Top 10 Games from 2022: No. 1

By rbrown
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Updated: December 23, 2022

TOP 10 NHIAA GAMES FROM 2022
No. 1: Bedford 15, Londonderry 14

A dominant second half carried 10th-seeded Bedford High School to a 15-14 triumph over top-seeded Londonderry in the Division I championship game played at Exeter High School.

Colby Snow made a 27-yard field goal — the de facto game-winning kick — with 10.3 seconds to play to erase Londonderry’s two-point lead. The kick capped a 16-play drive that began on the Bedford 11-yard line with 2:08 to play.

Bedford quarterback Danny Black (18 of 33 for 201 yards) completed six passes in the final drive, including a 9-yard pass to Dom Tagliaferro on third down that advanced the ball to the Londonderry 10-yard line and set up Snow’s kick. Earlier in the game Snow had his point-after kick blocked.

Snow’s kick capped an improbable second-half comeback. Londonderry (10-2) carried a 14-0 lead into the second half. The Lancers, who won last year’s Division I championship, opened the scoring on an 8-yard run by quarterback Drew Heenan (5 of 10 for 72 yards) with 7:18 left in the second quarter, and then got a 7-yard TD run from Nathan Pedrick with 1:47 remaining in the first half.

Londonderry was held to two first downs in the second half, however, and also turned the ball over twice in the half. The Lancers had 38 yards of offense after halftime and had four turnovers in the game.

Bedford (10-3) got on the scoreboard when Black connected with Tagliaferro for an 8-yard TD pass that cut Londonderry’s lead to 14-6 with 7:00 left in the third quarter. Running back Logan Sfeir (14 carries for 49 yards) made it 14-12 when he scored from 4 yards away with 5:25 to play. Black completed a pass to Dylan Soden on the conversion attempt, but Soden was tackled short of the goal line.

After Bedford’s second TD, Londonderry moved the ball to its own 43-yard line, but punted after a third-and-10 pass fell incomplete. Trevor Weinmann’s kick bounced away from Snow and rolled dead at the Bedford 11.

Bedford’s final drive was aided by a personal foul penalty that turned a fourth-and-5 situation into a first down. Londonderry also had a holding penalty nulify a first down when Weinmann took off around right end from punt formation in the third quarter.

Bedford became the first NHIAA team to win four playoff games in the same season. The Bulldogs outscored their four playoff opponents 82-14.

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