McDonald, Salem football run all over Bishop Guertin in D1 playoff win (video)

NASHUA - No one was more surprised by Aidan McDonald's night than the Salem High School senior himself.

When told he had rushed for over three hundred yards and six touchdowns, McDonald's jaw dropped. Only fitting since the Blue Devils had been doing that to everyone else throughout Saturday's Division I quarterfinal against Bishop Guertin.

McDonald ran for 341 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown run, and No. 3 Salem set a school record with nine rushing touchdowns in a 61-31 win over No. 2 Bishop Guertin at Stellos Stadium. The Blue Devils move on to the semifinals, where they will face No. 1 Londonderry next weekend.

"Oh wow," McDonald said when told of his performance. "Holy moly, I didn’t even know. That’s awesome. When you’re in the moment, you lose what ever is going on and try to keep fighting with your team."

Salem (7-2) had a lot to fight for, as the Blue Devils looked to avenge a 17-14 loss to the Cardinals (7-3) back in the second week of the regular season. They managed to do that, rushing for 576 yards on 44 attempts, an average of 13.1 yards per carry.

Tommy Ahlers added 160 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and David Jacques had 52 yards and a score on nine attempts. Salem scored on every possession in the first half, including a drive to end the second quarter in which the Blue Devils took possession with 48.6 seconds left in the half and 34-16 lead.

"We stayed the course," Salem coach Steve Abraham said. "I still think we can get better. We’re not a giant line, but our guys come flying off the ball. We’ve got great running backs. We just want to play selfless, team football because our goal coming into the year was to play on the week before Thanksgiving."

Bishop Guertin got a big game from quarterback Matt Santossuso, who ran for 94 yards and three touchdowns, and Adam Gnanou returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the second half.

Charlie Bellavance added 70 yards on the ground as the Cardinals rushed for 227 as a team, but after Bishop Guertin opened the game with a 11-play, 76-yard drive to take an 8-0 lead, the Cardinals picked up just one first down until late in the second quarter.

By then, Salem had taken a 34-8 lead.

"They do a few things where they might have more guys on one side and if you’re not able to lineup, it becomes a problem," Bishop Guertin John Trisciani said. "And they execute really well. You tell the kids you want to start fast and you want to be physical. The first drive, we had a couple of guys who were driven on their backs down the field. You could tell it was going to be a long game."

Salem led 41-16 at halftime, but Bishop Guertin successfully executed an onside kick to open the second half, getting the ball at the Blue Devils' 48-yard line. But the drive stalled and the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs the Salem 26.

The Blue Devils quickly moved across midfield, but a fumble by Jacques was recovered by Jakob Baker, giving Bishop Guertin the ball back at its own 29. But again, the Cardinals' offense stalled, this time at midfield, and they turned it over on downs again.

Two plays later, Noah Mustapha connected with David Gigante for a 56-yard gain, and McDonald ran it in for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 48-16. Gnanou returned the ensuing kickoff for a score, but Salem answered with a 10-play, 51-yard drive, getting a 4-yard scoring run from Jacques for a 54-24 lead five seconds into the fourth quarter.

"The start of the second half, we get the onside kick and then we don’t score," Trisciani said. "There were opportunities to do some things, but ultimately, if you’re not stopping them, nothing else really matters.

"Effort is what defines us and I think there were some guys in the second half who kept playing. They tried to show a good effort and leadership there."

The Cardinals punted from midfield on their next possession, pinning the Blue Devils at their 1-yard line. But after a timeout by Salem, McDonald took the handoff and ran through the middle of the Bishop Guertin defense for a 99-yard score.

That made it 61-24 and a 14-yard touchdown run by Santossuoso with 1:57 left finished out the scoring.

"We were flying around, hitting people (Saturday)," Abraham said. "This is a different team energy-wise than it was in the first couple of weeks. These kids are a tight-knit group and it took them some time to gell."