Staff photo by TOM KING Bedford's Ryan Toscano has a clear path to the end zone in front of Merrimack's Nate Harris during the Bulldogs' 30-8 Division I semifinals win Saturday in Bedford.

BEDFORD – The theory that it’s not a good idea to fall behind a top rated, heavily favored high school football team by three touchdowns in the first half was proven true again on Saturday.

That type of slow start doomed the Merrimack High School Tomahawks as they trailed 14-0 after one quarter and 21-0 at halftime en route to a 30-8 loss to unbeaten Bedford in the Division I semifinals at Bulldog Stadium.

“They hit us with a couple of big plays on pass plays,” Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. “We talk about money downs, they got us on third and fourth down plays, I think they were six out of seven in the first half. That’s what killed us.”

The 11-0 Bulldogs took that early lead and ran with it all the way to next Saturday’s 6 p.m. title game vs. Pinkerton at the University of New Hampshire. Bedford QB Thomas Morgan threw for three TDs and ran for another.

“A fast start always helps out,” said Bedford coach Derek Stank, whose team scored on its first three possessions. “Our boys came out and were ready to play. Hats off to Merrimack, it was a heckuva fight. They stepped up and took care of business in a lot of facets of the game, and we were just able to respond.”

Merrimack did have some fight left in it in the second half, cutting the margin to 21-8 on a Ben Eichman’s 1 yard TD run and two-point conversion catch with 3:51 left in the third quarter. But that was as close as the Tomhawks would get as they end their season at 8-3, two of those defeats here at the hands of the ‘Dogs.

“Our goal was at the very least to control the ball, control the clock,” Jackson said, “so (the slow start) kind of put us on our heels.”

Eichman was a workhorse with 114 yards rushing on 20 carries and five catches for 16 yards. But he couldn’t do anyting about Bedford’s Andrew Twite and Ryan Toscano getting their hands on a James Dowling pass on third down on Merrimack’s first series. Bulldog Caleb Boulard corraled the tipped pass for an interception at the Tomahawk 42, and six plays later Bedford QB Thomas Morgan found Harrison LeGoullion open in the end zone to help make it a 7-0 game just four minutes in.

After a Merrimack three-and-out, the Bulldogs put together a 12 play, 73 yard march with Morgan’s second TD pass, a 13-yarder to Lucien Mumpini that helped make it 14-0 with 1:45 left in the first.

Toscano caught a Morgan seam pass for a 43-yard seam pass for the third Bulldog TD 1:52 into the second quarter. Morgan hit on his first 11 passes and finished the game 14-of-23 for 171 yards and his three scores. Remember, he ran for three and threw for two TDs in the regular season meeting two weeks ago.

“Thomas did a very good job of running the offense, passing when we needed him to,” Stank said. “But more important that sense of control that we needed.”

The Tomahawks had one solid first half drive, but it ended when a Dowling pass was picked off in the end zone by Bedford’s Jack Jones.

Defensively, a Jared Dyer sack of Morgan on the first series of the second half sparked a 48-yard drive that resulted in the ‘Hawks’ only score. Merrimack got the ball at midfield with a chance to put together another drive, but Bedford’s Torey Helton dropped Dowling for an 8-yard loss on fourth down.

Bedford then drove 48 yards with Morgan scoring from 10 yards out on the next to last play of the third quarter to make it 27-8. Madison Lucontoni, who was 3 of 4 on PATs, booted a 27-yard field goal with just over two minutes left to account for the final.

“We didn’t make the plays when we needed to and they made good plays,” Jackson said. “They have a lot of weapons, they’re very well coached, and they did a really good job.”

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