Salem causes 4 turnovers to earn upset Div. I quarterfinal win over Memorial
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MANCHESTER — The Manchester Memorial football team’s best season in more than 50 years ended Friday night in the NHIAA Division I quarterfinals.
The Salem defense logged four turnovers and contained some of Memorial’s top offensive weapons as the Blue Devils earned a 24-17 victory at Chabot-McDonough Field.
The second-seeded Crusaders finished with an 8-2 overall record, their best since they went 11-0 to win the 1972 state title.
Seventh-seeded Salem (8-3 overall, 7-3 in NHIAA play) will play at No. 3 seed Pinkerton Academy (7-3, 7-2) in the semifinals on Friday night (7). Pinkerton defeated sixth-seeded Windham, 34-6, in the quarterfinals.
Salem coach Steve Abraham said his defense played amazingly.
“Coach (Johny) McDonald, he did a helluva job,” Abraham said. “He was able to stop that offense (Friday) with the game plan he put together and then our kids executed it flawlessly.”
Winners of five straight games after ending a three-game losing streak, the Blue Devils scored following both of their first-half fumble recoveries en route to a 17-7 halftime lead.
Salem senior Jordan Zannini returned an interception 23 yards for a score with 1:36 remaining to help build a 24-14 Blue Devils advantage. The captain nabbed Memorial senior quarterback Alex Sutherland’s heave from his own end zone near the far sideline before dashing for the TD.
“They needed a score, they needed to get down the field,” Zannini. “I just saw the ball in the air and (ran) to it — had to make a play.”
Memorial kicker Moses White made a 37-yard field goal with 9.1 seconds left on the Crusaders’ next drive. Memorial then was called for offsides on its ensuing onside kick attempt.
Freshman Elijah Maduro played a big role in the Blue Devils containing explosive Memorial senior running back Jacob Schuff on his signature tosses to the outside.
Schuff finished with 42 yards on 10 carries.
Sutherland’s three completions each went to tight end Joel Gomez — for gains of 11, 12 and 9 yards.
Keeping Schuff and Gomez in check were two of Salem’s biggest defensive focuses, Zannini said.
The Crusaders took their only lead on their opening drive, which covered 33 yards on four plays. Sutherland connected with Gomez for an 11-yard touchdown to open the game’s scoring with 7:27 left in the first quarter and White followed up with the point-after kick.
“We just didn’t play a clean football game from beginning to end,” Memorial coach Rob Sturgis said. “I thought we had moments. The first drive, we were able to get a stop, get good field position and go down and score. … It seemed like every time we got a little momentum, we shot ourselves in the foot somehow and you can’t do that in the playoffs.”
Colin Salkovitz caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Salem sophomore quarterback Van Mason with 3:52 left in the first quarter to help knot the score at 7-7.
The Blue Devils also scored in the first half on a Salkovitz 44-yard run and a 27-yard field goal by Ryan Bryant.
The Crusaders’ lone second-half TD came on Landon Murphy’s 12-yard pick-six in the third quarter. White’s ensuing PAT cut Salem’s lead to 17-14.
While it did not lead to points, a 16-play drive by Salem drained 9:27 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Memorial got the ball on its own 4-yard line with 2:22 left after a turnover on downs. That drive ended with Zannini’s pick-six.
“We’re undersized but we played tough, tough football (Friday) and we did what we needed to do on offense,” Abraham said. “That’s what we said — just make it a grind.”
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