By Chris Paul
The Bedford Bulldogs spoiled the Londonderry High School Football team’s chance of winning back-to-back titles over the weekend as they beat the Lancers in the final seconds of the very tight Division I Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 26, at Exeter High School.
The number one ranked Londonderry lost by just one point to the tenth-seeded Bedford squad with only 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter when BHS kicker, Colby Snow, put a 27-yard field goal attempt through the uprights and the victory.
Penalties were a big factor in the game, with the Lancers losing 90-yards on ten infractions, while BHS had just four, for 20-yards of negative yardage.
Both teams had a number of turnovers in the contest. Both teams had three fumbles and an interception with Londonderry suffering four turnovers and Bedford had three.
Overall, Bedford was able to gain just over 300-yards of offense in the game, while Londonderry had 214-yards.
Most of the gains made on the field by Londonderry came by way of 137 rushing yards and Bedford had 198-yards in the air.
The game started very positive for LHS, when senior linebacker, Trevor Weinmann, recovered the first fumble of the game, during Bedford’s initial drive, on a botched lateral pass.
In the following drive, the Bedford defense was able to cause an LHS fumble during a running play by Lancer senior quarterback, Drew Heenan.
Bedford’s second drive of the game, after the recovery, ended with a punt to the LHS 20-yard line.
In the second quarter, during a very promising drive by Londonderry, Weinmann lost the ball on the ground on a run after a catch in Bedford territory.
Again, that turnover turned out to be harmless, and on the following possession, the Lancers were able to put the first points on the board with 7:18 on the clock.
Heenan ran the ball in from the eight-yard line after a diversion to junior Matt Carroll.
Senior kicker, Jack Drabik, helped put the score at 7-0 in favor of LHS.
Londonderry pounded the ball down the field to end the half with a very strong drive. That drive ended with senior running back, Nathan Pedrick, getting a seven-yard touchdown run with just under two-minutes left in the quarter.
The Drabik extra-point gave the Lancers a comfortable 14-point lead going into the halftime break.
Unfortunately for the Lancers, that was all the scoring Bedford would allow in the game.
The Bulldogs put together a very productive drive, with many of the yards coming through the passing of play-caller, Danny Black. Their first drive of the second half ended with an eight-yard pass to Dom Tagliaferro in the end zone.
Bedford kicker, Colby Snow, had his extra-point attempt blocked, giving Londonderry a 14-6 lead, which lasted throughout the third period.
The Lancers had a big specials team’s play called back in the third quarter.
The next drive by Bedford got them as far as the LHS 10-yard line, where the Lancer defense held off a number of pass attempts into the end zone, including one on fourth down.
With just over five minutes left in the game, Bedford scored their second touchdown, when Logan Sfeir ran it in from the four-yard line.
The Londonderry defense came up big again after the touchdown, spoiling a pass attempt, in front of the goal line, during a two-point conversion that would have tied the game. Weinmann pulled off an excellent fake-punt to get a first down, but Londonderry was penalized in the play for the turnover on downs.
The Bulldogs started the final drive of the game with two-minutes left on the clock and inside their own 10-yard line after a Lancer punt.
That final drive had Bedford’s QB going to the air on just about every play and despite a number of outstanding pass break-ups by senior Andrew Kullman and junior Camden Brutus. The game ended with a 27-yard field goal by Snow.
The win was another upset victory for the Bulldogs in the playoffs. Bedford was able to beat the #2 seed in the tournament, Nashua North, and the #6 seeded Timberlane Owls to get into the title game.
Heenan finished the game with seven of 11 pass attempts completed while his counterpart, Black went 18 of 33.
Heenan also led his team in rushing with 96-yards. Jake Schena got 21-yards and Anthony Amaro finished with 11.
Amaro was also the leading LHS receiver with two catches and 37-yards. Weinman and Kullman each caught for 20-yards.
Heenan amassed a total of 1,451 yards passing and 504 yards rushing during the 2022 season. He was able to establish a new All-Time Touchdown Pass record for his school with 30, 17 of them came this year.
Kullman racked up 687 yards receiving this season and now holds a new LHS record for most single-season receiving yards. He also holds the most career receiving yards caught by an LHS player.