RallyNorth.net

Pinkerton Astros Football '15

Fri, Oct 16, 2015 07:00 PM @ Pinkerton
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Timberlane 7 10 0 14 31
Pinkerton 14 7 0 7 28

Hughes, Owls stun Pinkerton

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DERRY — With its football team trailing, 21-17, deep in the fourth quarter of an absolute war with defending state champion Pinkerton Academy, the Timberlane Regional band rose as one and boldly belted out the “I believe that we will win!” chant.
Talk about a statement … not to mention the prediction.
About 10 minutes later, that same unwavering band broke into celebration — together in the end zone with the Owls – as Timberlane fulfilled the melodic prophecy with a pulsating 31-28 decision.
“What a huge win! Massive!” said Timberlane quarterback Jason Hughes, an absolute stud all night moving the chains on third and fourth downs. “But to us this is not an upset. They’re a great team. We just believed in ourselves and knew that we could play with them.”
The victory inserts 5-2 Timberlane right into the thick of the chaotic Division 1 South/East playoff hunt, one which could leave the Astros, losers of two straight for the first time since 2009, on the outside looking in.
“Looking realistically, with no real upsets, it’s pretty clear for us,” said Astros’ coach Brian O’Reilly. “We need to win our last two (at Dover, at unbeaten Exeter) or we’re not going to be in the playoffs.”
Pinkerton appeared a bit angry over last week’s 17-7 loss here to Winnacunnet.
The Astros busted out to a 14-0 lead.
“We expected a playoff type atmosphere, and we got that kind of effort from our players,” said O’Reilly.
Junior QB Ryan Albrecht hit his first five passes of the night, loosening up the Astros and finding a dangerous threat in senior James Tulley (4 catches, 158 yards).
Tulley’s first-quarter TD grabs of 21 and 56 yards had the Astros in gear.
“I’m so proud of the way our kids reacted,” said Timberlane coach Kevin Fitzgerald, his team closing in on the first playoff appearance for the Owls since 2011. “They came out and punched us in the face. We took it and just bounced right back.
“Jay (Hughes) made plays, (Jake Post) made plays and (Tyler Furey) made plays for us. The kids really responded.”
Hughes and the Timberlane offense simply owned the last three quarters. Over the last 37:28, the Astros would run just 19 plays, compared to the Owls 50.
“We just couldn’t make stops on defense and get off the field,” said O’Reilly. “We couldn’t get the ball back in our hands, it seemed like the whole second half.”
Down 21-17 at the intermission, Timberlane dominated the third quarter with a 14-play march that wilted in the red zone.
A tough stop — aided by what O’Reilly termed a questionable holding call on what would have been the Astros’ biggest play of the night — put Timberlane in business at its own 21 to start the fourth quarter.
Just about the same time, the sophomore Post found his high gear.
“The kid is a trooper, a weapon,” said Hughes.
Hughes-to-Post moved the chains on 3rd-and-12. The two clicked for 14 more and then 18, the latter coming on a 3rd-and-9.
Finally, on 3rd-and-goal from the 5, it was Post pounding in off tackle, making it 24-21 Owls with 4:46 left.
“He wants the ball in his hands,” said Fitzgerald. “He showed what he can be out there.”
And that’s where this one turned wild.
Pinkerton responded brilliantly when Albrecht (7 of 10 for 228 yards) hit Tulley again, this one for 60 down to the Timberlane 13.
But a 15-yard sideline penalty backed the Astros up to the 28 and Timberlane pounced on a fumble into the end zone to deny Pinkerton’s bid to take the lead.
“The penalty was on me. I was in the way as the ref bumped me on the way by,” said O’Reilly.
Pinkerton forced a punt, and Albrecht’s lone mistake, a throw into coverage that Travis Hall picked off and ran back 27 yards for a TD seemed to ice it.
The Astros, down 31-21, found one last gasp of breath on the ensuing squib kick. Nico Buccieri motored 70 yards through the crowd to again slice the margin to 3 at 31-28.
The onside kick that followed was swooped on by Owl Elijah Sorenson and Timberlane ran out the remaining clock.

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

P — James Tulley 21 pass from Ryan Albrecht (Kyle Cantalupo kick) 8:10

P — Tulley 56 pass from Albrecht (Cantalupo kick) 4:18

T — Tyler Furey 6 run (Jason Hughes kick) :36.5 

Second Quarter

P — Mike Curley 4 run Cantalupo kick) 9:09

T — Hughes 23 run (Hughes kick) 5:48

T — Hughes 42 field goal :00.6 

Third Quarter

None

Fourth Quarter

T — Jake Post 5 run (Hughes kick) 4:46

T — Travis Hall 27 interception return (Hughes kick) 1:42

P — Nico Buccieri 70 kick return (Cantalupo kick) 1:29 

 


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: T (49-223) — Post 7-45, Furey 17-35, Hughes 20-103, Kyle Faucher 5-40; P (28-153) — Curley 7-27, Brett Dattilo 13-75, Buccieri 2-2, Tulley 3-26, Albrecht 1-8, Tyler Gendron 1-6, Nick Coombs 1-9

PASSING: T — Hughes 9-17-0, 131; P — Albrecht 7-10-1, 228

RECEIVING: T — Post 7-94, Elijah Sorenson 1-22, Furey 1-15; P — Tulley 4-158; Buccieri 1-3; Trystan Brown 1-45, Dattilo 1-22 

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