Bishop Guertin QB Nate Bowen delivers a pass while being protected by lineman Christian Neal (74) during Saturday's Division I game vs. Salem in Haverhill, Mass. (Courtesy photo)

HAVERHILL, Mass. – With its Division I playoff ticket pretty much unofficially punched, the Bishop Guertin High School football team had its sights set on a statement victory in the penultimate week of the regular season.

Salem High simply ran those thoughts right out of the Cardinals heads. Trailing 7-6 to Guertin at the break, Salem unleashed Kevin Todisco on the visitors in a wild second half and rolled to a 42-21 win at the Blue Devils’ temporary home away from home, Haverhill Stadium.

“That’s a good team, a playoff team. They zipped the ball all over the place, and they’re well-coached. They run a very difficult offensive system,” Salem coach Steve Abraham said of the Cardinals, who are now 4-3 in Division i, 5-3 overall. “We’re not a big offensive line, but our backs run tough. I think we wear teams down.”

Todisco ran for 258 yards (197 in the second half) and a trio of TDs, and backfield mate Felix Gonzalez added 89 yards and three touchdowns of his own for Salem, which didn’t complete a pass on the day.

While the defense struggled, the Cardinals offense moved it well all afternoon against a usually stingy and opportunistic Salem defense.

Sophomore quarterback Nathan Bowen picked the Blue Devils’ secondary apart, completing 24 of 36 for 266 yards and touchdowns to Cole Reeves and Ryan Connelly.

Both Reeves (9 catches, 111 yards) and Alex Dolan (10-123) were basically uncoverable.

The third quarter was the difference, though.

Salem took the opening kick and moved 66 yards on nine runs for a touchdown, overcoming three straight holding calls along the way.

A Cardinal three-and-out, followed by a punt return to the BG 10, set Salem up nicely, and the Blue Devils went up 19-7.

Guertin got as close as 19-14 and 27-21, but each time Salem answered with TD runs to finally wear BG down and put it away.

The Cards wrap up the regular season Friday night at Merrimack.