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Astros storm to 35-0 halftime lead

NASHUA — Outside of Derry, Pinkerton is known for game-breaking running back T.J. Urbanik.
But the speedy junior was used sparingly in the first half Saturday, touching the ball just eight times, as new starting fullback Michael Curley and quarterback Jack Hanaway put on a show for the Stellos Stadium crowd.
They powered Pinkerton to a 35-12 win over Bishop Guertin in a Division I conference crossover game.
The South-leading Astros (5-0) rushed for 247 yards with Curley accounting for 64 of those and two first-quarter touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards in addition to a 5-yard TD catch with 28 seconds left in the half.
It was exactly what Astros coach Brian O’Reilly wanted to see out of his 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior, who took over for injured co-captain Jason Hansen (torn ACL last week).
“He’s now our starting fullback, but it’s always been 1A and 1B,” said O’Reilly, whose club is ranked No. 1 in the state. “It’s just that Jason got all the carries before this, and he’s our guy now. He doesn’t come off the field. Mike’s somebody that we really count on.”
Another guy the Astros count on is Hanaway. Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 186-pound senior did his part to pull away from the Cardinals (1-4) early.
Hanaway marched the Astros down the field on nine plays, including a 19-yard connection with Urbanik, for Curley’s first score on the opening drive of the game. The Astros went on an 11-play drive late in the first quarter which Curley capped with a 2-yard run.
Five minutes into the second quarter, Hanaway called his own number and took off down the right sideline 73 yards to paydirt.
“Jack was our second-leading rusher last year, and I believe he’s our second-leading rusher this year,” said O’Reilly “You have to keep an eye on Jack, and I’m amazed how teams do not pay attention to him. And when they don’t pay attention to him, we let Jack do what Jack does. But because other teams pay attention to Jack, it opens up our offense inside for the other guys.”