Bishop Guertin's JP Dunsmoor tries to chase down Pinkerton's Tyler Berry during Tuesday's game in Derry. (Photo by Joe Marchilena/NH-HighSchoolSpors.com)

DERRY – Brian Cameron’s message to the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team Tuesday between the third and fourth quarters was simple.

If the Cardinals played the final 12 minutes the way they were capable of, no one would remember what happened over the previous 36.

Bishop Guertin took the words to heart, scoring twice in the first 80 seconds of the fourth to start a 6-0 run that helped the Cardinals come away with a 16-8 win over Pinkerton Academy in a Division I game in Derry.

Michael Ponto led Bishop Guertin with five goals and Owen King had four, as the pair combined for four of the Cardinals’ seven goals in the fourth quarter.

“It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish,” Cameron, the Bishop Guertin coach, said. “Cliché line, but I didn’t think we started great and we finished pretty well. We were getting so many (opportunities) and we needed our guys to settle down.

“It’s a big rivalry game, we got our guys pumped up for it, and we’re going to get their best. Maybe eventually we wore them down with depth and athleticism in the middle of the field.”

Sean McGarry added two goals for Bishop Guertin (9-3, No. 1 in the MerchSquared.com/NHHSSports Coaches Poll), while Cam Hayden, Hudson Schmitt, Jackson Warren, Liam Connerty and Paulo Vazquez also had a goal apiece.

Vazquez was also 16 of 27 on faceoffs, but was able to win key ones when it counted, including a stretch of four out of five to open the fourth quarter.

“I’m getting the team possessions, and the offense is taking care of the ball, everybody is doing their job,” the senior said. “I think the depth we’ve grown over the season is impressive. We can go deeper and be able to wear teams out. We have three good offensive middie lines, the defense is very strong, so we’re able to really go into that bag and wear teams down.”

Early on, the Astros (8-3, No. 3) gave the Cardinals everything they had, keeping it a scoreless game for most of the first quarter. Pinkerton took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Matt Gormady with 2:07 left in the opening frame, but the Cardinals responded with three in the final 90 seconds to take a 3-1 lead into the second.

Despite that, the Astros trailed just 4-3 with 5:25 left in the half and 6-4 at halftime.

“I thought we were able to keep it close until the fourth,” Pinkerton coach Marty Auger said. “That’s a good team. They’ve got kids going to play a high level (in college). We still thought we could win. There are certain things we’re still going to work on. To beat a team like that, we have to play a perfect game, and we didn’t (Tuesday).”

Gormady led the Astros with four goals and an assist while Levi Weaver, Jackson Farrell, Kyle Ushkevich and Ben Quintiliani had a goal apiece. Gavin Burwell finished with 20 saves.

Bishop Guertin took an 8-4 lead early in the third, when McGarry and Vazquez scored just eight seconds apart. After the Cardinals kept possession for a long stretch, Ponto tacked on another goal to make it a five-score lead with 4:52 to go in the frame.

Gormady and Farrell scored back-to-back goals to get the Astros back within three with 2:54 to go until the fourth. But Pinkerton was called for offsides in the final seconds of the quarter, and Bishop Guertin held the ball to start the fourth with possession.

Up a man, the Cardinals needed just 13 seconds for McGarry to score off an assist from Hayden, and King added another goal just 1:07 later to make it 11-6.

Ponto and King then scored 14 seconds apart for a 13-6 lead with 8:28 remaining.

“It was keeping it simple,” Cameron said. “When we’re getting so many opportunities, we don’t need to throw behind the back or make any skip passes. Just make the play that’s available to you. Our guys are such good shooters, if we shoot with deception and put the ball where the goalie is not, those shots will go up more often than not.”