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Pelham Pythons Football '19

Late Pelham rally falls just short in quarterfinal loss

PELHAM — For a moment, it seemed Pelham had found the big play it desperately needed.
 
Trailing by eight points with under three minutes to play, Pythons quarterback Ian Hoey tossed a screen pass to Charlie Katin, who took off, shook a pair of defenders and scampered 61 yards for a touchdown.
 
The celebration, however, would be short-lived.
 
Pelham’s two-point conversion attempt was stuffed and, after a defensive stand, a final Hail Mary was intercepted as the No. 3-seeded Pythons fell to No. 6 Plymouth in the New Hampshire Division 2 quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
“Their kids just did a better job of execution,” said Pelham head coach Tom Babaian. “Our kids made a few mistakes that we don’t usually make, and it cost us.”
Plymouth (8-2) advances to the Division 2 semifinals to host No. 7 Alvirne, while Pelham finishes the season 7-3.
“I think there probably were (some nerves) early,” said Babaian. “But we’re not going to use any excuses. Plymouth just came out and took it to us from the beginning.”
The Bobcats opened hot, starting the game with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that QB Cody Bannon finished with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cole Johnston.
Pelham struck right back on its opening drive, going 72 yards on eight plays, the last a Hoey 7-yard TD run. The Pythons’ extra point kick, however, was no good, making the score 7-6.
The defenses then took over. Pelham allowed Plymouth just one more first down and 49 yards over the next 33 minutes of game action. Likewise, the Pythons managed just 89 yards and four first downs over that period against a tough Bobcats defense.
“It was a slug fest,” said Plymouth head coach Chris Sanborn. “We knew Pelham was a very tough team. They may have the best defense in Division 2. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. Just when it looked like we had it, they came back.”
The Bobcats finally broke through with 2:44 to play, when Bannon again found Johnston for a 22-yard touchdown. But Pelham responded with their score, a tremendous effort by Katin to stay on his feet and find the end zone. 
The Pythons then forced a turnover on downs, with Nicholas Carroll stuffing a run on four-and-1 with 0:42 left. But there would be no final miracle. 
 Evan Haskins led the Pelham defense with 10 tackles, Katin added eight tackles, Matt Muise had six stops and Carroll recovered a fumble. 
“This was a great run this season, but it should have gone further than it did,” said Babaian. “We played the wrong team today. Plymouth did a great job against us today.”
 
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Football, 11/09/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Late Pelham rally falls just short in quarterfinal loss

PELHAM — For a moment, it seemed Pelham had found the big play it desperately needed.
 
Trailing by eight points with under three minutes to play, Pythons quarterback Ian Hoey tossed a screen pass to Charlie Katin, who took off, shook a pair of defenders and scampered 61 yards for a touchdown.
 
The celebration, however, would be short-lived.
 
Pelham’s two-point conversion attempt was stuffed and, after a defensive stand, a final Hail Mary was intercepted as the No. 3-seeded Pythons fell to No. 6 Plymouth in the New Hampshire Division 2 quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
“Their kids just did a better job of execution,” said Pelham head coach Tom Babaian. “Our kids made a few mistakes that we don’t usually make, and it cost us.”
Plymouth (8-2) advances to the Division 2 semifinals to host No. 7 Alvirne, while Pelham finishes the season 7-3.
“I think there probably were (some nerves) early,” said Babaian. “But we’re not going to use any excuses. Plymouth just came out and took it to us from the beginning.”
The Bobcats opened hot, starting the game with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that QB Cody Bannon finished with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Cole Johnston.
Pelham struck right back on its opening drive, going 72 yards on eight plays, the last a Hoey 7-yard TD run. The Pythons’ extra point kick, however, was no good, making the score 7-6.
The defenses then took over. Pelham allowed Plymouth just one more first down and 49 yards over the next 33 minutes of game action. Likewise, the Pythons managed just 89 yards and four first downs over that period against a tough Bobcats defense.
“It was a slug fest,” said Plymouth head coach Chris Sanborn. “We knew Pelham was a very tough team. They may have the best defense in Division 2. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. Just when it looked like we had it, they came back.”
The Bobcats finally broke through with 2:44 to play, when Bannon again found Johnston for a 22-yard touchdown. But Pelham responded with their score, a tremendous effort by Katin to stay on his feet and find the end zone. 
The Pythons then forced a turnover on downs, with Nicholas Carroll stuffing a run on four-and-1 with 0:42 left. But there would be no final miracle. 
 Evan Haskins led the Pelham defense with 10 tackles, Katin added eight tackles, Matt Muise had six stops and Carroll recovered a fumble. 
“This was a great run this season, but it should have gone further than it did,” said Babaian. “We played the wrong team today. Plymouth did a great job against us today.”
 
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Football, 11/09/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham heads to playoffs strong

MANCHESTER — Next week, Pelham football will be playing in its first postseason game since 2013.

And the Pythons will be going in hot after racking up their sixth straight win Friday night, handling Manchester West 42-27.

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Football, 11/01/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham runs over ConVal in rout

PETERBOROUGH — Pelham didn't throw a pass Friday night, but it turns out they didn't need to.

The Pythons were lethal on the ground all game, rushing for a whopping 386 yards on 38 carries (10.1 per carry) in a 51-6 thrashing of ConVal.

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Football, 10/18/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham stuffs 2-pt conversion to win in OT

AMHERST — It all came down to one play, but the Pelham defense was more than up to the task.

The Pythons took the lead in overtime after Charlie Katin scored on a 10-yard run and the PAT was drilled home by Jake Herrling. Souhegan scored on its overtime possession to make it 21-20, but decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win.

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Football, 10/11/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham earns big win over Hollis-Brookline

PELHAM — Things didn't quite start as planned for the Pelham football team Saturday night.

A fumble set up visiting Hollis-Brookline's with great field possession, and moments later Marc-Andre Thermitus scored the game's first touchdown on a 5-yard run.

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Football, 10/05/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pythons run to victory

PELHAM —Pelham's gameplan was simple Friday night.

Hand the ball off, line up, and then do it again.

The Pythons ran the ball 53 times for 288 yards, and the defense held strong in a 28-0 shutout of Merrimack Valley. Matt Muise led the way for the winners with 108 yards on 23 carries, and Colby Travis added 69 yards on eight carries.

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Football, 09/27/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham loses heartbreaker

MILFORD, N.H. — A failed 2-point conversion pass on the final play of the overtime was the difference as Milford held off upset-minded Pelham, 14-13. In the extra session, Sean Hanrahan scored on a 1-yard run and the kick made it 14-7 Milford. Pelham's Colby Travis grabbed a 10-yard pass from Ian Hoey. But the 2-point pass was incomplete.

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Football, 09/20/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Hoey throws four TDs, Pelham rolls past Sanborn

PELHAM — Ian Hoey spent a week fuming over Pelham’s opening week loss.
 
On Friday, the Pythons’ QB took that anger out on Sanborn.
 
Four of Hoey’s five completions went for touchdowns and Pelham rolled to its first win of the season, topping rival Sanborn 34-0.
 
“Ian was on fire today,” said Charlie Katin. “He was on point. He was lights-out the whole game. He’s our leader.”
 
Expectations were high for Hoey after he tied for second in The Eagle-Tribune area with 17 touchdown passes to go with 1,123 passing yards last season.
And the 5-foot-10, 165-pound QB more than lived up those expectations last night.
“We’re so pumped,” said Hoey. “We knew we had to get this game. After losing last week, this was already a must-win game. We came in knowing we were going to run the ball to drag them in, then go for the pass.”
Hoey wasted no time setting the tone.
On his second attempt of the game, Hoey dropped back and lofted a picture-perfect pass into the hands of Colby Travis for a 23-yard touchdown.
“Hoey threw it where it needed to be,” said Travis. “It was exciting. I knew, if he got it up to me, I would make a play. I got that done and it was exciting to get on the board and go ahead.”
After a quick Sanborn three-and-out, Pelham took over and Hoey found the end zone again, tossing an 11-yard fade to big 6-foot-3, 255-pound tight end Zach Jones for a score.
That combo hooked up again midway through the second quarter, when Hoey connected with Jones, who landed in the end zone for a 27-yard score.
Hoey played just three plays in the second half, finishing his day with a 42-yard bomb to Katin for his fourth TD. He finished the day 5 for 5 for 108 yards.
“My buddy Hoey threw some great passes,” said Travis. “He was legit. He was lights-out. And our running game was big too.”
Katin led the rushing attack with 55 yards on seven carries. Travis added 46 yards and Matt Crowley rushed for 48 yards on four attempts including the other Pelham score.
Leading the Pelham defense was freshman Ethan Demmos with five tackles and a sack, Noah Coppinger (5 tackles) and Travis (6 tackles).
“We are super pumped,” said Katin. “We wanted to make a statement and show we’re a contender. We’re feeling good going to Milford on Friday.”
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Football, 09/13/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Pelham shut out in opener

HUDSON — It was a rough season opener for Pelham offensively, as the Pythons were shut out by upstart Alvirne, 15-0.

Both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kyle Gora hit Kyle Boucher for a 39-yard score followed by a two-point conversion, then with 55 seconds left Travis Perry returned an interception 30 yards to the house.

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Football, 09/06/19 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars