Bishop Guertin's Max Moynihan wraps up Bedford's Brycen D'Urso during the third quarter of Bedford's 35-28 win on Friday. (Photo by Dan Doyon)

BEDFORD – A week after suffering its first loss of the season to Nashua South, the Bishop Guertin High School football team’s rebound attempt didn’t get easier in the form of undefeated Bedford on Friday night.

The Cardinals proved that they could hang with the Bulldogs by jumping out to a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, but Bedford’s running game was too much to stop when it mattered most.

Led by quarterback Bennett Matthews and fullback Brody Helton, Bedford countered its deficit by ripping off three straight touchdowns to take control en route towards a 35-28 Division I victory.

Bishop Guertin (5-2 overall, 4-2 in DI) played without head coach Anthony Nalen after he was suspended for two games after being ejected during the 28-24 loss to South. Defensive coordinator Jermaine McKenzie served as acting coach on Friday.

“We just missed a couple of tackles that we were in position for and I think this game goes a little differently for us,” McKenzie said. “Bedford is a great team. They know what they need to do, they’ve been in those situations and they stepped up. We just need to make some more plays and we’ll be fine.”

Matthews paced Bedford (7-0 overall, 6-0 in DI) by rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns and he completed all six of his passes for 77 yards with a touchdown. Helton added 156 yards on 21 rushes with a score.

“It was a fun game, we let them score more than we would’ve liked, but offensively we did a lot of good things,” Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. “Certainly it’s a lot to learn and when you’re learning lessons and winning games we’ll take it. That’s a great football team and I’m sure we’ll see them again down the road.”

Bishop Guertin quarterback Nate Bowen completed 12 of 16 passes on the night for 185 yards with three touchdowns. He jumpstarted the Cardinals with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Sam Fayad to give Bishop Guertin a 7-0 lead with 7:27 left in the second quarter.

Bennett Matthews countered with a 19-yard pass to Dylan Belair to tie the game, but Bowen found Rocco Roy (five catches, 74 yards) for a 29-yard scoring connection to give Bishop Guertin a 14-7 lead with 2:14 left in the second.

Bedford swung the momentum on the ensuing drive after Bennett Matthews followed a 21-yard completion to Bryson D’Urso with a 20-yard run that set up a 1-yard scoring run by Helton to bring Bedford within 14-13 at halftime.

The Bulldog then opened the second half with an 11 play, 70 yard drive that ended with a 1-yard scoring keeper by Bennett Matthews. He then added a 32-yard touchdown run to give Bedford a 28-14 lead with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

Bishop Guertin’s Rocco Roy hauls in a touchdown catch in front of Bedford’s Landon Ellsmore during the fourth quarter of Bedford’s 35-28 win on Friday. (Photo by Dan Doyon)

“We felt pretty good about what we had going on offensively and we just felt like we needed possessions,” Zach Matthews said. “Once we got possessions, we felt like we had a good opportunity to move the ball and score.”

The Cardinals answered with Logan Curran’s 6-yard touchdown run, but Bennett Matthews struck again with a 23-yard scoring run to give Bedford a 35-21 lead with 7:59 left in regulation.

Bishop Guertin countered when a 40-yard brother connection between Nate and Jake Bowen set up an 8-yard touchdown pass to Roy. But the Cardinals couldn’t stop Bedford from running the ball out on the ensuing possession to seal the game.

“I love our guys and I think we can play with anyone in this league and tonight just didn’t go our way,” McKenzie said. “We played the No. 1 team in the state and we had a chance until the end of the game and that’s all you can ask.”