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Pinkerton shut out for the first time in 140 games, eliminated from tournament

Saturday, November, 14 By David Willis
Staff writer

DERRY — Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly struggled for an explanation as he began to walk off the dimming, wind-swept field just yards away from where Exeter was celebrating a trip to the state title game.

“Exeter controlled the game from beginning to end,” said O’Reilly. “They took it to us. There are no ‘What-ifs’ in this game. We did not play well and they dominated. We just did not have it today.”

Top-seeded Pinkerton’s dreams of a second straight Division 1 state title ended in discouraging fashion, as the Astros managed just 102 yards of offense on the way to losing to No. 2 Exeter 10-0 in the Division 1 semifinals Saturday afternoon.

“We were shut out,” said O’Reilly. “That tells you everything you need to know. We weren’t close to scoring points, and it’s been a very long time since that has happened to us.”

The shutout marked the first time Pinkerton had been held without points since Nov. 6 of 2003, a 28-0 loss to Concord.

That is a run of 140 games in which the Astros had scored points, and only once in that stretch were they held to only a field goal.

“We tried a number of different things on offense and they did not work,” said O’Reilly. “We aren’t the dominating rushing team we have been in the past. We’ve made up for that with other things throughout the season, but it really caught up to us today.”

Pinkerton managed just the 102 yards, 76 on the ground and 26 through the air. Nico Buccieri had 20 of those yards on one play, a nifty draw in which the defense bit on a play-fake by QB Ryan Albrecht.

The Astros did not cross the 50-yard line once, and had just four first-downs in the game. Only one came after halftime, when they were limited to 67 yards and ran only 13 plays, compared to 35 for Exeter.

With the offense in disarray, the Pinkerton defense needed to dominate. And for much of the afternoon it did.

Following the 68-yard touchdown drive for Exeter at the start of the second quarter, the Astros turned the Blue Hawks away on four occasions in the red zone, allowing just a 37-yard field goal.

But each time the defense made a huge play, the offense could not take advantage. Two Pinkerton drives in the second half ended with interceptions, and the other two were 3-and-outs.

Joe Lydick dominated for the Astros with 14 tackles and a sack before having to leave the game late with an apparent head injury. Nick Acciard was also a force in the middle, slowing down the Exeter rushing game and James Tulley had eight stops.

Pinkerton also struggled with penalties, whistled for seven just on offense.

“The penalties killed us,” said O’Reilly. “Just in our first drive of the second half, when it was 7-0, we were called for three penalties (a hold and two false starts) and had a missed assignment. It was as bad a possession as I have seen in a long time. Our defense was great, but out offense didn’t have it.”

Exeter advances to the Division 1 title game next Sunday at the University of New Hampshire to face Goffstown.

“It’s always an honor to beat a team like Pinkerton with their tradition,” said Blue Hawks coach Bill Ball. “They are a physical team with a lot of athletes. But we worked hard and we were ready to win today.”