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Will Taft arrived at the Pingree School in Hamilton three years ago pretty much convinced that football wouldn't be part of his high school experience.

He would go for Pingree's academics and the opportunity to play multiple sports, but at a school with just 150 boys, the idea of having a football program seemed far-fetched.

The Highlanders ended their season at 3-5 by snapping a four-game losing streak with an emphatic victory.

Derek Pratt had a 12-yard touchdown run and later caught a 64-yard scoring pass from quarterback Carlos O'Donnell (who also kicked 6 extra points). Lemarre Rey had scoring runs of 1 and 7 yards for Pingree (3-5), while Pat George had a 5-yard TD run and Dan Rogers returned a blocked punt 10 yards for another score.

Because he doesn't play in a local league such as the Northeastern Conference or the Cape Ann League, Pingree's Carlos O'Donnell is probably the best unseen quarterback on the North Shore. A senior from Salem, O'Donnell is 92 for 158 passing for 1,372 yards and eight touchdowns for the Highalnders.

Lemarre Rey's 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter cut Tilton's lead to 20-7, but the Highlanders couldn't draw any closer as they slipped to 2-4.

Derek Pratt had another strong all-around game for Pingree, catching four balls for 95 yards, while rushing for 47 yards. Senior quarterback Carlos O'Donnell completed 11-of-24 passes for 165 yards.

The Pingree football team could only fool Proctor Academy for so long.

Derek Pratt scored three first-half rushing touchdowns, but the Highlanders couldn't hold on to an 11-point halftime lead against a physically stronger Proctor team. Proctor scored six straight touchdowns for a 42-25 win.

Pingree football coach Chris Powers knows there is a secret to senior quarterback Carlos O'Donnell's success this fall. Actually, it's five small (relatively speaking) secrets.

Through four games, O'Donnell has completed 43-of-71 passes for 662 yards, seven touchdowns, and only one interception. He's also run for 115 yards on 19 carries, and he is coming off a dandy individual performance where he tossed for 281 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-31 setback to Holderness. Of course, the stats represent an individual's performance, but saying that anything O'Donnell does is individual is a minor mistake.

Though his team trailed 44-10 entering the fourth quarter, Pingree quarterback Carlos O'Donnell didn't hang his head. Instead, he unleashed three TD passes as the Highlanders scored 28 unanswered points but fell just short, 44-38, against Holderness.

Derek Pratt was a jack-of-all-trades this weekend for the Pingree football team.

Pratt scored on two touchdown runs, caught one touchdown pass, and threw another as the Highlanders rolled to a 48-14 win over Hebron Academy.

Carlos O'Donnell of Salem had no reason to think he'd ever be playing quarterback and kicking field goals for the Pingree School.

To O'Donnell, it was a moot point three years ago because the private school in Hamilton didn't even have a football program. A product of the Salem Youth Soccer program, O'Donnell just assumed he'd play soccer for four years in high school.

Pingree football coach Chris Powers feels he has a "huge weapon" in the kicking game in senior Carlos O'Donnell of Salem, who is also the team's quarterback.

The huge weapon came in handy yesterday as O'Donnell kicked three field goals, including a school record-tying 42-yarder in Pingree's 23-6 season-opening win over Portsmouth Abbey. "He's got a strong leg and we feel comfortable that when he's kicking them from 35 yards out (or closer), it's pretty much automatic," Powers said of O'Donnell. "He gives us a lot of confidence on offense. We get down there and feel we can put points on the board."