PELHAM, NH — If revenge is a dish best served cold, the temperature was just right for a chilly four-course dinner, Friday night.
Just last month, Trinity High had ended Pelham’s 47-game win streak with a stunning 41-28 upset at Derryfield Park.
The Pythons got their chance to settle the score in the Division II State Semifinals and made the most of it.
Pelham raced out to a 21-0 lead and cruised to a 47-21 victory. The Pythons will look for their third straight D-II state title (fifth straight overall) against the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Plymouth and Souhegan.
The game was decided on the line of scrimmage, where Pelham (10-1) dominated both sides of the ball. The Pythons employed a punishing ground attack that rolled up 302 yards on 33 rushes.
Senior Junior MacKinnon led the way with 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries. Justin Bowlan added 90 yards on just three rushes, including a highlight-reel 46-yard scoring run.
Senior Nathan Migliore recorded a rare hat trick, scoring touchdowns on a nine-yard run, a 29-yard pass reception and an 90-yard kickoff return.
Trinity’s powerhouse offense, which came into the contest averaging 37.5 points a game, was hampered by the absence of injured running back Anthony DiGiantommaso and never really got into gear. Junior quarterback Ollie Service threw for 212 yards (19 of 32) and rushed for 63 more on 12 attempts. But he also had two interceptions and a lost fumble in the first half.
”Not having Anthony DiGiantommaso this time around (against Pelham) definitely hurt. He brings so much, not just what he does on offense and defense but also, just a spirit he brings to the lockerroom,” said Trinity Head Coach Rob Cathcart. “But we had other guys step up tonight and they did a good job.”
The tone for the game was set in the first quarter. After getting a couple of first downs on its opening possession, Trinity (9-2) stalled near midfield. The Pioneers decided to gamble on fourth down but Service couldn’t connect with Hunter Henderson and Pelham took over on downs.
“I felt like we were moving the ball, getting a a couple of first downs, and I thought if we made it we could bring it all the down and score. So we took the risk,” said Carthcart.
It took the Pythons just three plays to hit pay dirt, with MacKinnon scoring from nine yards out for a 7-0 lead.
In the second quarter, a pass from Service bounced off the hands of Dom Detone and into the waiting arms of MacKinnon, setting up Pelham at the Trinity 26.
Three plays later, MacKinnon powered in from the 9 to give Pelham a 13-0 lead.
With 2:26 remaining in the half, Pelham struck again, this time on a 14-yard touchdown run by Ben Maslanek.
Trinity finally got on the board late in the quarter, thanks to some trickery. Facing fourth down at midfield, Trinity faked a punt. Instead, Service found a wide open Davey Durepo down the right sideline. Durepo dodged some tacklers and raced into the end zone.
Trailing 21-7, Trinity might have carried some momentum into halftime but for a spectacular 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, widening the lead to 28-7.
Any hopes of a comeback were erased by Pelham on its opening possession of the second half. Bowlan ripped through the line and scampered 46 yards for the touchdown and a 34-7 advantage.
Service bounced back and had a strong second half for Trinity. He engineered a pair of scoring drives and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Henderson.
