Opening drive of 2nd half key in Bedford football's semifinal win

The Bedford High School football team has done a lot of good things this season on the way to Saturday's Division I championship game.

But according to coach Zach Matthews, the best drive the Bulldogs put together came at the start of last Friday's 28-0 win over Portsmouth-Oyster River in the semifinals.

Up 7-0 at halftime, Bedford received the kickoff to open the second half, and while the ClipperCats had outgained the Bulldogs through the first two quarters (114-95) and had the edge in time of possession (15:10-8:38), two turnovers had helped keep them off the board.

"If we score on this drive, they’re going to have to come out of their comfort zone and do some other stuff," Matthews said. "At 7-0, you’re in the game. Hand the ball off, hope we fumble or throw an interception, and they’re right back in it. Two scores pushes them to have to do some different things."

With Portsmouth-OR focusing on slowing down Bedford running back Brody Helton, the Bulldogs mixed things up offensively.

Tight end Kevin Sheridan opened the drive with a 6-yard run and Bedford got a first down when the ClipperCats jumped offside. Quarterback Danny Black completed two passes to Bennett Matthews for a combined 14 yards and the senior also ran three times for 19 yards.

Helton did damage on the remaining plays, carrying six times for 30 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2, giving Bedford a 14-0 lead. The drive went 12-plays and 64 yards, eating up the first 5:35 of the third quarter.

"That opening drive of the second half was our best of the season," Zach Matthews said. "I challenged the kids at halftime that we need to come out and have a great drive here. We used some tempo. I thought they would struggle with tempo a little bit, get them on their heels.

"To be honest, that was our best drive of the season. That was a great drive. That was kind of sending a message to them in the second half, that this is going to be a tough one."

That drive, and Bedford's 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter, were a stark contrast from what the Bulldogs had done all season.

"So often this year, we’re playing teams, we throw a deep ball to Luke Soden and he’s gone and we don’t drive the field," Matthews said. "Brody busts a long run and it’s a touchdown. I don’t know how many plays were in that drive, but we had to matriculate the ball down the field.

"It wasn’t big, explosive plays, and that’s a tough thing to do in football. If you’re not getting explosive plays, you have to be disciplined, and we did get a couple of penalties, but we got back on the right side of the sticks. We had to move the ball down the field patiently."

It was the first time since the season-opening win over Bishop Guertin in which the Bulldogs scored fewer than three touchdowns in the first half. More often, Bedford's starters were already starting to come out of games by halftime.

To have to regroup during the break against Portsmouth-OR was a different feeling.

"It was definitely weird because we haven’t done it this entire year," Black said. "I think there are some underclassmen who don’t know what it’s like to be in a close game and they were kind of rattled by it. Our seniors got everyone together and we know what’s at stake right now. We knew we had to lock in for the second half."

Bedford was able to add to the lead on its next possession, as the ClipperCats went three-and-out, getting just five yards on three runs. Two plays after the punt, Black hit Soden for a 45-yard touchdown - the Bulldogs' only play of more than 20 yards - and a 21-0 lead with 3:23 left in the third.

"We were doing some uncharacteristic things on the defensive side of the ball," Matthews said. "Our angles were a little off. Offensively, we weren’t staying on some of our blocks as well as I would have liked. I definitely think we weren’t executing to the best of our ability in the first half and I think that’s a testament to them and their game plan. We were certainly pleased with the second half."

The Bulldogs will go for their second D1 title in a row at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. They'll once against face Londonderry, in a rematch of last year's title game.