It’s in the Cards

By rbrown
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Updated: October 9, 2016

NHIAA WEEK 6
Merrimack 39, Salem 20
at Merrimack

Quarterly Report

Portsmouth		9	15	7	7	38
Bishop Guertin		14	6	7	12	39

Moments That Mattered

Bishop Guertin trailed 38-27 until Bishop Guertin quarterback Sam Raitt scored on a 5-yard run with 5:00 to play. BG recovered the ensuing onside kick, and then on the first play from scrimmage Raitt hit Sarveen Shafian-Rad with a 49-yard TD pass that capped the scoring with 4:52 to play. Portsmouth drove to the BG 32-yard line on its final possession before it turned the ball over on downs.

Beyond The Box Score

The victory improved Bishop Guertin’s record to 5-1 and moved the Cardinals into first place in Division I West. Portsmouth (4-2) dropped below Exeter and into second place in Division I East.

Talking Points

BG quarterback Sam Raitt: “Defense really showed up on the last three drives and allowed us to get a lot of momentum. They beat Exeter. We knew they were a great team, but we believe in our offense against any defense in the state.”

Portsmouth coach Brian Pafford: “Our game plan was to run the football and we did that. I didn’t expect to give up four long touchdowns. Ridiculous, because we stuffed their running game. We worked on the onside kick all week. It wasn’t like it was a surprise at that point in the game. Five minutes left. We had guys just watching the ball. In three years as the head coach here I don’t think I’ve been as fired up after a game, because that’s a game we let slip away.”

BG coach Jeff Moore: “The kids fought from behind, made some plays. The onside kick was huge. We figured we had to take a chance there because we really couldn’t stop them. We didn’t play much defense and we still managed to win. Fortunate to win.”

Footnotes

Raitt completed 21 of 22 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns. He completed his first 18 passes. His only incompletion came with 6:49 left, when Sarveen Shafian-Rad dropped what would have been a 38-yard TD pass. … Shafian-Rad didn’t drop anything else in the game. He caught 13 passes for 234 yards and two TDs. Dylan Fagan caught three TD passes and also had an interception. … Portsmouth played without quarterback Cody Graham for the second consecutive week. Backup QB Christian Peete ran the ball 31 times for 247 yards and five touchdowns. … Portsmouth will play Nashua North in Potsmouth on Friday night. Both teams are 4-2 and in the playoff hunt. BG will be at home against Alvirne on Friday.