Salem rumbles to win over Exeter in D1 football opener

SALEM - If the Salem High School football team that showed up Friday against Exeter shows up every week this year, Division I needs to take notice.

The Blue Devils dominated the pace of play throughout and never trailed as they took down the Blue Hawks 28-7 in the season opener for both.

Salem controlled the game on the back of its line play. The Blue Devils stymied Exeter’s rushing attack and blasted the Blue Hawks on offense to create holes for its running backs to exploit.

Jared White anchored the line on both sides for Salem. He helped open holes for Salem’s rushing attack that racked up 230 yards on the ground and added to that by putting together six tackles on the defensive side of the ball.

“We were able to push up front a lot,” White said. “Not many of their kids were big. I feel like our line dominated mostly during that game, and that’s what helped lead us to a victory.”

The Salem backfield left its mark on the game. Senior quarterback Kyle Poulin, who took over from longtime starter Matt Soldano, had 88 yards passing and 21 on the ground, including the game’s first touchdown early in the second quarter.

Riley Mulvey led the Blue Devils with 117 yards on 12 touches including a 54-yard scamper less than a minute before halftime to make it 14-0 Salem. Senior fullback Dom Paci added 41 yards himself and junior Brandon Wall had 54 yards and a score.

“All three of those backs that were out there tonight are great players,” Salem coach Rob Pike said. “They block for each other, which is important in a game like this. It was nice to see.”

Exeter was held to 133 yards on the ground and 14 in the air. The Blue Hawks simply did not have an answer for the Salem front. Senior end Zach Gibbons picked off sophomore quarterback Josh Morrissette in the fourth quarter and returned it 45 yards to put Salem up 28-0.

“We just knew we were losing a lot of kids compared to last year because last year we had a really solid team,” White said. “We had a lot of key players returning and a lot of kids stepping up from JV. It’s good to see everyone work together (Friday) and beat Exeter.”

While Exeter gets to return home next weekend and host Timberlane, the Blue Devils travel up Route 93 for a South Conference game with rival Londonderry. Salem beat the Lancers twice last year, including in the quarterfinals.

“We just got to improve on everything,” Pike said. “We’ve got to become better blockers, better tacklers. I know Londonderry will, too. They’re going to be a great team. It’ll be another tough one next week.”