> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bedford holds off Nashua South to return to D1 football title game (video) - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bedford-holds-off-nashua-south-to-return-to-d1-football-title-game-video/ - Published: 2025-11-22T13:30:13.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-22T13:30:13.000Z - Description: BEDFORD - With a perfect season and a spot in the championship game at risk in the fourth quarter, Bedford High School football coach Zach Matthews needed his leaders to step up. Senior Landon Ellsmore answered the call. Senior quarterback Bennett Matthews (5 for 12, 87 passing yards, two touchdowns - Author: Dan Attorri - Tags: Division I, Bedford, football, Nashua South, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 BEDFORD - With a perfect season and a spot in the championship game at risk in the fourth quarter, Bedford High School football coach Zach Matthews needed his leaders to step up. Senior Landon Ellsmore answered the call. Senior quarterback Bennett Matthews (5 for 12, 87 passing yards, two touchdowns; 11 carries for 77 yards and a TD) and senior running back Brody Helton (150 yards and a TD on 23 carries) led the Bulldogs to an early lead, but Ellsmore scored a touchdown and had an interception in the fourth quarter to help No. 1 Bedford secure its spot in the Division I championship with a 35-21 victory over No. 4 Nashua South in Friday night’s semifinal. “We knew it was going to be a battle. The flow of the game didn’t go how we expected. I didn’t expect for things to pop the way they did for us early,” Zach Matthews said. “It’s a little bit of a trap. We got up early and let off the gas a little bit. I said to the kids, 'They're going to come out in the third quarter and throw their best punch.’ And they did. Like great teams do, they came back at us.” Bedford (11-0) forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the game and Bennett Matthews scored a 39-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs’ second play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Helton returned an interception 38 yards to make it 14-0 less than three minutes into the game. The Panthers (9-3) were able to move the ball into Bedford territory on their third drive of the game, but it ended with Bennett Matthews picking off South senior quarterback Cody Jackson in the end zone. Helton capped the ensuing drive with a 33-yard touchdown run as time expired to make it 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. Jackson, the leading passer in D1 with 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns in 11 games, had thrown just three interceptions all season. Bedford intercepted Jackson three times on Friday night. Jackson was 0 for 5 with two picks in the first quarter and finished the game with 12 of 26 passing for 120 yards. “Cody does a really good job with a lot of his pre-snap reads,” Zach Matthews said. “A lot of times when he carves people up it’s based on lining people up and (seeing who is open) pre-snap. "We tried to close a lot of those windows and make him have to process coverage post-snap. Make him have to (throw the ball) while the rush is coming. We wanted him to have to hold the ball a little more to find the open guy.” Jackson rattled off three straight completions to senior receiver Joshua Tripp (five catches for 79 yards) and then ran in a short touchdown from the 4 to put South on the board, 21-7, with 8:09 left in the half, but Ellsmore (65 yards on three receptions) caught a 41-yard pass from Bbennett Matthews to make it 28-7 before halftime. But as Zach Matthews expected, the Panthers clawed their way back into the game. Helton fumbled away the ball on the third play of the second half and South senior John McDevitt pounced on it on Bedford’s 39, setting up a short field for senior running back Sam Levine. Levine (23 yards on 15 carries, 28 receiving yards on five receptions) punched it over the goal line from the 1 to make it 28-14 with 8:15 left in the third and he scored up the middle from the 3 with 3.1 seconds left in the third. The Bulldogs didn’t get a single first down in the third quarter and entered the fourth up 28-21, but all the momentum was on South’s side. “At the end of the fourth quarter I really challenged our kids,” Zach Matthews said. “‘Let’s see what we’re made of here. It’s a one-score game going into the fourth quarter. We need to answer the call.’ And our kids absolutely did that.” None answered the call more than Ellsmore. He caught his second touchdown of the game, this time an 18 yarder, with 8:06 left to put Bedford up 35-21\. The Bulldogs covered South’s receivers very well, but Jackson adapted, making some big plays with his legs (128 yards on 16 carries) to get the Panthers to the 21. He threw another pass that would have gotten South inside the 10, but Ellsmore made Bedford’s third interception of the night, giving the Bulldogs possession with South needing two scores with around six minutes left. “Landon is a kid who a lot of times gets overlooked because of some of the other things our athletes have done this year,” Zach Matthews said. “People have to choose what they’re going to take away. Landon made the most of his opportunities (Friday).” South continued to fight to the end, with senior Cole Patno blocking a punt to give the Panthers possession on the Bulldogs' 37, but Bedford’s defense forced a turnover on downs with 2:52 remaining. “We talked about this all week long. I thought defense was going to separate (the two teams),” Zach Matthews said. “Both teams have really good offenses, and have had good offenses all year. Whoever was able to step up, and get those stops and create those turnovers was going to win the game.” It was a good win for Bedford, but not a perfect one. The Bulldogs committed 10 penalties (South committed eight) and receivers dropped some passes that could’ve given Bedford enough of a lead to send the game into running time. Those are the kind of mistakes that Bedford won’t be able to afford to make when the Bulldogs take on No. 3 Pinkerton (8-3) in next Saturday’s final, which will be played at Nashua’s Stellos Stadium. The loss ends Josh Porter’s inaugural season as head coach with South. “(Bedford is) too good of a team to (fall behind early), “Porter said. “We did not start fast. Unfortunately we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole. In much of the third quarter it seemed like everything was coming up South. "But that came to an abrupt halt in the fourth quarter. We made plays, but just couldn’t finish drives. That’s what happens. You have to put up more than 21 points (to beat Bedford). Porter added, “I’m so proud of the way our boys fought all season long. They achieved tremendous things, not only on the field, but off the field. It’s a great group of young men that are going to continue to be successful and go on.”