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Pinkerton 'D' expects big year in 2009

Saturday, November, 22 By David Willis
Staff writer

DERRY, N.H. — Pinkerton cornerback Jeff Guilherme had a message for New Hampshire football next season.

“We’ll be back,” said the junior with a full smile through his sadness. “We have so much depth and a lot of great players are coming back. Our defense is going to be very, very good next year. We can (reach the title game) again.”

When the Astros looked down and out yesterday, it was the defense that led the rally to send the Division 1 state title game into overtime.

With 9:41 left in regulation, Nashua star David Zocco plowed into the end zone to give the Purple Panthers a 26-14 lead.

“We saw fans leaving after the score,” said Guilherme. “Everyone through it was over. But we came back and made it a game.”

After allowing Nashua scores on its first two drives of the second half, the Astros held the Panthers to a three-and-out that set up one score. Then, on the following drive, Pinkerton caused a fumble that linebacker Tom Giancola recovered to set up the tying score.

“It was all about defense,” said senior linebacker Chris George. “We had to step it up. We couldn’t let them keep pounding us. It was tough because it was cold, the ground was hard and it feels a lot different to hit from when it’s warm. But we tightened up and executed.”

The Astros allowed just 26 yards and one first down over the final two possessions after allowed a 78-yard scoring drive at the beginning of the fourth.

With the defensive backs pressing the receivers more aggressively, Pinkerton broke up a string of 12 straight completions for Nashua QB Keith Farkas. Zocco was also stuffed for 7 yards on four rushes.

“We finally made some plays,” said Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly. “The kids dug down deep when they had to. There’s no question they were driving the ball on us. But the defense gave us a few stops to get us back in the game.”

He wasn’t the only coach impressed by the Astros’ resilience.

“They just don’t give up,” said Nashua coach Scott Knight. “We were up two scores and (the defense) got them back. They did it against Londonderry a week ago. They have great resolve.”

Don’t expect anything to change next season. The Pinkerton defense will once again be among the area’s best.

“We will have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball,” said George. “And Pinkerton always has a lot of young guys coming up.”

Of the 11 defensive starters yesterday, four will be retuning for the 2009 season. And all four made a major impact.

Just a sophomore, Mike Mazzola turned in a team-best 11 tackles. He also made the play of the game, crushing Farkas, then recovering the fumble. For the season, he was second on the team in tackles (92), behind just Dennis Stevens (138).

Massive 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior defensive tackle Ben Proulx ended up second on the game with seven tackles and finished the season third on the team in stops with 84. Fellow junior Giancola had six tackles, closing out the year sixth with 76 tackles. Guilherme also stood out.

 “We’ll be just fine,” said O’Reilly. “We have a lot of good players back. Eric Guinto (knee injury) and Scott Lafleur will be back from injuries. And we have an excellent freshman class coming up. We’ll be back.”

Who can argue with the coach whose squad has advanced to five straight Division 1 title games, winning three.

As upset as the Astros were as they made their way off the field, no one was discouraged.

“I feel really bad for the seniors,” said  Guilherme. “But Mazzola had a great game and Proulx and Guinto are back. We are excited for next season.”

Additional stories:

• Pinkerton tripped up in championship epic