Roy kicks Pinkerton football into the D1 postseason, eliminates Bedford

DERRY - Playoff football came a week early for a pair of Division I clubs on Friday. It was a do-or-die scenario between Pinkerton and Bedford in their regular-season finale, as the winner would extend their season to next weekend’s opening round of the D1 postseason.

It took the unlikely combination of a kicker and some timely defense, but the Astros are still in the hunt after knocking off the defending D1 champion Bulldogs 16-7 at Memorial Field. Brandon Roy’s three field goals propelled Pinkerton (6-3), which will travel to undefeated Londonderry for next weekend’s quarterfinal matchup.

“A month ago after walking off the field against Salem, it looked like the numbers were going to be against us,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said. The Astros were 2-3 at that point and have won four consecutive games since. “I still thought we played hard the weeks afterwards, even though it didn’t look like we were going to make it, and then last week turned the tides for us. And now here we are, in the playoffs again.”

Pinkerton’s offense had its moments of consistency, but lost steam each time it hit the red zone. Fortunately for the Astros, Roy was there to pick up the pieces. The senior hit two 24-yard field goals and another from 27 yards while also notching the extra point on a Brady Day 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Roy had hit four field goals all season before nearly matching that mark in one swoop on Friday.

“That’s the most points I’ve scored in a game in my three years,” Roy said. “I’ve got to hand it to the offense for driving down the field. Our line did their job, running backs did theirs, receivers caught balls and (Jeff Potvin) made some outstanding throws. They did their job, so it was time to do mine.”

Roy scored Pinkerton’s first six points before his 27-yard kick in third quarter capped the scoring. The pressure from the game’s win-or-go-home nature was certainly an obstacle for Roy, but then there was wind and cold to contend with as well.

“During school (Friday), I was looking out at the field and trying to judge where the wind was going to be,” Roy said. “I had a feeling it would be a cross-breeze. It ended up being a lot windier in warmups than I expected, but I adjusted accordingly.”

O’Reilly had nothing but confidence each time he deployed Roy and the field goal unit to ensure Pinkerton’s ball movement wouldn’t go to waste.

“If we’re from the 25-yard line in, I don’t even hesitate. He’s automatically going in there,” O’Reilly said. “He’s as good as almost any kicker I’ve had here, and I’ve been around a couple years. Brandon works at it, that’s all he does and he does it very well.”

Bedford’s lone touchdown came in the final minute of the first half on a 7-yard pass from Joe Mikol to Aaron Skaling after the Bulldogs (6-3) converted a fourth-and-1 and committed a pair of 5-yard penalties.

Bedford was on shaky ground from its opening possession on. The Bulldogs lost a fumble on their first play from scrimmage and had crossed wires and disorganization all throughout the first half before the late score.

There wasn’t any momentum for Bedford in the second half either as Pinkerton’s Michael Zabriskie hauled in an interception on Bedford’s third play out of the break and only mustered one other three-and-out series in the third, which led to Roy’s third field goal.

There was discipline missing from various parts of Bedford’s game while Pinkerton took the highs and the lows of its effort in stride.

“In the first game of the year we turned the ball over four times, the second game we turned it over four times and in the third game we turned it over three times,” O’Reilly said. “It looked like one of those years where we didn’t have any discipline at all. Now we’ve got ball security and we’ve just grown up.”

Making matters worse for Bedford was Pinkerton’s defense. The Bulldogs failed to rush for more than 9 yards on any of its attempts while forcing Mikol into 12-of-23 passing, including just two passes for more than 10 yards.

“Our defense played as well as they have all year long,” O’Reilly said. “I was very impressed with the whole scheme of the defense, between stopping the run and stopping the pass.”

Pinkerton’s defense, including Day, Zabriskie, Marcus Terrio and Jake MacInnis, was at its best during Bedford’s second-to-last drive midway through the fourth quarter. Bedford drove into the red zone from its own 30-yard line before Pinkerton halted things with a big third-and-5 stop. The Bulldogs missed the field goal try on fourth down, which all but sealed the win for the Astros.

“They pulled up a couple of first downs that would’ve deflated some other teams, but we were able to step it back up,” O’Reilly said.