> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Exeter football outlasts Bedford in double OT to win D1 quarterfinal (video) - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/exeter-football-outlasts-bedford-in-double-ot-to-win-d1-quarterfinal-video/ - Published: 2021-11-07T15:30:11.000Z - Updated: 2021-11-07T15:30:11.000Z - Description: BEDFORD - Adam Neil caught two passes during Saturday's Division I football quarterfinal. The first came on a designed rollout, with Exeter High School quarterback Evan Pafford going to his left and hitting Neil in the back of the end zone, as the Blue Hawks matched Bedford's touchdown in the first - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division I, Bedford, Exeter, football, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 BEDFORD - Adam Neil caught two passes during Saturday's Division I football quarterfinal. The first came on a designed rollout, with Exeter High School quarterback Evan Pafford going to his left and hitting Neil in the back of the end zone, as the Blue Hawks matched Bedford's touchdown in the first overtime. The second was a bit of a surprise. After Pafford hit Nate Leighton for another touchdown pass to open the second OT, Exeter's defense stopped Bedford on three straight plays, setting up a fourth down in which the Bulldogs needed to find the end zone. The Blue Hawks got pressure on Bedford quarterback Joe Mikol, and as Jack Worobel pulled Mikol to the turf, he let go of a desperation pass that went right to Neil. The senior intercepted the pass, fell to the ground, and his teammates piled on, celebrating No. 3 Exeter's 35-28 double overtime victory over No. 2 Bedford. "Fourth and long, we knew they were going to pass," Neil said. "Jack Worobel, he has great hands inside and went up and had Joe wrapped up. All I had to do was make the play and he threw it right to me. Lucked out. Tough throw for him to make, but luckily I was there." When Neil saw Worobel make the hit, he thought there was no way Mikol would get a pass off. But after the senior led the Bulldogs on their comeback from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter, anything was possible. "He’s amazing," Neil said of Mikol. "I didn’t think he was going to get anything on it. Coaches all game said stay in coverage. They all put us in the best position to make a play." Leighton led Exeter (7-2) with two touchdowns during regulation and had 49 yards rushing while Jake Wiberg added 53 yards and a touchdown. Leo Zheng also had 61 yards on the ground, as Exeter dominated time of possession through the first three quarters (23:29-11:39) and led 21-6 on an 11-yard touchdown run by Leighton on the final play of the third quarter. Although the Blue Hawks had kept Bedford's offense in check for most of the game, Exeter coach Bill Ball knew his team couldn't get comfortable. "The problem is with Mikol at quarterback, you’re never comfortable," Ball said. "Never. He’s one of the few high school kids who can take you down in four or five plays, especially with (Andrew Grudinskas) and (Cal McAuliffe)." Mikol finished the day 12 of 21 for 91 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he also ran for a team-high 88 yards for the Bulldogs (7-3). Grudinskas had five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, and he also caught the two-point conversion that second the game to overtime. Evan Cibotti also had an 8-yard touchdown catch while Domminic Tagliaferro added a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Logan Sfeir scored Bedford's touchdown in overtime. "It was a battle and we knew it would be," Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. "They made plays, we made plays. I’m really proud of the way we clawed back into the thing. Couple of little mistakes in overtime and that’s the way it goes. I’m proud of the kids. "When you’re down two scores in the second half against a team like Exeter, you really find out what you’re kids are made of. Proud of how we fought." Bedford took a 6-0 lead by taking advantage of great field position after Exeter fumbled on its second play of the game. Although the Bulldogs didn't score off that turnover, they forced the Blue Hawks to punt from their end zone, and Tagliaferro gave Bedford the lead with 4:47 to go in the first, but the PAT was wide. Exeter answered with a 16-play, 80-yard drive, converting three third downs and a fourth down, and capped by Wiberg's 2-yard run. The extra point by Ethan Moss was good, giving the Blue Hawks a 7-6 lead with 7:07 remaining in the second quarter. After Bedford went three-and-out, Exeter went on another long drive, this time aided by a penalty. The Bulldogs defense looked like it had earned a stop, but on fourth-and-7, the Blue Hawks rushed the punt team out and caught Bedford with 12 players on the field. The penalty gave Exeter a first down and allowed it go finish a 10-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard scoring run by Leighton with 6.7 seconds left until halftime. "It is what it is," Matthews said. "It’s not even the penalty, because looking at it, it probably was the right call. It’s just one of those pieces where points right before halftime are huge. It’s an enormous momentum swing. That was a big touchdown." For Ball, it was the kind of response he expected from his team after it faced early adversity. "Off the bat, they brought it down and took it to us," he said. "We hung in there and I thought we gained control. We have great kids, high-character kids. They practice hard. One of the hardest practicing groups I’ve had. For us to do that was awesome." Bedford got the kickoff to start the second half and moved inside the Exeter 30-yard line, but the drive stalled and the Bulldogs turned it over on downs at the Blue Hawks' 26\. Bedford didn't see the ball again until the fourth quarter, as Exeter held it for the remaining 7:12 of the quarter with a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. "I think the hard part of playing Exeter is its ground-and-pound and they chewed up a lot of clock," Matthews said. "If you’re not taking advantage of your drives, you don’t see the ball again for a while. We felt like we had things available. "We felt comfortable with our offense, but it’s the clock. It’s ticking against you. I felt like our kids were playing good football. At that point, you’re looking at the clock and you’re concerned about that." The Bulldogs returned the favor to start the fourth quarter, putting together a 14-play, 71-yard drive that included two third-down conversions, and on fourth-and-9 from the Exeter 40, Mikol connected with Grudinskas for an 11-yard gain. Four plays later, Mikol found Cibotti in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown to cut Exeter's lead to 21-13 with 4:17 left. With all its timeouts left, Bedford tried an onside kick, but Exeter recovered at its 49\. The Blue Hawks were only able to gain five yards and lined up to punt on fourth-and-5. But the play was a fake, as the snap went to Wiberg, who looked to throw it. The Bulldogs were on him right away and forced a bad throw, getting the ball back at their own 46 with 3:50 to play. This time, Mikol and the Bulldogs needed 12 plays to go 54 yards, including another big fourth-down completion from Mikol to Grudinskas. Six plays later, the two connected again for a 9-yard score and one more time on the two-point conversion to tie it at 21 with 1:40 to play. "I went for the fake punt and part of the rationale behind that was I didn’t want to give the ball back to (Mikol)," Ball said of the fake punt. "We talked (before overtime) about this is it. Either we collect (equipment) on Monday or we stay out another week." Bedford got the ball first in overtime, and after a 7-yard run by Mikol, Sfeir ran it in from 3 yards out. Wiberg ran for no gain on Exeter's first play before Pafford found Neil for the matching touchdown. The Blue Hawks offense stayed on the field to start the second overtime, and after Zheng picked up 3 yards on first down, Pafford again rolled to his left and found Leighton to give Exeter a 35-28 lead. "The way we played in overtime was awesome," Ball said. "Pafford making those throws to the left was perfect." That set up Neil's interception to end the game and send Exeter to the semifinals, where it will face No. 1 Winnacunnet next weekend.