RallyNorth.net

Nashua North Titans Football '07

Fri, Aug 31, 2007 07:00 PM @ Nashua North
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Pinkerton 0 20 0 13 33
Nashua North 0 0 0 0 0

Defending champ Pinkerton opens with ugly win

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Saturday, September, 01 By Hector Longo
Staff writer

NASHUA, N.H. | His ability to score touchdowns duly noted, Pinkerton Academy senior Mike LaRocque is a man of many talents.

Take assessing his Astros football team after last night's 33-0 dispatching of Nashua North.

"We have a lot of speed, a lot of talent, and definitely a lot of work to do," summed up LaRocque after the Astros overcame five lost fumbles to post their 15th win in a row. "But hey, one down and 11 more to go."

LaRocque scored twice in the second quarter, first on a 9-yard off-tackle dash and then only two minutes later when he plucked a whiffed punt out of a pile and raced 27 yards to paydirt.

"I had such a good year on the punt block team last year that coach said I had to go back because I had a real knack for the football," said LaRocque. "I just scooped it out of the pile and there was nothing but green in front of me."

The whiff was one-quarter of a horrifying superfecta of mistakes in North's punting game. The Titans also had one punt blocked, another punt snap fumbled and saw Pinkerton senior Steve Eurieck race 43 yards for an Astro TD when they finally did get one off.

"We won the special teams," Astros coach Brian O'Reilly stated with a typically wry tinge. "And defensively, I thought we played very well. But this was the ugliest 33-0 game I've ever been involved in."

Big Josh Lane anchored a Pinkerton front seven that allowed Nashua North an even 100 yards of offense, forcing three interceptions.

LaRocque (9 carries, 55 yards) and Bobby Dattilo (6-43, 1 TD) paced a Pinkerton offense that sputtered most of the night when it wasn't flat-out blowing a gasket.

Senior quarterback Peter Mazzola threw the ball well but was only 2 of 7 in his first varsity start under center. He was victimized by a couple of drops on potential big gainers.

Sophomore Ryan Simpson provided the Astros' final TD on a 23-yard interception return. His classmate, Shawn Clukey, knocked through 3 of 4 PAT kicks in his first bigtime action.

Next, the two-time defending Division 1 state champion Astros travel to Gill Stadium in Manchester for a Friday contest with the Little Green of Central.

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