Bishop Guertin's Jakob Baker makes a tackle on Bedford's Logan Sfeird during Saturday night's game at Stellos Stadium in Nashua. The Cardinals held on for a 14-7 win. (Photo by Joe Marchilena)

NASHUA – There were a lot of things the Bishop Guertin High School football team struggled with Saturday night against Bedford

But at the end of the game, the Cardinals held the advantage in the two categories that mean the most – turnovers and points.

Bishop Guertin capitalized on a Bedford fumble to open the third quarter and did just enough the rest of the night to hang on for a 14-7 win over the Bulldogs in a Division I West Conference game at Stellos Stadium.

The Cardinals had a season low in points and yards (190), and the Bedford defense held quarterback Matt Santosuosso in check for most of the night, but Bishop Guertin had the edge in takeaways (3-0).

“I didn’t love the way we practiced this week, but to see the kids come out with that kind of energy and really rise to challenge, again with some adversity, I’m really happy with the effort,” Bishop Guertin coach John Trisciani said. “You’ve got to be able to win the high-scoring games and you’ve got to be able to win the low-scoring games.”

Santosuosso had just 35 yards rushing on 13 carries but scored on a 4-yard run with 9:55 left in the third quarter to give the Cardinals (6-1) the lead for good. He also completed 3 of 10 passes for 63 yards.

Ethan Labbe provided most of the offense, picking up 91 yards and a score on 18 carries.

Bedford (4-2 in D1, 5-2 overall) got 84 yards and a touchdown on the ground from Logan Sfeir, while Danny Black was 10 of 14 passing for 96 yards.

But it was a bad snap on the Bulldogs’ second play of the third quarter that Bishop Guertin’s Rocco Geraci got to before Black that set up the Cardinals’ go-ahead score.

“You play good teams, you can’t gift wrap someone the ball,” Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. “You can’t give a good team the ball in your end and win a football game. That doesn’t happen. Silver lining, I’d rather learn this lesson now and take something away before we get to playoffs, but this is a bitter pill to swallow.”

It was one of three fumbles on the night for Bedford, but the only one Bishop Guertin was able to turn into points.

“It’s a game of opportunities and we didn’t do a good job to capitalize on them,” Trisciani said. “We didn’t capitalize on them last week (against Londonderry) either. I notice, we get a couple of turnovers, massive stops, and we’re not even getting a first down.

“Luckily, even if we punt, there’s a field position change. We’re going to get into a game where you let an opportunity slip here and there, that’s going to be the difference. We’ll find ways to improve on those things.”

Sfeir gave Bedford a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard run with 4:26 to play in the first quarter and Bishop Guertin answered with a nine-play, 78-yard drive, tying it on a 2-yard run by Labbe.

The Bulldogs had their best chance to tie the game late in the third quarter, when a personal foul on the Cardinals gave Bedford a first down at the Bishop Guertin 13-yard line.

But a holding call on the next play moved Bedford back to the 25, and three plays later, the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs at the 9-yard line with 1:29 remaining in the third.

Bedford didn’t get deeper than the Bishop Guertin 43 the rest of the night.