RallyNorth.net

DERRY — Fortunately for Pinkerton, it didn’t need style points to reach the playoffs. All the Astros needed to do was just win baby.

And that’s exactly what they did yesterday as Pinkerton held off Manchester Memorial’s second-half rally for a 34-25 victory. The win guaranteed the Astros (8-2 overall, 7-1 division) home-field advantage throughout the Division 1 playoffs that begin next weekend.

MANCHESTER — Sean O’Gorman and the Londonderry offense could not be stopped last night, but it was the defense that sealed the deal in a 42-28 victory at Manchester Memorial.
Although Londonderry (3-6) held a 21-6 lead at halftime, courtesy of three O’Gorman TDs, Memorial rallied to tie the score 28-28 after three quarters. But the Lancers shut out Memorial in the fourth quarter, finally clinching the game on a 22-yard interception return by Michael Wiedenfeld in the closing seconds.
O’Gorman finished the game with 197 yards rushing, putting him over 1,000 (1,026) for the year, and the Lancers rushed for 381 yards overall. Connor Richard added 112 yards on just eight carries and Vincent Parilla contributed with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in an otherwise all-Memorial third quarter.
Wiedenfeld put Londonderry back in the lead for good with 2:21 remaining on a four-yard run before icing the game with the interception.
The Lancers, whose ground game gave them possession for more than 30 minutes of play, forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter to prevent Memorial from gaining any momentum. Parilla led the defense with 11 tackles, Wiedenfeld was in on nine stops and Joey Hamilton was credited with eight.
 

MANCHESTER — Salem running back Max Jacques was not particularly happy last night.

But it had nothing to do with his performance against Manchester Memorial. He had, after all, seven carries and 132 yards with a TD in the first quarter alone (16-164, 2TDs overall) as the Blue Devils rolled to a 28-0 lead on their way to a 41-20 romp.