football team were distracted by the fact they were playing in their final regular-season home game, the Bulldogs didn't show it Friday against Merrimack.

In fact, it looked like Bedford was coming out to play the biggest game in program history. For one half, the Bulldogs played like it.

Bedford scored on all six of its possessions in the first half, forced three Merrimack turnovers along the way, and never looked back as the Bulldogs steam rolled to a 56-14 win over the Tomahawks in a Division I non-conference game.

The win gives Bedford (9-0) its second undefeated regular season in three years and wraps up the No. 1 seed in the North/West cluster for the Bulldogs. Merrimack (7-2), which had its five-game winning streak snapped, will be the No. 2 seed.

"I think the biggest thing is we have home field advantage (in the playoffs)," Bedford senior Ryan Toscano said. "That’s what we preached all year. We love playing here. We have a great student section and a great town to play in front of. This is where we’re the most comfortable."

Bedford looked more than comfortable in the first half, piling up 316 yards on the way to a 42-6 halftime lead. Quarterback Thomas Morgan led the way, going 10 of 14 in the air for 184 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 23 yards and three touchdowns.

Tim Greene and Lucien Mumpini each had a touchdown reception, while Michael Akstin added a rushing touchdown in the first half. Aaron Skaling and Joseph Leary each had a rushing score in the second half.

"It’s the best first half of football I’ve seen us play this year, and one of the better halves we’ve played throughout the course of my tenure here," Bedford coach Derek Stank said. "I think they were excited for this moment. To come out here, against a 7-1 team, we know it’s going to be a battle, watching (Merrimack) the week before and their physicalness, we knew we had to be ready to go."

It wasn't just the offense that turned in a dominant performance in the first half. The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out on Merrimack's first possession, then recovered a fumble by Merrimack's Ben Eichman and Bedford's Zachary Garron picked off James Dowling on the next two possessions.

The Tomahawks didn't pick up a first down until their fifth possession, midway through the second quarter, as they went on a seven-play, 61-yard drive, getting into the end zone on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Dowling to Garrett Murray.

But that score made it 35-6 with 5:21 left in the first half.

"They were this good and we were this bad," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "They’re a really good team. They’re physical, they tackle well and they had a really good game plan. We got out-everythinged. Put whatever you want at the end of it and that’s what we got."

Dowling finished 12 of 15 for 96 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but Merrimack ran for just 47 yards against Bedford's defense.

Both teams will host quarterfinal games next week, with Merrimack facing Nashua North, and Bedford getting Goffstown, if the Grizzlies beat Keene on Saturday.