Pieces coming together for Bishop Guertin football

It may have only been the third play of the game, but it seemed to set the tone for the Bishop Guertin High School football team in its 35-7 win over Nashua South last Friday.

After picking up 17 yards on his first two carries of the night, Charlie Bellavance took another handoff and looked like he was going to gain another 7 or 8 when the South defense closed in on him.

But some help came from out of no where, Bellavance bounced out of a tackle, and all of a sudden, the junior was gone for a 42-yard touchdown run.

"I was surprised," Bellavance said of the touchdown run. "Jakob Baker, he just gets downfield and makes blocks he should not be making. I get downfield in a situation where there’s like three guys next to me, and he’s blocking kids that are coming in at an angle from behind me. I step out to stiff arm (an opponent) and he just blocks kids. That first run, I thought I was going down from behind. I heard their steps from behind. He cleaned them out."

It was the start of a night that saw the Cardinals (4-1 in the Division I North Conference) rush for 294 yards and four touchdowns, picking up 16 first downs, while holding on to the ball for 31 minutes, 22 seconds. That included the final 9:38 of the game, when Bishop Guertin ran out the clock with a 15-play drive.

"This whole thing is uncharted waters," Cardinals coach John Trisciani said. "We’re trying to hold on to the ball, keep guys healthy, and get out of here with a good win."

Not just a good win, though, but a complete one for Bishop Guertin, perhaps the most complete since Trisciani took over as head coach before the 2018 season.

The Cardinals defense collected three turnovers and shut down South's running game, holding the Panthers to just 78 yards on the ground. That included just 27 yards on 11 carries for Josh Compoh.

"Their running game is so good and we were able to bottle it up," Trisciani said. "I couldn’t believe there wasn’t even a long run. It didn’t make any sense. We talked this week, the defensive coordinator was getting back to pursuit drill and trying to get back to basics and making sure we get all 11 guys flying to the ball. There were a lot of plays out there where there was a lot of gang tackling going on. It was good."

In the last two games, Bellavance has rushed 383 yards and seven touchdowns on 56 carries, an average of 6.8 yards per attempt, as holes have opened up inside with teams adjusting and trying to limit the outside running game of quarterback Matt Santosuosso. Despite teams keying on him, Santosuosso has still been able to run for 252 yards over the same span.

"As the season progress, I’ve been able to see more gaps, gaps backside," Bellavance said. "Plus, me and Matt, we figured out a lot as the game goes on. He’ll see something where maybe it shouldn’t be a pull, but the other team is reading me."

Trisciani has tried to make adjustments to keep from getting to predictable.

"I’m trying to do a better job of being patient, if a play goes for a couple of yards, that’s good," Trisciani said. "We can keep running it. Try to be patient, try not to be too cute. It’s always looking at what the defense is lined up in, which is why we try to go no huddle."

Another thing the Cardinals have tried out to open the second half in each of the last two weeks is putting sophomore Michael MacDonough at quarterback and moving Santosuosso to receiver. Bishop Guertin scored a touchdown on two of those three possessions.

"We put Matt out at receiver, and ended up not even throwing the ball, but they have to take some guys out of the box to at least honor that," Trisciani said. "We’re trying to find what’s a favorable formation and try to be patient. MacDonough is young but he can throw well and he’s a smart kid."

After picking up wins over conference foes Merrimack and South the last two weeks, Bishop Guertin plays its final game in the West this season, as it faces Nashua North on Friday. The Cardinals haven't beaten the Titans since 2015, losing seven in a row, and they're just 2-8 against their city rivals since 2013.