Defense, big plays push Pinkerton football to win over Exeter (video)

DERRY - On a night when yards and points were tough to come by, it was a pair of big plays - one on offense, one on defense - that lifted the Pinkerton Academy football team.

The Astros turned an interception early in the third quarter into points and struck on a long touchdown pass from Aiden Goujon to Michael Sarette, and combined with a stout defensive effort, rolled past Exeter for a 17-7 win Friday night in Division I action.

Brady Day's interception on the Blue Hawks' first possession of the second half helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Gannon Fast that gave the Astros (3-0) a 10-0 lead early in the third quarter. On Pinkerton's next possession, Goujon found Sarette down the right sideline for a 69-yard touchdown pass that gave the Astros plenty of breathing room.

"You’ve got the ball coming out in the second half, in a 3-0 game, you either want to go down and score or you want to pin the team way down there," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "It was one of those kind of games. Once we went up 10-0, that changes the complexion of the game a lot. When we went up 17, that put us in a comfort zone that we were allowed to play around with some things."

Fast finished with 61 yards rushing and the score on 16 attempts while Gennaro Marra had 70 yards on 13 carries. Goujon was 4 of 8 through the air for 108 yards with the touchdown pass to Sarette, his only catch of the game.

Pinkerton held a 269-211 edge in yards, as Cam Knight led Exeter (1-2) with 70 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The Blue Hawks' touchdown drive, which came with 12.8 seconds left in the third quarter and was aided by a personal foul on Pinkerton, was the only time Exeter was able to get inside the Astros' 20-yard line.

"We’ve got to be better on the interior, that’s our bread and butter, and we’ve got to do a better job than that," Exeter coach Bill Ball said. "We did a really good job with their run game, but I wish we’d established ours a little bit better."

The Astros were poised to take the lead on their second possession, as they drove down to Exeter's 12-yard line. But a dropped pass and a pair of negative plays forced Pinkerton to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Brandon Roy and a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.

After a scoreless second quarter, the Blue Hawks looked like they were about to go three-and-out to start the second half. But a desperation throw on third down by Exeter's Ryan Grijalva was picked off by Day, giving Pinkerton the ball at the Blue Hawks' 33.

An 11-yard run by Mara and a 18-yard run by Fast gave the Astros a first-and-goal at the 4, and on fourth down, Fast ran in from the 1-yard line.

"It was a huge momentum swing," Fast said. "We’ve been having a little problem with the first half. I think we’ve got to focus more and get out there and just go a hundred percent right away. We’ve got to come out more alive."

Pinkerton's defense forced a three-and-out on Exeter's next possession, and on third-and-seven from his own 31, Goujon found Sarette behind the Blue Hawks' secondary and the senior tight end did the rest.

"I think we got mixed up on the back end of the one up the right sideline," Ball said. "The kid can throw it. For the most part, we were there, but with a run-pass threat like that, it’s tough."

Exeter answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Knight's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal to get the Blue Hawks on the board, but Pinkerton's defense didn't give up anything else.