Defense leads Cardinals back to championship game

The hits just keep on coming for the Bishop Guertin High School football team.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, it hasn’t been enough to slow them down.

Top-seeded Bishop Guertin lost another key player to injury, but James Carver returned a fumble 10 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in the Cardinals’ 28-21 semifinal victory over No. 4 Keene at Stellos Stadium Saturday night.

Bishop Guertin will now host No. 2 Winnacunnet, which defeated No. 3 Dover in the other semifinal, for the Division II title on Nov. 20.

“I want to enjoy this,” Bishop Guertin coach Tony Johnson said after his team overcame four turnovers to beat the Blackbirds. “I am not thinking about the final for the next 12 hours. The number of injuries that we’ve overcome this season to get to where we are today is a great testimony to our kids. I’m afraid to see our trainers. I’m afraid to see what we’ll put up as the potential starting lineup next week.”

One guy that’s been there all season for the Cardinals (9-2 overall) is quarterback Steve Cuipa and the senior was again on Saturday. Despite what Johnson called a “bad wheel,” Cuipa ran for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

Zach Mailloux added 157 yards rushing on 23 carries, but fumbled twice in the fourth quarter inside the Keene 15-yard line. Johnson repeatedly told Mailloux that is was still his show throughout the fourth quarter, but truth is, there weren’t many other options for the Cardinals.

“Zach had a great game,” Johnson said. “We’re still going to give the ball to him. It’s still his show because I only had one (back) left.”

Kyle Remillard, who had 50 yards rushing and a touchdown, was hurt in the second quarter and did not return to the game. While there wasn’t much on what the injury was, it sounded like it was season-ending.

“He’s been our workhorse the last three weeks,” Johnson said. “Lost (Mike) Kelly, we lost (Peter) Fucci, we lost Rem. The list just goes on and on. That’s why I say the resiliency and the character and the pride of these kids today won this game.”

The Cardinals looked like they were going to roll early, scoring on a 3-yard run by Remillard on their first possession, and then making it a 14-0 game on a 21-yard run by Cuipa just before the end of the first quarter.

But on Bishop Guertin’s next possession, Cuipa was hit by a Keene defender as he tried to throw and his pass was intercepted by Oakley Singer, who brought it back to the 13-yard line. Two plays later, James Boulay found Benjamin Galanes on an option pass for a touchdown to make it 14-7.

Remilliard lost a fumble on the Cardinals’ following play from scrimmage, and three plays later, Keene’s Chirs Lacroix went in from 13 yards out to tie the game at 14 with 8:30 to go until halftime.

“As coaches, being down 14 early, we just relied on what we’ve been doing all year,” Keene coach John Luopa said. “We knew we could play with them and we didn’t panic.”

Bishop Guertin retook the lead before halftime on another rushing touchdown by Cuipa, but Ryan Card missed the extra point and the Cardinals led 20-14 at halftime. Alex Parenteau gave Keene its only lead when he took a shovel pass from Lucas Luopa 18 yards for a score with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

It looked like Mailloux was going to give the Cardinals the lead again early in the fourth quarter, but he fumbled a handoff at the 1-yard line and Keene recovered it. But three plays later, a bad snap sailed over the head of Lucas Luopa and Carver scooped the ball up at the 10 and went untouched into the end zone for the game’s final score.

“(The defense has) been playing great all year,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we put our defense in kind of a hole in the second period and they came away with two scores. I thought we did a great job in the first half despite that. People will say what they want to say, but we deserved that (score). They made a mistake, but we also made a mistake on the 1.”

While many outside of the two teams didn’t give Keene (7-4) much of a chance, John Luopa felt like his team gave away a chance to take the next step.

“We’re starting to turn the corner and tonight could have been a huge step for us, but it didn’t happen,” he said. “I think if someone had turned on the radio and (heard) 21-20 Keene, they would have pooped themselves. We didn’t. We knew we’re as good a football team as Bishop Guertin and I think they know they escaped.”