Bishop Guertin football put together a great all-around performance in win over Merrimack

The Bishop Guertin High School football team left Merrimack on Friday with something no one on the roster or the staff had experienced before while wearing the green and gold.

For the first time in a decade, the Cardinals went up to Exit 11 on the Everett Turnpike and returned to Nashua with a victory, 42-6, over the Tomahawks.

"It was really good," Bishop Guertin coach John Trisciani said. "We talked to them before the game about how we’ve had a lot of struggles coming here and a lot of losses. We had a coach look it up and BG hasn’t won a game at Merrimack since 2012. We were really happy with how we played."

The Cardinals once dominated this series - Bishop Guertin went 14 years, from 2000-13, without losing to Merrimack - and this time around, they did so again.

Ronan Balistreri returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, and after Merrimack's Reimello Hyde lost a fumble on his team's first play, it took the Cardinals (4-0) just two plays to find the end zone again. Ethan Chmielecki scored from 31 yards out to make it 14-0 and for the fourth time in four games, Bishop Guertin scored on its opening offensive possession.

"When you start with the opening kickoff, we had the issue last week where we let one up, and (Friday) we were able to score on special teams," Trisciani said. "I think it was the best half of BG football that I’ve seen since I’ve been the head coach here. We’re happy with that."

In the first two weeks, those opening drives were more methodical.

In the opener against Nashua South, the Cardinals went on an 11-play, 62-yard drive to start the game, and the following week, against Timberlane, it was a seven-play, 77-yard drive.

While big plays were key to Bishop Guertin's fast start, it was also able to control possession throughout the first half. Merrimack (2-1 in D1, 2-2 overall) picked up only one first down on its first five possessions and the Tomahawks had the ball for less than seven minutes in the first 24.

"We’ve unfortunately had starts like this in every game," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "That’s a really good team and you can’t start like that against a good team."

Before its final drive of the first half, Merrimack's offense ran 14 plays - six runs, eight passes - but the defense managed to keep it a 14-0 game going into the second quarter. That didn't last long, though, as the Cardinals scored three plays into the second on the first of Matt Santosuosso's three touchdown runs.

"We wanted to try to be physical and try to play with tempo, but when you’re fumbling on the first play or you have a three-and-out, it’s hard to get into a rhythm offensively," Jackson said. "Then they do a really good job of ball control, which makes it a challenge. We have to figure out away of getting off the field on defense as well as trying to keep our offense on the field without turning the ball over."

With a comfortable lead, and with senior running back Charlie Bellavance sitting out the game with an injury, Trisciani was able to see other players contribute and get time on the field.

Chmielecki got the start at running back and had 85 yards rushing, while Chase Amaral had four touches for 27 yards. And in his first game back from injuries, Cody Szymansky made a nice catch on a slant from Santosuosso for a 16-yard gain that helped keep a touchdown drive going.

"It's important because we are going to need all of these guys," Trisciani said. "Injuries are going to happen, so we hope to get the next guy ready before we need him. Obviously, with Bellavance out, it was nice for (Chmielecki) to be able to start a game. He played on both sides of the ball. He’s on all special teams. Hopefully, he got some confidence out of it because we thought he played really well.

"Amaral caught a bunch of bubble screens. To have Cody back, he did a nice job running that slant backside. We’re going to need them all. We don’t need the quarterback carrying the ball 20 times a game."