Bedford handled adversity in second half to wrap up D1 championship

The third quarter of Saturday's Division I championship game was like no other this season for the Bedford High School football team.

The Bulldogs held a 14-0 lead over Pinkerton Academy at the start of the second half, but two lost fumbles gave the Astros the ball inside the Bedford 10-yard line. Both times, Pinkerton capitalized to make it a one-score game.

With 38 seconds left in the quarter, and Bedford facing a fourth-and-1 at its own 47-yard line, the Bulldogs elected to use a timeout to talk over the situation.

"It was an opportunity that we felt we needed to solidify the game, and based on the success we were having with those plays, nine out of 10 times we’re getting that," Bedford coach Derek Stank said. "Going against a very good football team, you’ve got to take a gamble."

That time was the 10th, as Harrison LeGoullon took the direct snap and was stopped for a loss on the play. The Astros took over, just 46 yards away from tying a championship game that had been controlled by the Bulldogs.

But on the next play, Gunner Grant busted through the Pinkerton line and knocked the ball from Gennaro Marra. Zachary Garron recovered the fumble and Bedford took over at the Astros' 47-yard line.

"I’d say that’s the key play," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "I was thinking I wanted to try a pop-up inside with a power-I and come back to a couple of counters and such, but the ball got away from us."

It was the kind of play the Bulldogs have come to expect from their defense this season.

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

On the final play of the third quarter, Toscano picked up eight yards, starting a six-play, 47-yard drive in which the senior picked up all of the yardage on the ground. That included a 13-yard touchdown run to give Bedford a 28-14 lead with 10:40 left in the game.

"Toscano is an absolute workhorse," LeGoullon said. "All year, coach Stank has been working on our offensive line, making them better. Going into the playoffs, it was the most crucial part of our offense. Our run game is everything."

Toscano finished with 185 yards on 26 carries, and as a team, the Bulldogs had 246 yards on the ground. LeGoullon added two touchdown runs of his own, as Bedford averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

"They have power runners and we have got a good defense," O'Reilly said. "We’re not a poor defensive team and we could not get them off the field most of the time. That was the thing, now that we’ve matched up, that I couldn’t tell on film, they can run the ball on anyone if they wanted to."

Entering the game, Bedford (12-0) was the highest-scoring team in the state and had allowed the fewest points in the division, with the Bulldogs' closest game a 22-point win over Merrimack in the semifinals.

Only once this season did Bedford trail, going down 7-0 early against Goffstown in the third game of the year. Stank and the Bulldogs coaches tried to prepare the players for any adversity they'd face against Pinkerton as best they could, and it worked.

"We just needed to say calm down and respond to the situation, and go out and execute the game of football that we’ve been doing so well all year," the coach said. "They’re a physical group of guys that like to play the game of football. 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."

And for the second time in three years, the Bulldogs are division champions.