Championship Preview: Division I

By rbrown
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Updated: November 29, 2024

DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Pinkerton vs. Londonderry

Division I Bracket

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) at Exeter High School.
Team records: Fourth-seeded Pinkerton is 10-2. Third-seeded Londonderry is 8-3.
Regular-season result: Pinkerton won 38-15 in Londonderry.
Noteworthy: This will be the 53rd matchup between these programs. Pinkerton leads the series 36-16-0 and is 7-5 against Londonderry in the postseason. … Pinkerton advanced to the title game by beating 13th-seeded Merrimack (38-14), 12th-seeded Windham (14-6) and top-seeded Bedford (27-13). Londonderry had a first-round bye, and then beat sixth-seeded Nashua South (28-13) and second-seeded Exeter (31-28). … Pinkerton quarterback Aiden McDonald completed 8-of-15 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns when Pinkerton beat Londonderry 38-15 during the regular season. McDonald also scored on a QB sneak. Jamie Isaac caught two of the TD passes (25 and 41 yards) and Camren Dillon caught the other one (41 yards). The Astros also scored on interception returns by defensive back Matt Morrison and defensive end Anthony Caruso. Londonderry QB Sam Ogden was 11 of 21 for 122 yards and tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Ethan Wheeler in the loss. Ogden also rushed for 49 yards. Alex Villa scored the Lancers’ other touchdown on an 8-yard run. … These programs have played twice in the same season 12 times. The team that prevailed in the regular season game also won the postseason game in 11 of those 12 years. The exception was last season, the when Lancers lost to the Astros in the regular season but beat them in the semifinals. … Londonderry is playing in the Division I championship game for the fourth straight season. The Lancers beat Winnacunnet for the 2021 title, but lost to Bedford in 2022 and 2023. This is the first time Pinkerton has been in the Division I championship game since a 28-14 loss to Bedford in 2018. Pinkerton hasn’t won a championship since it beat Bedford 37-0 in the 2014 Division I championship game. … A Pinkerton victory Saturday will give head coach Brian O’Reilly 357 coaching victories, which is more than any other NHIAA football coach, past or present. Last Friday’s 27-13 victory over Bedford in the Division I semifinals gave O’Reilly a 356-130-0 career record. Former Plymouth coach Chuck Lenahan retired with a 356-70-1 record.O’Reilly became Pinkerton’s head coach midway through the 1978 season. He has guided the Astros to 11 state championships. … This is the second time the teams have faced each other in a championship game. Pinkerton beat Londonderry 21-0 in the 1993 Division I championship game, which was played at Londonderry High School.

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