It wasn’t pretty.

It was so ugly, in fact, Tony Johnson conceded it was funny.

His Bishop Guertin Cardinals, widely considered the best team in the state, had just fumbled the ball 10 times, lost four, allowed a touchdown on an errant pitch and watched their opponent convert three thirddown- and-long situations in the second half.

It gets more bizarre.

Playing against Keene, the same squad that handed them their lone loss of the season – a 18-14 home setback on Oct. 24 – the Cardinals didn’t score one of their three touchdowns by traditional means. They also couldn’t covert a two-point conversion on any of those scores.

Yet BG won on Saturday, Nov. 15, 18-8, and advanced to its fifth consecutive Division-II title game.

The Black Birds, for their part, didn’t score an offensive touchdown, booted a punt into the back of an offensive lineman and handed BG two late defensive touchdowns.

“Not in a million years could I fathom the type of game that was played today,” said Johnson. “It was interesting. I’ll leave it at that.”

Guertin went into halftime down 8-0 after a Keene defender returned a picked-off pitch for a touchdown.

The Cardinals forced a threeand- out to open the second half and drove down the field, only to cough up the ball at the Keene 22-yard line.

After another four-down defensive stop, BG again pushed down field. Once again, the Cardinals fumbled. This time, however, standout quarterback Andy Vailas of Bedford lost the ball stretching for the end zone at the 1-yard line, and senior tackle Anthony Ferlan pounced on it to put his team on the board with 13.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After a time-consuming Keene drive, the Black Birds’ punter sent a low line drive directly into the rear of one of his blockers. Senior Andy Cunningham picked the ball up and sprinted more than 50 yards to pay dirt.

Because of a second-straight failed two-point conversion, the Cardinals managed only a 12-8 lead with 5:44 left on the game clock.

BG forced a turnover on downs with 1:59 remaining, but once again gave the ball back deep in Keene territory on a fumbled option pitch.

Still, on the next play from scrimmage, three Guertin defenders broke through the line, forcing a rushed screen pass that landed firmly in the hands of defensive lineman Kyle Endyke. He capped the scoring by lumbering 15 yards into the end zone.

“It’s a good thing I don’t drink,” said Johnson with a laugh. “As you know, the first (playoff game) is the toughest, but we got through it.”

Now the Cardinals, who bring their usual complement of Bedford players to the field – roughly a dozen this year – face a familiar foe. Whether they’ll admit it or not, revenge is assuredly on their minds.

Last year, rival Exeter denied BG a fourth-straight D-II title, 14- 13.

The title game is slated for Saturday, Nov. 22, at Stellos Stadium in Nashua. Kickoff is 1 p.m.