Todisco, Salem football hand Pinkerton first loss of season

DERRY –  Coming into the season there were high expectations for the Salem High School football team that took a bit of a hit when the Blue Devils opened with losses to Londonderry and Alvirne.

Three weeks later, Salem showed how a dangerous a team it can be during Friday night’s game against Pinkerton Academy.

While Salem senior running back Kevin Todisco carved up the Astros to the tune of 243 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns, the Blue Devils intercepted Pinkerton quarterback Aiden McDonald three times on their way to a 27-13 Division I victory on Memorial Field.

“We had to fix our mistakes from the beginning of the year and just play our brand of football,” Salem coach Steve Abraham said. “We had a game plan here and it was about being physical. We played the type of defense that we didn’t let up.

“Offensively, our kids were confident, I saw it (Thursday) in practice. They said ‘Coach, we’re going to win this game’.”

Pinkerton (4-1 overall, 3-1 in Division I) rolled into the game undefeated after last week's dominant win over Londonderry, while Salem (3-2) won its third straight.

“The turnovers didn’t help, but the reality was that they pounded the ball and kept it away from us and when we were on offense, we didn’t have a lot of answers,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said. “They had a very good defense scheme, taking away our deep passing game and taking away our outside.”

Todisco gave Salem a 13-6 lead midway through the second quarter when he ripped off an 84-yard touchdown run that was set up by Talen Walton’s interception of McDonald (17 for 33, 176 yards) at Salem’s 9-yard line.

“It felt great, I knew it could get done with this group of kids we have. We’re just loaded with talent,” Todisco said. “It took a little bit for all of us to get going but Salem is here.”

Salem’s Aidan Shikrallah had already come up with a 24-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter when he closed out the quarter with an interception of McDonald in the end zone to preserve the 13-6 halftime lead.

“That was great, we knew they were throwing the deep one there, and I got over the top,” Shikrallah said. “We knew that was going to come because that’s what they run on two deep, so I just dropped back and it was there.”

Salem marched down the field on nine plays to begin the second half, as Todisco followed a 15-yard run on third-and-8 with a 9-yard score to give Salem a 20-6 lead with 8:24 left in the third quarter.

“Every time I got the ball, it wasn’t perfect, but my goal was to just try to make something happen and make something for our guys to get excited about and get momentum,” Todisco said. “We continued pushing and it was a great day.”

After Pinkerton’s Matt Morrison (188 scrimmage yards) scored his second touchdown to slice Salem’s lead to 20-13 with 4:05 left in the third quarter, Todisco broke off a 43-yard touchdown run to open the fourth.

“I saw everyone on the sideline cheering me, it was just a great moment,” Todisco said.

Todisco has now compiled 865 yards on 73 carries (11.8 yard average) with 11 touchdowns, after he totaled 903 yards and 20 touchdowns last year as a junior.

“I told everybody that of our opponents, he was going to be the best running back we were going to see,” O’Reilly said. “(Salem) was favored in the preseason and they stubbed their toe early on and people forgot about them, but they’re back.”