Semifinal Previews: Pinkerton football looks for payback against Salem again

Brian O'Reilly will feel a lot more comfortable going into this weekend's Division I semifinal against Salem than he did a week ago against Londonderry.

All the Pinkerton Academy football coach has to point to to get the Astros motivated is a 15-14 loss to the Blue Devils back on Sept. 28, a game that came a week after Pinkerton defeated the Lancers by 20 points.

"(Salem) beat us and they shut our offense down," O'Reilly said after Pinkerton's 20-14 quarterfinal win over Londonderry. "They stuffed the ball down our throat. We’re going to their field and we have to make adjustments. I’d prefer to play someone that beat us.

"With Salem, I can throw away everything that didn’t work and I can come up with new stuff and at least come into the game feeling comfortable."

No. 4 Pinkerton and No. 3 Salem will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday in the D1 semifinals, one of six final four games taking place. The winner will face either No. 2 Merrimack or No. 1 Bedford in the championship Nov. 17 at the University of New Hampshire.

And if it feels like these teams have been here before, well, they have. In 2017, Salem won during the regular season and Pinkerton went on the road to beat the Blue Devils in the semifinals.

The other semifinal is a rematch of a final four game from 2016, in which Bedford came back from a 20-7 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Merrimack 27-20 in overtime and went on to win the program's only title.

In Division II, Souhegan and Plymouth meet in the postseason for the second year in a row, and the ninth time overall, while Alvirne and St. Thomas play for the second time this year, a rematch of a game the Saints won 26-22 in Week 2.

There will also be a rematch of last year's playoffs in Division III, as Campbell hosts Stevens in the semifinals for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, Monadnock hosts Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, a team the Huskies beat 46-6 earlier this year.

Division I

No. 2 Merrrimack (8-2) at No. 1 Bedford (10-0), 1 p.m.

• When these teams met two weeks ago, the Bulldogs put on a football clinic, going up 28-0 in the first quarter and 42-6 at halftime. Bedford scored on every possession in the opening half, with quarterback Thomas Morgan getting three touchdowns on the ground and two in the air. The Bulldogs defense shut down Merrimack's offense, holding the Tomahawks to 47 yards on the ground, and forced three turnovers in the first half.
• The question going into Saturday is which Merrimack team will show up? The one that allowed an average of 40 points in its final two regular-season games, or the one that allowed 6.1 points in its other eight.
• Can Bedford replicate that same performance again? Does it have to? The Bulldogs have scored less than 40 points just once all season, in a 31-7 win over Nashua North in the first game of the season.

No. 4 Pinkerton (8-2) at No. 3 Salem (8-2), 1 p.m.

• The difference in the first game was a two-point conversion that came on a pass from Kyle Poulin to Brandon Wall with three seconds left in the first half, after Poulin had to gather in a bad snap on the extra point. Wall ran for 145 of Salem's 266 rushing yards in that game, but in last week's win, it was Will Michaud who piled up 221 yards and three touchdowns.
• Can Pinkerton stop Salem's running game? Despite the poor field conditions last week, Londonderry was able to get up and down the field against the Astros, they just struggled to finish.
• Who steps up for Salem? The Blue Devils have dealt with more injuries than most teams that reach this point, going all the way back to the preseason, but have continued to have someone step up when needed.

Division II

No. 5 Souhegan (7-3) at No. 1 Plymouth (10-0), 1 p.m.

• It's been 14 years since the Sabers have beaten the Bobcats, although before last year's quarterfinal meeting, the two teams hadn't played each other since the 2007 Division III championship game. It's tough to win at Plymouth, and it'll be tough for Souhegan to slow down Owen Brickley, who had 338 yard rushing and five touchdowns last week. But the Sabers have been on a hot streak, winning five in a row and averaging 39.8 points a game.
• Can the Sabers forget their past? Souhegan has taken some great teams to Plymouth, only to see them go down in flames. This year's core played in that quarterfinal game a year ago, so the Sabers should be ready for the environment.
• How does Plymouth stop Souhegan? In the last seven games, the Bobcats have allowed an average of 3.1 points per game, including four shutouts. But they also haven't played an offense as diverse as the Sabers.

No. 3 Alvirne (8-2) vs. No. 2 St. Thomas (9-1), 3:30 p.m. at Portsmouth

• When these teams met in Week 2 of the regular season, the Saints led 20-6 at halftime and held off a comeback by the Broncos for a 26-22 win. St. Thomas quarterback Shawn DeKorne threw for three touchdowns in that one, and in last week's quarterfinal win over John Stark, he had three more scoring passes and ran for two more. Alvirne will also need a big game from quarterback Kyle Gora, who accounted for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the quarterfinal win over Milford.
• Will Alvirne have another slow start? The Broncos have been a second-half team most of the season, including coming back in each of the last two weeks to beat Milford. A quick start would be big in Saturday's game.
• Can St. Thomas continue its run on the "road?" The Saints played just four games at home during the regular season, and for the second week in a row, will be at a neutral site for the playoffs. They've won six games this year outside of Dover against teams that were 33-25 this season.

Division III

No. 4 Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton (7-3) at No. 1 Monadnock (10-0), 1 p.m.

• The 46-6 win by the Huskies back on Oct. 6 was the only game that the Redhawks weren't close in this season, as Monadnock rushed for 339 yards. HDH did manage to keep Chandler Matson and Tim Hart out of the end zone, but quarterback Tim Santaw ran for two scores and threw for another. Monadnock has outscored opponents 377-55 this season
• Will momentum carry over for the Redhawks? They have already accomplished a lot this year, with their first winning season and first playoff win. They'll need a lot of those good vibes to continue to pull off an upset.
• Does the moment get to Monadnock? Two years ago, the Huskies were undefeated and the favorite in D3 going into a semifinal game against a Stevens team they beat in the last game of the regular season. The Cardinals pulled off the upset and went on to win the title.

No. 7 Stevens (6-4) at No. 3 Campbell (8-2), 1 p.m.

• All Stevens does is pull of playoff upsets. Two years ago, it was Monadnock and Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough. Last season, the Cardinals went to Somersworth and took down the Hilltoppers. This year, after entering the playoffs on a four-game losing streak, Stevens knocks a Trinity team it lost to by 33 points two weeks ago. This a rematch of last year's semifinal game, which was won by Campbell 33-0, and its the third year in a row the teams have met in the playoffs.
• Can Stevens do it two weeks in a row? The key to all of the Cardinals' previous upsets has been that it was the second time Stevens played each team that season. This will be the team's first meeting with Campbell in 2018, but does what happened in last year's semifinal play a part in this game?
• Is Campbell back on the right track? The Cougars had their 18-game win streak snapped in a Week 8 loss at Monadnock and the following week, lost at home for the first time since the 2016 season, to Lebanon.

The winners of each semifinal game will play in their respective division championship games on Nov. 17 at the University of New Hampshire. The D3 game is scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m., followed by D2 at 2:30 and D1 at 6 p.m.