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Genest stars as Salem clips Pinkerton

SALEM, N.H. — Understandably, Salem senior middle linebacker Ben Genest liked what he saw when he looked out on the field in the second half Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils’ defense totally dominated Pinkerton after halftime and the offense methodically moved the ball, driving for two touchdowns to extend a 21-14 lead to 35-14 before a late Astros’ touchdown against the reserves made the final score 35-20.

But when Genest, who led the defense with a sack among his 10-plus tackles, looked over at the bench for the last quarter and a half, the view was not so positive. There sat star running back Josh Sibanda with a huge ice pack on his right knee, injured on a short run in the third quarter.

“That’s pretty scary seeing Josh on the bench like that,” said Genest. “You don’t like to see that. But he’s so tough, I think he’ll be back next week.”

Before leaving the game, Sibanda was immense and a main reason why Salem is now 3-0. He scored Salem’s first touchdown on a 94-yard kickoff return, scored TDs on runs of 72 and 42 yards, and finished with 168 yards on just 12 carries.

“Josh is obviously a great back,” said Salem coach Rob Pike, who did not know the extent of Sibanda’s injury. “But we have a lot of good players. I think we showed that today.”

Indeed, when Sibanda went out, Salem was pinned back on its 5-yard line. Not deterred, the Blue Devils proceeded to score their final TD of the day on an eight-play drive, the key play being a 50-yard bomb from Matt Soldano to Jacob Emerson.

On that last drive, Soldano also converted a pivotal QB keeper for 10 yards and Domenic Pacy scored the touchdown on a 12-yard burst.

The Salem defense, which was victimized early by the passing of Astros’ QB Aiden Goujon and a couple of long runs (39 yards by Ty Hicks and 23 yards by Gannon Fast), really clamped down in the second half.

In Pinkerton’s first four series of the second half, the Astros managed just two first downs and 15 total yards of offense against Salem. With Genest leading the charge, Salem put constant pressure on Goujon with William Michaud, ace kicker Zach Gibbons and lineman Jake Mullin among those applying the heat.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half and it was just a couple of plays that really hurt us,” said Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly, whose club is now 2-1, “That touchdown just before the half (a 72-yard dash by Sibanda with less than a minute left) was a real backbreaker.

“I feel they wore us down in the second half and were a better team. This was a big game, probably for the No. 1 seed (in Division 1), but we’ll be all right. I think we’ll both be here (in the playoffs) in November and that’s when it really matters.”

But first, Pinkerton must get past surprising 3-0 Londonderry at home Friday night. Salem, meanwhile, will be at Timberlane, which is coming off of its first win of the season.