> ## 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 runs past Bedford to win D1 championship - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/pinkerton-football-runs-past-bedford-to-win-d1-championship/ - Published: 2014-11-24T19:24:45.000Z - Updated: 2014-11-24T19:24:45.000Z - Description: DURHAM - Brian O'Reilly wanted his Pinkerton Academy football team to run the ball against Bedford in Saturday's Division I championship. - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Fall Sports, Bedford, championship, Division I, football, Pinkerton, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 ![Pinkerton's Justin Poitras holds up the Division I championship plaque as his teammates celebrate after Saturday's win.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jmpafball112214-p-1.jpg) Pinkerton's Justin Poitras holds up the Division I championship plaque as his teammates celebrate after Saturday's win. DURHAM - Brian O'Reilly wanted his Pinkerton Academy football team to run the ball against Bedford in Saturday's Division I championship. But having not played the Bulldogs - or any team they had played - O'Reilly wasn't sure how much success the Astros would have. The best way to assure a victory was to go back to basics. The coaching staff put in what O'Reilly called its simplest blocking scheme of the year and Pinkerton pounded its way to 345 yards on the ground in a 37-0 win over Bedford at the University of New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium. It is the Astros' fifth title since 2005, but first since 2010 after having dropped the previous three in a row. ![Bedford's Eric Glassman brings down Pinkerton's T.J. Urbanik.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jmbedfball112214-b90-1.jpg) Bedford's Eric Glassman brings down Pinkerton's T.J. Urbanik. T.J. Urbanik led the way for Pinkerton (12-0), as he ran for 241 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and also had two interceptions on defense. Jack Hanaway added three rushing touchdowns as the Astros controlled the ball for nearly 32 minutes and converted 10 of 15 third downs. "We sold it all week and we had the simplest blocking scheme that we’ve had all year long," O'Reilly said. "We put our tackles on their defensive ends and our guards on their defensive tackles on just about every single play. All we told our four guys was you dominate the guy in front of you. Easier said than done, but if that were going to be true, they weren't going to stop us." The Bulldogs (11-1) couldn't, as Pinkerton averaged 6.2 yards per play on offense, and the Astros' defense was doing its job stopping Bedford's offense. The Bulldogs finished with just 130 yards and turned the ball over three times. "It's tough to say because there's so many different factors," Bedford coach Kurt Hines said of what went wrong. "We couldn't stop them defensively. They were getting 10 yards a carry sometimes. We knew they were that big, but I don't know if we realized how fast they were." Bedford's first drive ended after three plays, when quarterback Tyler Cibotti (8 of 23, 77 yards, three interceptions) was picked off by Urbanik. Eight plays later, the Pinkerton running back put his team on the board with 15-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs went three-and-out on their next possession and Pinkerton's Nick Coombs returned the punt to the Bedford 16\. But the defense held, forcing a 36-yard field goal by Kyle Cantalupo. Bedford started to move the ball on its next drive, but again was forced to punt, this time from midfield. It looked like the defense was going to get off the field again, but on third-and-9, Michael Curley ran for 13 yards and a first down. "We were trying to force them to go three-and-out and we weren't able to do that," Hines said. "They had some great drives and some great runs, and against a team like this, you can't let them do that." Pinkerton converted two more third downs on that drive, an 11-play, 76-yard possession that ended with Hanaway's 1-yard touchdown run with 8:18 left in the first half that made it 17-0. Bedford's next two drives ended in interceptions, one by Brett Dattilo and another by Urbanik, and the Astros turned the later into an 18-yard touchdown run by Hanaway to go up 23-0 with 27 seconds left in the half. "I think we didn't expect to do so much damage as we did because of the fire power of Bedford's defense brings," Hanaway said. "But as soon as we scored a couple of touchdowns and got a couple of interceptions, it swung the momentum into our direction." ![Pinkerton's Bryson Pacocha sacks Bedford's Tyler Cibotti.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jmpafball112214-p74-1.jpg) Pinkerton's Bryson Pacocha sacks Bedford's Tyler Cibotti. The Bulldogs appeared to be in more trouble after halftime, when Cibotti was hit in the head on a sack and had to leave the game. Austin D’Anjou came in at quarterback, and along with two personal fouls on Pinkerton, helped Bedford move down to the Astros' 3-yard line. But Pinkerton's defense pushed Bedford back to the 7, and on fourth-and-goal, Cibotti returned and hit Thomas Reynolds for a six-yard completion, turning the ball over at the 1. Three plays later, on a third-and-5 from the Astros' 6-yard line, Urbanik cut back against the defense and ran 94 yards for his second touchdown. "I thought it could be an impossible game to move the ball," O'Reilly said. "I looked at them on film and their defense smothered people, but because we didn't play any of the people that they played, I couldn't tell if the offensive lines that they played against just wasn't very good or they were that good. "Offensively, we did what we do. We ran the ball up and down the field, we throw when we think we need to and we stay away from turnovers." Hanaway added another touchdown run, this time from 4 yards out, with 6:10 left in the game to finish out the scoring and secure the title that had alluded Pinkerton the last three seasons. "It feels great," he said. "For the past three years, we hadn't been able to finish. Last year, we were embarrassed and everyone remembers that like it was yesterday. We kept that in our minds and we were determined that we couldn't be beat. We continually played our game and never looked back."