Londonderry kick return ended any chance at repeat performance in D1 football semis

Two months later, and the football teams from Londonderry High School and Pinkerton Academy found themselves in the same situation.

Just like when they played in the regular season, the Lancers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half of last Saturday's Division I semifinal, and were getting the ball to start the third quarter.

Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly reminded his team of this before the start of the second half. Despite what transpired in the first half, the Astros had rallied from the exact same deficit before and won the game.

"We talked at halftime that we were in this boat last time (in the regular season)," O'Reilly said. "The difference was we were playing better defense the first game that we played them. We talked about, they’re getting the ball now, like they did last time, we need to make a stop and get back in it. I made the decision to take the wind and kick deep with the idea that we’re going to put it in the end zone."

The plan may have been sound. The execution was not.

Whether it was the kick itself or the wind, the ball ended up coming up short of the end zone, but it also landed in the hands of Londonderry's Seth Doyon, who never returned a kickoff for the Lancers.

"He was put back there to block," Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. "Tough day to do that with the wind, but (O'Reilly) usually puts it in the corner. The two returners were in the corner. Seth is a physical player, so he was going to lead block."

That Doyon was in that spot to begin with was a little unique, given the kickoff return the Lancers like to typically use.

"A lot of teams don’t kick deep to us because of the dealer return that we run, but they have a great kicker and you have to use him as weapon," Lauzon said. "We said, they’re probably anticipating a dealer return, we’re going to throw a wrinkle at them. We cleared out the middle and it opened better than anticipated."

Part of the reason it opened up was some misfortune on the part of the Astros.

"As soon as (Pinkerton kicker Peyton Harmony) kicked it, he got under the ball," O'Reilly said. "I saw the ball flipping extra fast and I knew right away, this thing isn’t even going that far.

"Then we had two of our guys, side by side, trip each other and fall down. (Doyon) went right through that hole and that kind of did it. I thought we could start them on the 20 and take a chance. It blew up, like most things we did."

And in a reversal of roles, Jake Schena, one of the Lancers' usual returners, got out in front to block for Doyon as they raced toward the end zone.

"It ended up switching," Lauzon said. "Schena was the one in front. (Doyon) is an extremely good athlete, so if it ends up in his hands, it’s not a big deal. The way we blocked it up front, and then two guys run into each other for Pinkerton, and it just opened up."

The 87-yard return by Doyon gave Londonderry a 21-0 lead just 13 seconds into the third quarter. With the Lancers defense playing the way it was - they allowed just 58 yards in the first half - and with Pinkerton senior Caden Michaud going down with an injury just before halftime, momentum was well on Londonderry's side.

By the end of the quarter, the lead had ballooned to 35-0 for the Lancers, putting the game in running time and sealing Londonderry's third consecutive trip to the Division I title game. Each team found the end zone one more time to make it a 42-7 final.

The No. 4 Lancers will take on No. 3 Bedford in the D1 championship game, the second year in a row they'll meet to determine a champion. The Bulldogs won last year's game 15-14 on a late field goal.

Lauzon expects this year's game, which will kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter, to be another close game.

"I haven’t seen enough of them, but I know they’re good," he said. "We hope that we close that gap throughout the year. They’ve got a great group. They had a great group last year and they’re all back."