By Chris Vogel
NEFJ Correspondent

NASHUA, NH – After a back and forth first half, it looked like the score would stay deadlocked at 14 headed into the break as the Bedford Bulldogs drive stalled out just inside the Nashua South side of the field in a big matchup on Friday night.

Then, for the first time all night, Bennett Matthews hit on a downfield shot, connecting with Brycen D’Urso to the 13-yard line, before the junior shook off a pair of defenders and powered his way into the end zone. A converted point after attempt by Elijah Todd and a short defensive stop later, the Bulldogs went into the locker rooms up seven and never looked back.

Momentum continued and eventually turned into a fairly easy 34-14 win for Bedford.

Getting to that point was a back-and-forth battle though, despite it looking like Bedford may dominate the game after the initial drive. After Nashua South deferred, Bedford went on a sixteen-play march, eating up the first 6:13 of the game, culminating in a six-yard touchdown pass on a screen from Matthews to D’Urso.

The Purple Panthers (1-1) however, appeared unfazed as they took the opposite approach and found the same result.

After starting on their own 30, a downfield pass from Cody Jackson found tight-end Cole Patno for a 25-yard gain, putting South in plus territory. Aided by a personal foul for a late hit – something that would become a theme as Bedford was penalized for a combined seven unsportsmanlike or personal fouls – and a long run by Samuel Levine, the Purple Panthers found themselves on the three-yard line just two plays later. On first-and-goal, Jackson rolled right, finding his classmate Colvin Levesque in the end zone for the team’s first touchdown on the new turf field at Stellos Stadium.

The next Bedford drive would look to be a repeat of the first, with Rutgers lacrosse pledge Brody Helton bowling his way forward for multiple first downs on the ground, the Bulldogs found themselves near midfield. However, from there the drive stalled, forcing the game’s first punt. Instead of opting for a fair catch, the Purple Panther return man opted to face the Bulldogs special teamers head on; a decision that would shift the momentum of the game as backup quarterback and gunner Parker Beauchemin jarred the ball lose, with Harshil Puvvadi scooping it up on the eight-yard line.

From there, it only took one play as Bennett Matthews – committed to play lacrosse for Duke – swept left on a designed QB run and found his way up the sideline for the eight-yard touchdown run to give his Bulldogs a 14-7 lead after the extra-point was converted.

Nashua South remained unphased, with Jackson doing his best impression of the Bedford offense, slowing down the Purple Panthers’ normally up-tempo, quick strike offense. He orchestrated a methodical drive. Senior Samuel Levine would eventually punch it in from three yards out.

After the touchdown strike to D’Urso and a Nashua South last-minute drive that failed to get started, the teams hit the locker-room to regroup with the Bulldogs up 21-14. Nashua South came out energized looking to tie the contest back up, but the Bulldog dialed up pressure, headlined by three sacks in the game for Alex Bissonnete and forced a punt.

On the following drive, Bedford threw a look at South that the Purple Panthers  were not be prepared for. The Bulldogs – normally an offense that operates out of an “11 personnel” look, one tight-end, one-running back, and three wide receivers – shifted their budding star in D’Urso into the backfield, flanking Matthews alongside with Helton. The trio rumbled their way down field, splitting carries between the three of them, largely behind left tackle Connor Flaherty, who holds an offer from FBS Akron, and found themselves on the fifteen. From their D’Urso took the handoff, swept left behind Flaherty, and spun his way into the endzone for his third touchdown of the game, pushing the lead to 14 for the first time all night.

Bedford’s defense once again utilized the pressure generated from the four-man front to force a punt, and the Bulldogs took over with a chance to seal the game on any scoring drive.

With the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, Bedford found itself on the four-yard line, knowing anything but a turnover or a missed chip shot and the game was likely sealed. Bedford didn’t even get to test out the latter of those scenarios as Helton failed to secure the handoff and put the ball on the turf. A purple jersey emerged from the bottom of the pile, sending the student section into a frenzy for the first time in a while.

South went back to the air and Jackson found a new favorite target in Justin Fish, who took advantage of the Bulldog defense keying in on UNH offeree Joshua Tripp. The drive hit on roadblock, with the Panthers finding themselves with a 3rd-and-18 from the 23-yard line. From there, Bedford brought a pair of linebackers, forcing Jackson to climb the pocket and roll left to extend the play, with the defense crashing on a broken play, he floated the pass to a wide-open Levesque who hauled it in for what appeared to be a touchdown to put the pressure back on the Bulldogs.

However, after a long discussion, the officials dropped a flag ruling that the senior had crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the pass. After the penalty yardage was added, the Purple Panthers turned it over on downs on a failed fourth down conversion.

Another long march for the Bulldogs moved them inside the 10 once again with a chance to seal it. Sloppy execution – a trend that carried over from a win last week against Merrimack –  almost came back to bite Bedford once again as a botched handoff between Matthews and Helton fell to the turf, but the senior running back was able to fall on it.

The very next play, Bedford put the ball back in the air, as Matthews tried to force a ball into the left side of the endzone. Tripp undercut the route and plucked the pass, seemingly giving his team new life, however he would be ruled out, with the side judge ruling his toe was on the chalk, a call that the home crowd did not agree with.

Taking no chances, the veteran signal caller took it into his own hands for the second time as he punched in from eight yards out with 2:58 remaining. A missed point-after-attempt did little to quiet the celebration, as Bedford head coach Zach Matthews embraced his son in what will be their last season together on the gridiron, one that they both hope will have more big games like tonight.

With the game decided, Nashua South went on one last drive, but couldn’t convert a fourth down in Bedford territory. Matthews jogged out one more time, took the snap and dropped to his knee as the final seconds ran off.

Bedford (2-0) will return home next week to welcome in one of the top teams in Maine, Thornton Academy (1-0). Nashua South remains at home next week when they face Goffstown.