Pinkerton football sets tone early, holds off Bishop Guertin (video)

NASHUA - The Pinkerton Academy football team opened Saturday night's game against Bishop Guertin with some fireworks.

Don Terrio returned the kickoff to start the game 70 yards for a touchdown and the Astros did enough the rest of the way to come out with a 22-12 win over the Cardinals in a Division I game at Stellos Stadium.

Cole Yennaco and Caden Michaud also had rushing touchdowns for Pinkerton (6-1) and the defense, despite giving up over three hundred yards and being on the field for more than 18 minutes in the second half, did just enough to hold Bishop Guertin to its lowest point total of the season.

"It was a tough night," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "We did dumb things. (The kickoff return) was great. That was all him. We had the return set the opposite way. They kicked it to the other side, which it’s always going to be tough getting over there, and he just went straight up the shoot. He just did that on his own with his speed. Don’s a pretty fast kid."

Yennaco led Pinkerton with 82 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and Michaud took his only carry of the game 51-yards for a touchdown on the Astros' first possession of the second half.

Bishop Guertin (5-2) held a 306-231 edge in yards and a 30:37-16:45 advantage in time of possession, but had two drives that went more than seven minutes that amounted in nothing.

"They’re a really good football team," Bishop Guertin coach John Trisciani said. "If we’re going to compete and beat a really good football team, we have to play a really good game. If you’re leaving a couple of plays on the field, and we had a couple of plays in the second half, we had a penalty on a punt return. Then we get another bad one over here. We’ve had games where we haven’t had any penalties. This isn’t the time. It’s frustrating, but we have to keep getting better."

Matt Santosuosso led the Cardinals with 148 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown run, on 24 carries and was 12 of 21 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown. Adam Gnanou caught the 31-yard scoring pass while Chase Amaral had six catches for 27 yards.

Both teams were without key players, as Bishop Guertin's Charlie Bellavance sat out and Pinkerton's Jake Albert and Jack Mackiernan continue to be out of the lineup. The Astros also saw a couple of players go down Saturday, and with a short week before Thursday night's game against Nashua North, O'Reilly expects to be shorthanded again.

"With what happened here (Saturday), it’s killing us," the coach said of injuries. "I already know three starters aren’t playing. There is no way they’ll be recovered by Wednesday."

Pinkerton took the early lead just 10 seconds into the game and got a two-point conversion run from quarterback Nathan Campos to make it 8-0. Bishop Guertin regrouped to respond with a 13-play drive that took up 7:17 of the first quarter, but the drive stalled.

On third-and-2 at the Astros' 18-yard line, the ball was snapped before Santosuosso was ready, resulting in a 3-yard loss, and on fourth down, the junior's pass to Gnanou went through the receiver's hands in the end zone.

The Astros took over and went on a 14-play, 79-yard drive that ended with Yennaco's 1-yard touchdown run, making it 15-0 with 9:51 remaining in the second quarter. The Cardinals got on the board two plays later on the long touchdown run by Santosuosso, with the quarterback breaking several tackles to reach the end zone.

"He’s an athlete," O'Reilly said. "The kids who learn how to run hard, you can’t leg tackle them. Cole Yennaco is similar for us. They have balance, so when you knock a leg off the side, they just go. The way to tackle a guy like that is in the midsection, wrap them up."

Bishop Guertin missed the extra point, keeping it a 15-6 game. Pinkerton had a chance to extend the lead at the end of the half, lining up for a 32-yard field goal, but Rocco Geraci pushed his blocker back into the kick by Picasso Bates. The ball hit off the Astros lineman and caromed back over the kicker's head.

Jakob Baker was able to scoop the ball up and started to run with it, but couldn't breakaway and was tackled to end the half.

"It was just Rocco knocking a kid back into it and Baker being athletic and smart enough to know there’s only four seconds left so I can’t jump on it," Trisciani said. "Let’s give it a shot. They keep competing."

The Cardinals went three-and-out to open the second half, and three plays later, Michaud extended the Pinkerton lead with his 51-yard touchdown run. Bishop Guertin answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Santosuosso's touchdown pass to Gnanou, but the Cardinals were unable to convert the conversion and trailed 22-12 with 1:01 remaining in the third.

Pinkerton had to punt on its next possession and a hold before the return pushed Bishop Guertin back to its 8-yard line. The Cardinals went on an 18-play drive, converting two fourth downs, but a blindside block penalty turned what would have been third-and-5 into second-and-20, and with 4:03 left in the game, Bishop Guertin turned the ball over on downs.