Big defensive plays by MacInnis proved to be the difference for Pinkerton football

Jake MacInnis is a unique football player for Pinkerton Academy.

But it's not just what the junior linebacker does on the field that sets him apart, but rather, what he does in between games.

"Jake is a really smart player," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "He’s one of the few kids that we have who studies film, studies the players he has to cover."

MacInnis showed off his film study skills in Saturday's 20-14 win over Londonderry in the Division I quarterfinals. With the game tied 7-7 early in the third quarter, and with the Lancers driving, MacInnis saw Londonderry's Tyler Kayo run a route he'd watched a number of times before.

"They got us on it last game," he said. "I saw it on film and thought (Tyler Kayo), the only route he’s going to run is that, so I jumped it a little bit."

The wind picked up just as Londonderry's Evan Cormier threw the ball and the pass got hung up, and came down right to MacInnis.

"The wind helped me out a little bit and I just wanted to get into the end zone," MacInnis said. "It curved a little bit toward me and I was just lucky to be able to hold on to it. I didn’t want to fall, I didn’t want to cough up the ball, I didn’t want to get tackled."

MacInnis managed to keep his feet on the muddy field and ran 72 yards for a touchdown that gave Pinkerton a 14-7 lead, and for the moment, all the momentum.

"First touchdown out of the half is going to swing momentum toward either side," he said. "They scored right back, so we had to stick it out."

Londonderry came back on its next possession to tie the game at 14 heading into the fourth quarter, and after Pinkerton went back in front, it looked like the Lancers were going find the end zone again on their final drive.

But facing fourth-and-goal at the Pinkerton 8-yard line, Londonderry tried to catch the Astros off guard, throwing a screen pass to Jeff Wiedenfeld. MacInnis was right there to make the tackle for a loss, giving Pinkerton the ball and the win.

"I thought at the end they were going to bring pressure and so I thought a screen would be a good call," Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. "You put the ball in Wiedenfeld’s hands, he’s our toughest runner. If he has to break a tackle, you have to like your chances. I thought they were going to blitz, they didn’t blitz."

Despite bending a little more than the Astros would have liked, the defense came up big on two pass plays.

"Both side of the ball, we knew it would be tough passing the ball all day," MacInnis said. "We were lucky enough to make a stop and the time was on our side. We stuck it out."