PELHAM, N.H. — Come November, football expectations run pretty high in these parts.
Five straight championship appearances – with four state titles – will do that team.
So, when Pelham High opened the postseason on its home Harris Field turf against Manchester West, most expected business as usual.
Saturday’s 7-6 – “6-7?” – Python win over the game Blue Knights was anything but that. West, which dropped the regular season meeting between the two by a 35-0 score, pushed Pelham to its absolute limit, before the defense just said enough was enough.
“Practice has gone really well, especially on defense, so I thought we had it. We came in thinking it was our game. There was nothing stopping us,” said junior linebacker Ben Maslanek, whose fumble recovery in the final minute was the final dagger.
”After halftime we adjusted, we thought to ourselves, things would change. We came back with a different front, it killed them.”
No. 4 Pelham will next travel to unbeaten, top seed and defending champ Souhegan in the Division II state semis.
“Killed them” might be a bit of an overstatement, but the Pelham defense did pitch a shutout in the second half, giving themselves a shot to win it.
And that’s just what Pelham High teams have come to do in the postseason.
Down 6-0, Pelham pounced on a West fumble at midfield late in the third quarter.
Luke Draper (15 carries, 77 yards) broke off his longest run of the day for 20.
Kevin Hardy then hit Tyler Carvello on a throw that looked like a TD, but was brought back to the 14 on a downfield hold by Noah Johnson.
The sophomore Johnson wasted no time making amends, pulling in Hardy’s next toss for the final 14 and the score.
Brady O’Connor’s point-after kick was pure, and with the 7-6 lead, it rested on the defense over the final 14 minutes.
Maslanek was in on an 18-yard sack to squash one drive. Johnson halted another with a sweet toe-tap interception.
And on the final possession, it was the pass rush again, this time from Brody Croteau, who forced the fumble that Maslanek hopped on to seal things.
Now, Pelham, a grizzled, tested Pelham looks ahead to the semis at unbeaten Souhegan.
“I definitely think it’s different this year. We’ve dealt with hardship, especially the (regular season) loss here to Souhegan. That was hard. But we came back to practice and just locked in,” said Maslanek.
“It feels really, really good to be in the final four, but (deep postseason runs) are expected here. The team, my boys, my brothers, they’ve put in the work every day. We’re going to give it our all.”
Pelham 7, West 6
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
W – Gio Doria 4 run (rush failed)
Third Quarter
P – Noah Johnson 14 pass from Kevin Hardy (Brady O’Connor kick)
PELHAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing: Luke Draper 15-77, Ben Maslanek 1-3, Brady Williams 6-30, Noah Johnson 1-0, Kevin Hardy 5-(36)
Passing: Hardy 5-9-1, 91 Yards
Receiving: Tyler Carvello 3-56, Johnson 2-35