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Lancers bracing for Bulldogs

Top-seeded Londonderry will meet 10th-seeded Bedford in the Division I championship game, which will be played Saturday (1 p.m.) at Exeter High School.

Londonderry (10-1) beat fourth-seeded Pinkerton Academy 21-7 in Saturday’s Division I semifinals. Bedford (9-3) advanced with a 32-0 victory over sixth-seeded Timberlane in the other semifinal Friday night.

Special teams were a major factor in the Londonderry-Pinkerton game. The Astros were trailing 7-0 when Cam Brutus blocked a punt that Seth Doyon picked up and returned 7 yards to the end zone. Jack Drabik’s point-after kick gave the Lancers a 14-point lead with 8:03 remaining in the first half.

Londonderry put together a 13-play scoring drive on its first possession, which ended with a Trevor Weinmann 2-yard run late in the first quarter. A Weinmann punt, which rolled to the Pinkerton 4-yard line, set up Londonderry’s final TD.

After losing 3 yards on three plays the Astros were forced to punt from their 1-yard line, and took possession on the Pinkerton 13 following a facemask penalty on the punt return. Two plays later quarterback Drew Heenan scored on a 7-yard run that helped increase Londonderry’s lead to 21-7 with 9:32 to play. 

“Actually I grabbed Trevor after we scored and said, ‘Your punt is the reason we scored that touchdown,’” Lauzon said. “We’ve had some type of special teams touchdown or block in most games. Our kids really buy into it. Our kids really like special teams. They enjoy that preparation. Our coaches take it really seriously.”

Senior wideout Colby Snow had two rushing touchdowns and caught two touchdown passes in Bedford’s victory over Timberlane. The Bulldogs also received a 1-yard TD run from running back Logan Sfeir. Bedford quarterback Danny Black completed 7 of 11 passes for 221 yards.

“I really thought we dominated the line of scrimmage tonight and that was the difference in the football game,” Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. “It was a dominant effort. Anytime you can play in a semifinal game and come out with a 32-0 victory … I wasn’t coming here expecting to win 32-0. You’re hoping to win by a touchdown. You’re hoping to win by a point.

“I thought we attacked all night long,” Matthews said. “We weren’t on our heels at all. We got after them. These kids are exceeding expectations, so can’t wait to have another week with them.”

Bedford has outscored its three playoff opponents 67-0. The Bulldogs beat seventh-seeded Windham 28-0 in the first round, and second-seeded Nashua North 7-0 in the quarterfinals. Each of Bedford’s three playoff games have been on the road. 

Londonderry beat Winnacunnet in last year’s Division I championship game.

“We’re gonna have to score some points,” Lauzon said. “We don’t want to be the fourth team in a row they’ve shut out. They’re built a lot like us from a speed standpoint, so it should be an interesting matchup.”

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