RallyNorth.net

Fri, Nov 03, 2006 07:00 PM @ Nashua South

Team	Final
Pinkerton	17
Nashua South	14

Late TD pass saves Astros

Monday, August, 27 By Matt Langone
Staff writer

NASHUA, N.H. | Pinkerton Academy has displayed sheer dominance over its opponents this season, which is the mark of a great football team.

Last night the Astros demonstrated another characteristic of a great team | resilience.

Trailing to Nashua South with 38 seconds remaining and facing a fourth-and-13 situation, Pinkerton quarterback Bryan Farris connected with Juan Amador on a 42-yard touchdown pass to propel the Astros to a 17-14 win at a rowdy Stellos Stadium. That same duo also converted on a two-point conversion following the TD.

The victory improved Pinkerton's record to 10-0 going into next weekend's Division 1 playoffs, where they will host Londonderry.

The Panthers (4-6) held the Astros passing game in check for most of the game, but coming out of a timeout prior to the game-winning drive, Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly knew that if his quarterback had enough time he could complete the long pass.

"My concern coming out of the timeout wasn't Bryan (Farris) throwing the ball or Juan (Amador) catching the ball," said O'Reilly. "My major concern was that they knew we were going to throw the ball and we needed the time to throw the ball. So I asked my offensive line to give him (Farris) plenty of time to throw. I would give as much credit for that play to the offensive line."

Pinkerton got the ball for its final drive with 3:58 left, and it was one of the few times all season that the Astros were faced with adversity.

"We tried to chip away on that last drive and get close so we could score," said Farris, who finished the game 10 for 22 for 148 yards. "I had a couple of missed passes that I just didn't get enough on. But on fourth down I knew that we had to get it in the end zone."

The Astros got on the scoreboard first courtesy of a bruising 14-play drive that was capped off by a Jeff Ragoza 1-yard touchdown run. Farris missed the extra point and Pinkerton had to settle for a 6-0 lead with 6:59 left in the second quarter.

Nashua South gained momentum going into the half, as it executed a 13-play drive. Junior quarterback Bill Ferriter danced around in the pocket, buying some time for his receivers to get open. He then found Josh Drummond wide open for the 3-yard touchdown with three seconds. The point after was good and the Panthers took a 7-6 lead into the locker room.

Ferriter showed terrific athletic ability throughout the game and was a thorn in the Astros' side, rushing for 67 yards and passing for 226.

"We knew Ferriter was a good athlete," said O'Reilly, whose team lost to Nashua South last year. "He was pretty much untouchable today whenever we tried to tackle him."

The Panthers parlayed their momentum into more success in the second half, as David Zocco picked off a Farris pass on just the second play from scrimmage. Zocco then polished off South's ensuing drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 7:50 left in the third.

Three minutes later, Mike Keenan drilled a 33-yard field goal for Pinkerton to make it 14-9 midway through the third quarter. The two teams then battled for field position until Amador's game-winner broke the scoring drought.