RallyNorth.net

Pinkerton sputters in battle of powers

Saturday, September, 18 By David Willis
Staff writer

DERRY — For a moment, it seemed Pinkerton had seized momentum.

Trailing by 14 at halftime, the Astros opened the third quarter with a 16-play drive that covered 72 yards in 8:54 and cut the lead to one score after Kevin Davies plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown.

“We moved the ball at times on offense,” said Pinkerton co-captain Mike Mazzola. “But we made too many mistakes in the end.”

Just two plays after that score, Nashua North’s Andre Williams responded by breaking off an 80-yard touchdown run to propel the Titans to a 33-7 victory over the Astros yesterday afternoon.

Pinkerton entered the game ranked No. 1 in New Hampshire Division 1, while defending Division 1 runner-up North was ranked No. 3.

“We were inconsistent,” said Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly. “We did some things well and other things not so well. We showed some things on offense, and played defense well occasionally, but not like we needed to. We knew being ranked No. 1 was premature.”

By the time Pinkerton had run six offensive plays, North had already grabbed a 14-0 lead. The Astros responded by driving the ball to the Titans’ 3-yard line, but on fourth down they fumbled a pitch and were turned away without points. Penalties squashed another promising drive in the third, when Pinkerton had advanced to the North 35.

“We moved the ball at times but could not finish the job,” said O’Reilly. “We just sputtered too often. We should have scored when we got into the red zone, and if we hadn’t thrown the interception it could have been 7-7 at the half. But we aren’t going to play that game.”

The Astros struggled to find any consistency on offense, managing just 174 yards for the game. Emmitt Smith led Pinkerton with 71 yards on 12 carries, while 220-pound fullback Davies added 10 carries for 51 yards and the lone score.

Pinkerton was without senior running back and co-captain Luke Somers (112 yards on the season), who missed the game with a leg injury.

Senior Williams was the big-play man for the Titans, carrying 17 times for 199 yards and three scores, including the 80-yard strike. Jamar Gathright (15 carries, 67 yards) added a pair of touchdowns.

Mazzola led the Pinkerton defense with eight tackles while Davies added seven stops and Brett Liporto had five stops. Mazzola and Liporto each added a sack.

“I knew this (North) was a quality team that had speed, the ability to throw the ball and play great defense,” said O’Reilly. “We were limited in what we could do with only one quarterback healthy (Chris St. Onge) and without my senior starting running back that knows my offense and is very savvy. We need to take this, and become a better football team down the road this season and make the playoffs.”