Winnacunnet caps unbeaten season

By rbrown
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Updated: November 19, 2017

WINNACUNNET 41, PINKERTON 21

Winnacunnet scored on each of its first six offensive possessions and breezed to a 41-21 victory over Pinkerton Academy in the Division I championship game at the University of New Hampshire’s Wildcat Stadium.

Senior wide receiver Evan Welch caught three touchdown passes (13, 10 and 13 yards) for Winnacunnet, which received three TD runs (3, 22 and 2 yards) from sophomore running back Jordan Fuller.

Welch caught three passes for 36 yards and the three TDs. Fuller rushed for a game-high 184 yards on 25 attempts.

“They scored every time they had the ball until, I don’t know, maybe they got tired or something,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said. “They were a far superior team than us today.”

Running back Gannon Fast scored two touchdowns for the Astros (10-2).

The victory earned Winnacunnet (12-0) its first unbeaten season in school history. It was Winnacunnet’s first state championship since it beat Bedford for the 2012 Division II title.

“Gotta give credit to our offensive line,,” Winnacunnet coach Ron Auffant said. “They made the holes and made everything happen. Our offensive line did a great job tonight.

“I thought we need to score at least four touchdowns, and I thought that would be tough. Again, a tribute to our offensive line, and I think we got confidence as we went. We’ve played really good football, but I think this is our best game. Best game we’ve played all year .. against a great football team.”

Pinkerton’s first TD came on a 58-yard pass from quarterback Aiden Goujon to wingback Ty Hicks. That cut Winnacunnet’s lead to 14-7 with 3:54 left in the first quarter. Hicks caught three passes for 149 yards.

Fast’s first TD came on a 2-yard run and helped trim Pinkerton’s deficit to 41-14 with 1:50 left in the third quarter. He also scored on a 1-yard run with 2:16 to play.