Defense adjustments helped Salem football take control in win over Pinkerton

It took just 10 plays on two separate drives for the Pinkerton Academy football team to score 14 points in the first quarter last Saturday afternoon against Salem.

The Blue Devils' defense had allowed the same number of points over the course of 48 minutes in season-opening wins against Nashua South and Keene, and in less than 12 minutes, the Astros had already matched that.

Pinkerton was finding ways to move the ball on the ground and in the air, as quarterback Aiden Goujon connected on five of his first six passes for 106 yards, and the rushing attack picked up all 63 yards in just three plays on the Astros' second scoring drive.

To that point, the only thing keeping Salem close, in what turned into a 35-20 win, was a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Josh Sibanda.

"Early on, they hit us with some passes, and that’s going to happen with a good quarterback," Salem coach Rob Pike said. "We got it straightened out and the kids started covering better."

The defensive adjustments not helped the Blue Devils' keep Pinkerton's passing attack in check - Goujon completed 4 of 10 attempts for 24 yards and an interception the rest of the game - but also allowed Salem to get pressure when the Astros dropped back to pass.

Following Pinkerton's second touchdown, a 1-yard run by Goujon, Salem got going on offense, putting together a 12-play drive, but the Blue Devils turned the ball over on downs at Pinkerton's 26-yard line.

The Astros picked up a first down, but on third-and-5, Ben Genest was able to break through and sacked Goujon to force a punt. On Salem's ensuing drive, a personal foul on Pinkerton and a 23-yard completion from Matt Soldano to Adam Maroun helped set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Dom Paci that tied the game at 14.

Pinkerton moved across midfield on its next drive, but again faced a third-down situation, and again, Salem came up with a big play. This time it was Sebastian Ebhaleme who got free to sack Goujon and force another punt. Three plays later, Sibanda scored on a 73-yard touchdown run to give the Blue Devils the lead for good.

"We’ve got some good guys," Pike said of the Salem defense. "We can blitz from time to time. Ben Genest had one (sack). The defensive ends, Sebastian Ebhaleme and Zach Gibbons, too. Will Michaud, he’s a solid player."

Michaud got a sack of his own on Pinkerton's first drive of the second half, dropping Goujon for a loss of eight on third down to force another punt. And three plays later, it was Sibanda again, scoring from 44 yards out to give Salem a two-touchdown lead.

"Maybe the play calling changed because we were down in the second half," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "(Pinkerton was) having success mixing in the run and the pass, and in the second half, it go to be a little too much pass, and then sitting back on them and waiting."

For Pike, it was an encouraging sign as Salem tries to stay atop the Division I South Conference.

"That was a good job against a good team," he said. It took us a little while to adjust, but the kids did and responded and executed well. That was good to see. We fixed some of the problems in pass coverage. That was the big difference."