RallyNorth.net

Dattilo runs wild, Pinkerton finishes off Salem

Saturday, September, 19 By David Willis
Staff writer

SALEM — Brett Dattilo and his Pinkerton teammates heard the doubters and read the stories picking Salem to score the upset over the defending champions and take control of the New Hampshire Division 1 standings.
Their reaction?

“It’s always a gamble to bet against Pinkerton,” said Dattilo with a smile. “It ticked us off.”

For a few moments in the fourth quarter, however, it appeared that gamble could pay off. 

With the Astros leading by three touchdowns midway through the third, Salem surged back to cut the deficit to just one score with 7:10 remaining in the game.
But as had been the case all day, with the game on the line there was simply too much Dattilo.
The senior halfback led Pinkerton on an 80-yard drive that ate 6:30 off the clock, and he capped off his performance with a 6-yard touchdown run that clinched the Astros’ 35-20 victory over the Blue Devils in front of approximately 1,500 fans.
“All the people picking against us gave us plenty of motivation,” said senior linebacker and tri-captain Mike Curley. “We expect to win and when we heard people thought we were going to lose we knew we had to step up our game.”
Dattilo — who took over as lead back after returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star T.J. Urbanik was lost for the season with a torn meniscus — delivered a monster performance against previously-unbeaten Salem.
He rushed for a whopping 207 yards on 19 carries (10.9 yards a rush) and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 50 yards and a third score.
Dattilo now has 448 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in just three games after recording just 169 yards and two scores as a junior.
“I definitely love having the ball in the big minutes,” he said. “I did not expect to do all of this so far this year, but it has been a blast.
“We wanted to prove everyone wrong today. We wanted to beat Salem. We were mad people were picking against us coming off last year’s state title.”
It seemed as if Pinkerton had all but closed out Salem early in the third quarter. The Astros held the Blue Devils to a 3-and-out to start the second half, then on their first drive QB Ryan Albrecht connected with Nico Buccieri on a 51-yard touchdown to make the score 28-7.
But the Devils were not about to give in. Sophomore QB Matt Soldano and Nick Shumski hooked up on passes of 20 and 30 yards, and fullback Johnny Bartose scored on a 3-yard run.
Salem then scored a huge play as Pinkerton fumbled and Adam Maroun pounced on the loose ball.
Seven plays later, Charles Sibanda scored his second touchdown of the game to cut the deficit to just 28-20 with 7:10 left.
“We knew we just had to do what we do best,” said Dattilo. “We knew the goal. We had to keep getting first downs, run the clock and punch it in.”
Utilizing the clock-eating wing-T offense that is coach Brian O’Reilly’s signature, the Astros started at the 20 and marched 80 yards on 14 plays, executing three third-downs. By the time Dattilo plunged in from 6 yards out the game was in the books.
“We just had to keep possession and eat up the clock,” said Albrecht, who had a crucial 7-yard run on third down to keep the drive moving. “Once we got to about the 30-yard line we were feeling good, and when Brett put it in we knew it was over. Dattilo was great as always.”
Following the game, Dattilo was mobbed by his teammates and reporters.
“Brett was just awesome,” said Curley. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”