Pinkerton running back Matt Morrison makes a cut upfield during the first half against Bedford in Friday night’s state Division I semifinal game. Morrison scored three touchdowns to lead the Astros to a 27-13 win.
Pinkerton running back Matt Morrison makes a cut upfield during the first half against Bedford in Friday night’s state Division I semifinal game. Morrison scored three touchdowns to lead the Astros to a 27-13 win.
Pinkerton running back Matt Morrison makes a cut upfield during the first half against Bedford in Friday night’s state Division I semifinal game. Morrison scored three touchdowns to lead the Astros to a 27-13 win.
Pinkerton running back Matt Morrison makes a cut upfield during the first half against Bedford in Friday night’s state Division I semifinal game. Morrison scored three touchdowns to lead the Astros to a 27-13 win.
BEDFORD — It was Oct. 11 when Pinkerton Academy visited Bedford in an early-season showdown.
The Astros’ Jamie Isaac was sidelined with a concussion. Then Pinkerton lost leading rusher Matt Morrison with a broken pinkie in the first quarter.
The absence of both playmakers certainly helped the Bulldogs to their 28-25 victory, but the dynamic duo was back and healthy for last Friday night’s rematch in the state Division I football semifinals.
And they showed what a difference they make.
Morrison carried the rushing load with 155 yards on 26 carries and scored three overall touchdowns, while Isaac added 71 rushing yards with a score. Pinkerton prevailed, 27-13, and this week moved into the No. 1 spot in the Union Leader High School Football Power Poll.
“This was a big game for me,” Morrison said. “This was almost a revenge game, being able to play a full game, complete it, and come out with a victory. I was able to make an impact this time more than I did last time.”
Morrison and Isaac are among 17 seniors who get a chance to break Pinkerton’s 10-year title drought when the Astros play in Saturday’s Division I championship game (1 p.m.) against rival Londonderry. The NHIAA on Monday announced Exeter High as the site for the game.
The Astros jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 in the weekly poll of New Hampshire media members. The Lancers, who beat second-ranked Exeter in their semifinal, jumped two spots to No. 2. The Bulldogs and Blue Hawks, who had held down the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, dropped to No. 4 and No. 3, respectively.
On Friday night, Isaac turned a miscue into gold during the opening drive. He dropped a toss to the right by quarterback Aiden McDonald on fourth-and-1, but quickly fielded his own fumble, made one cut, and was off racing down the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown run to give Pinkerton a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left in the first quarter.
“It was totally my fault when I dropped that ball,” Isaac said. “I recovered and looked up and there was a guy right in front of me. I made a move and I ran.”
After scoring on a 1-yard touchdown plunge to finish Pinkerton’s next drive, Morrison came up huge from his cornerback position when intercepted Bedford quarterback Jack Maye and returned it 32 yards for a score to give Pinkerton a 21-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
“Our defense does a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback and we just stay in coverage, so it makes it hard for them to throw,” Morrison said. “My guy ran a hitch and the quarterback was under a lot of pressure, so he just kind of threw it my way.”
They’re known for their offensive prowess, but Morrison and Isaac form the best cornerback duo in the state, according to coach Brian O’Reilly.
“Everybody talks about Matt and Jamie and their offensive capabilities, which are certainly true,” O’Reilly said. “But they’re rock solid in the secondary. They’re our No. 1 and No. 2 guys and I wouldn’t trade them for anybody.”
On Friday, O’Reilly followed a script that was similar to the prior week’s quarterfinal win against Windham by using Morrison as the workhorse late in the game.
After Bedford’s Brody Helton trimmed Pinkerton’s lead to 21-13 with a 55-yard touchdown run to end the third quarter, Morrison rushed the ball 14 times for 93 yards in the fourth quarter, and his 50-yard TD burst gave the visitors a 27-13 cushion.
“Matt has vision; there is no hole originally,” O’Reilly said. “Matt goes a direction and is smart enough to see where the hole is and makes his cut.”
Another team that moved up in this week’s poll, not surprisingly, was Souhegan, which beat Pelham in Saturday’s Division II final. The Sabers jumped from eighth to seventh.
