> ## 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. # Pinkerton football kept tables from turning all the way in win over Windham - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/pinkerton-football-kept-tables-from-turning-all-the-way-in-win-over-windham/ - Published: 2022-09-06T16:45:10.000Z - Updated: 2022-09-06T16:45:10.000Z - Description: The Pinkerton Academy football team looked like it was driving in another nail when Jacob Albert broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter Saturday against Windham. And Cole Yennaco looked like he did the same with his 32-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the third q - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division I, football, NH High School Sports Insider, Pinkerton, slider, Windham, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 The Pinkerton Academy football team looked like it was driving in another nail when Jacob Albert broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter Saturday against Windham. And Cole Yennaco looked like he did the same with his 32-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the third quarter. But somehow, someway, the Jaguars just kept coming back, right up until Albert recovered a fumble by Windham quarterback Josh Sweeney with just over two minutes to play, helping the Astros wrapup a 28-27 win in the season opener. "I’m pretty sure it was Ryan Houle who made a nice stick on the quarterback," Albert said of the fumble. "Helmet to the ball and the ball was on the ground, I just saw it and jumped on it. We knew it was pretty much over at that point. They kept going. We made a play. Once I got the ball, I knew the momentum shifted back and we were good from there." For most of the second half, it didn't look like Pinkerton was going to be good. The Astros got out to a 21-0 lead on Albert's long touchdown run, his third of the first half, and through the first 24 minutes of the game, Pinkerton had the edge in many of the other stats that mattered. It had the edge in plays (28-18), time of possession (14:45-9:05), yards (183-65) and first down (6-2). But on the final play of the half, the Astros were called for pass interference, giving the Jaguars an untimed down at the Pinkerton 19\. Sweeney connected with Bryan Desmarais in the end zone to make it 21-7 going into the break. "That was Sweeney making a huge play," Windham coach Jack Byrne said. "We didn’t pass the ball too much. We drew that because we’re working hard on our routes, followed by just making a play, it gets us back in the game. It shows us what kind of guys we have." Windham followed up that score by taking the opening kickoff of the second half and going 58 yards in eight plays, finding the end zone of the first of three touchdown runs by Tiger An, to make it 21-14. "It was a little miscommunication," Albert said of the two scores. "He got out of the pocket and had too much time. He made a nice play on that. Especially after that first drive of the half, they definitely got momentum off that. They picked the plays they were executing better in the first half and just kind of stuck to that." An finished with 139 yards for Windham and Sweeney almost all of his 88 yards rushing in the second half, as the Jaguars flipped things on the Astros. In the second half, Windham held the edge in plays (42-15), time of possession (19:41-8:06), yards (247-71) and first downs (14-2). "In the first half on defense, we were crisp, coming up and making tackles at the line of scrimmage and behind," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "In the second half, everything was a push. Either we are horrible tacklers, which we didn’t show in the first half, or we need more conditioning. "Everybody is going to wear you down if you’re going to drive up inside and your guys are going to stand up. It’s hard for a big guy to stay low and play like that the whole time unless it’s a crisp, autumn night." Although Pinkerton punted on its next possession, the Astros pinned Windham back on its own 4-yard line. But that advantage last for one play, as Sweeney broke free for a 45-yard run, igniting a nine-play, 96-yard drive that ended with another An touchdown to tie the game. "It was a couple little formational things," Byrne said of his team's success in the second half. "It was really finding out which of their kids were really good. Their inside linebackers were playing a heck of a game. We had to have a couple of little tweaks to get their feet stuck in the mud. Everything was a grind. Couple little adjustments to have a few of their pieces stuck a little bit longer so we could do our base stuff." After Yennaco's touchdown put Pinkerton back on top, Windham responded with an 18-play, 73-yard drive, capped by another 1-yard run by An. With 7:31 left in the game, Byrne opted to try for two-points instead of kicking the extra point, and the Astros stopped Matt Demarais short. "The way we were going," Byrne said, "because the second half had such momentum, against a team like that, for us to breakthrough and be on the other side, something strong needs to happen. It needs to be a statement. If or when we score, we’re going for two. It just didn’t happen." But Windham still had another shot, forcing another Pinkerton punt. The Jaguars took over on their 40 with 5:17 remaining, picked up a pair of first downs, but on first down from the Astros' 35, Sweeney fumbled and Albert picked it up. With only one timeout left for Windham, Pinkerton only needed to get one first down to end the game. "We are our own enemies on defense because there are no three-and-outs," O'Reilly said. "Everything is a drive. That needs to be fixed. It was something that I saw last year and it has to be fixed this year. "It’s OK, we’re 1-0, but there’s a lot of work to be done" **Next game:** Pinkerton goes home to host Goffstown on Friday at 7 p.m., while Windham travels to face Nashua South on Saturday at 2 p.m.