Pinkerton, O'Reilly out to make history in D1 football final

Win or lose, Saturday’s Division I title game is not about becoming the winningest coach in New Hampshire high school football, according to Pinkerton Academy coach Brian O’Reilly.

Currently tied with former Plymouth coach Chuck Lenahan, who retired with a record of 356-70-1, O’Reilly would hit 357 wins if his fourth-seeded Astros (10-2) beat third-seeded Londonderry (8-3) in Exeter at 1 p.m.

This is a big deal - winning a 12th title as head coach, securing that record-breaking victory and beating the rival Lancers in the process.

“Well, yeah I suppose so, except I’m coming back next year regardless,” O’Reilly said. “So that situation takes care of itself. I don’t plan on being 0-9 next year. My point is, that will come. That certainly is not even in my train of thought. If this were my last hurrah, and you know I’m leaving after this game, then I suppose that would be a big deal. But it’s not. So nothing supersedes the importance of winning the championship.”

O’Reilly certainly isn’t playing the role of Mayor Frank Skeffington in Saturday’s daytime drama. Unlike Lenahan who announced prior to the 2013 season that it was his farewell tour, O’Reilly has been steadfast in his declaration that he’s sticking around a while longer.

So Saturday’s championship game - O’Reilly’s 20th final appearance since taking over the program in 1978 - is his priority.

“This is a one-shot deal,” said O’Reilly, who is eyeing a 12th title. “Either we win this championship or it’s gone and we don’t have that opportunity again. Whereas the personal thing that I’m involved in, if it doesn’t happen, I’ll get it next year. So it really doesn’t come into play at all here. The second thing being, that really has less to do with our players this year. The championship is about our players.”

Despite trying to focus on this one game and deflect the focus off the coaching record, O’Reilly admits he’s enjoyed a myriad of calls and messages from those in his past.

“I’ve heard from a bunch of them this week,” O’Reilly said. “It’s always nice to hear from them. That’s the one thing I will say about this getting into the news, I’ve heard from people from the past - from 35 to 40 years ago - which it’s nice to hear from all of them.”

It’s why he stresses the importance of winning this title for his current roster and not focusing on his personal milestones.

“That second thing is about all of our ex-players in the past,” O’Reilly said of the coaching record. “That thing comes from the numerous teams  that we’ve had over the years - year after year of tremendous players - and that’s more of an honor for them and the program the way it is.

“I mean you have to put time in, obviously, which I have as far as old age. But you also have to have players year after year after year, which I’ve always had and I’ve got again this year.”

The one constant through the years, from roster to roster and player to player is the offense O’Reilly installed in the final week of that 1978 season.

Then-Pinkerton head coach Roger Dube resigned late in the ‘78 season. He had already announced it was his final season, but a business purchase was completed and he resigned with two games to play.

Pinkerton Academy Headmaster Brad Ek and Athletics Director Wes Root had to appoint an interim head coach. They took a chance on a 25-year-old, fourth-year history teacher and assistant coach. The rest is literally a history that spans four decades.

The Astros lost to Laconia in O’Reilly’s first game at the helm. Out to prove himself worthy of the opportunity, O’Reilly flipped the script and installed an entirely new offense. The Pinkerton Wing-T was born.

It worked. The Division II Astros wrapped up that season with a 14-7 win over Division I Dover.

It took just three years for O’Reilly to get his program to a championship game. They would lose 28-2 to Somersworth in the 1981 D2 final.

Four years removed from that defeat, O’Reilly and the Astros would hoist their first title plaque - beating Salem 23-2 in the 1985 Division I final. The Astros would repeat in 1986, beating Keene 52-0. The early 1990s were kind to O’Reilly with four straight titles in 1991 (46-6 over Nashua), 1992 (39-9 over Merrimack), 1993 (21-0 over Londonderry) and 1994 (24-20 over Manchester Central).

Central avenged that loss with a 48-17 victory in 2004, setting the stage for another Pinkerton championship streak. The Astros would win in the next three D1 finals in 2005 (7-0 over Salem), 2006 (27-7 over Salem) and 2007 (14-2 over Nashua South), before falling in 2008 (33-32 to Nashua South).

The Astros would reach the final seven more times prior to Saturday’s matchup, with wins in 2010 (14-7 over Nashua North) and 2014 (37-0 over Bedford) sandwiching losses in 2011 (23-13 to Exeter), 2012 (31-21 to Exeter) and 2013 (42-14 to Concord). Their last two appearances were defeats in 2017 (41-21 to Winnacunnet) and 2018 (28-14 to Bedford).

It’s all the losses that nag at O’Reilly. Because like this title game, he wants it so badly for his players to enjoy the spotlight, not him.

“If it were all about coaching then whoever’s the best coach would win every single year because they’re the best coach,” O’Reilly said. “But that doesn’t happen in any sport. It’s a players’ game. You’ve got to have players, and we certainly have had many of those over the years. This year is no different. That’s what this is all about. I want my players to have fun, play hard and be successful. They are why I do what I do. They are why I’ll be back again.”

Across the sideline from O’Reilly is Jimmy Lauzon, who leads his Lancers into their fifth title game in six years. They’ve split the previous four - beating Exeter (2019) and Winnacunnet (2021),  and losing to Bedford twice (2022, 2023).

“I have nothing but respect for everything he’s accomplished with that program and for New Hampshire football,” Lauzon said. “I appreciate him for paving the way for a lot of young coaches out there. He got an early start at a young age, and the success he had has helped other coaches get those opportunities.”

That opportunity has led to O’Reilly’s 356-130-0 record, 11 titles and his induction to the NHIAA Hall of Fame in 2012 along with one of his former stars, Ryan Mihalko.

As O’Reilly, who is also athletic director and a legendary lacrosse coach, wraps up his 48th season patrolling the football sidelines, coaches past and present are saluting his legacy.

Exeter’s Bill Ball has become close friends with O’Reilly through coaching against the Astros, and officiating lacrosse.

“He’s done an incredible job,” said Ball, who just completed his 47th year coaching and 32nd as head coach. “He took over at a very young age, and right off the bat, he was ahead of his time offensively back then, putting in that Delaware Wing-T which he ran really well and still does to this day. He’s a coach. He’s obviously a very good football coach. Very good lacrosse coach. But he understands teens, students, student athletes and athletics.”

There’s more than just wins on the scoreboard though. That’s something Ball stresses when talking about O’Reilly and his program.

“His teams over the years are always incredible in the area of sportsmanship,” Ball said. “So he accomplished it all without ever compromising his school or his own personal integrity. He just did it with class and is a credit to Pinkerton Academy and what it stands for.”

Former longtime Milford coach Keith Jones concurs.

“He set a bar that we all as coaches hold ourselves to,” Jones said. “He’s created an amazing program that’s not only respected in New Hampshire, but throughout New England.”

O’Reilly is right up there with New England’s best high school coaches such as Northbridge (Mass.) High School coach Ken Lachapelle and New Canaan (Conn.) coach Lou Marinelli, who both secured their 400th wins a week ago.

There’s also mentions of the legacy that former Maine (Marshwood High School) and Granite State (St. Thomas Aquinas) coach Rod Wotton created during his 50 years of coaching in the two states. The Rochester native had won 21 state championships while amassing a career record of 342-81-3 when he retired in 2010 - the most wins by a New England high school football coach at the time.

O’Reilly is right up there with the best of the best throughout the region.

“That’s not really something that concerns me,” the 71-year-old mentor said. “I love to coach. I love working with these kids every day. I’ll be back. We’ll get more wins, but at the end of the day it’s all about their success. The players that have earned all those wins. They did that and my name is attached to their record.”