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Pelham win streak snapped in opener

Saturday, September, 05 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Hardly an athlete on the Pelham High sideline had experienced the feeling.

And it hurt.

For the first time since the 2007 state title game, the football Pythons tasted defeat, 20-0, at the hands of Trinity before a couple hundred fans here at Gill Stadium.

“A loss is a loss, you don’t forget how it feels,” said coach Tom Babaian of the two-time defending state Division 5 champs. “I’ve always said a loss feels worse than the (the joy) of your best win. The emotional level you go through when you lose is nothing like it is when you win. So we just have to deal with it now.”

Babaian’s program had run off 22 straight efforts without having to deal with defeat.

Step 1 without Bruce “Almighty” Vieira got off to an hellacious start for Pelham, which stumbled to a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter.

“The entire team just wasn’t good tonight,” said Babaian, whose club was outgained 138-47 in the first half and 330-153 for the night. “We played lousy as a team, just a bad performance.  Of course, it’s disappointing. We know we have a good team. This wasn’t us.”

Running a toe-to-toe double-wing offense that repeatedly probed the inner machinations of the Pelham defense, Trinity churned out all but five of its yards on the ground, paced by fullback Josh Hughes, who carried 9 times for 131 yards.

“They did whatever they wanted to do against us,” said Babaian. “Our offensive and defensive line didn’t produce.”

While the execution might have been absent, Pelham still showed the heart of a champion in sports.

“We had a couple kids who showed a lot of hustle and heart,” said Babaian, who had to be pointing to his quarterback/safety Joe DeAngelo.

Under siege much of the night, DeAngelo showed what he had in the tank late in the fourth.  As Hughes broke into the secondary on a long gainer, DeAngelo streaked out of nowhere. Making up at least a 12-yard head start, he hauled Hughes down at the 15 after an 82-yard gain.

It’s the kind of determination that could suit Pelham well down the road.

Defensively, Corey Peterson and Mike Lombard led the charge in the box, combining for 18 tackles. Peterson added a fumble recovery while leading rusher Josh Luciano (13 carries, 63 yards) thwarted another Pioneer scoring march with an acrobatic interception at the Pelham 1.

Additional stories:

• Pelham win streak snapped in opener