Kurt Hines, Bedford High School’s head football coach, has led the Bulldogs to two wins and some close losses in the program’s second year, and one opposing coach in particular has taken notice.

“This team has come leaps and bounds, and it’s because they’re so well coached,” said Hollis-Brookline mentor Milton Robinson, who recently built a program from scratch as well. “I root for Kurt every week.”

On Friday, Oct. 23, BHS concluded the Division III portion of the schedule following a 27-13 home loss due to a strong fourth quarter by the visitors.

Despite the outcome, Bedford has made huge strides since last year when the team struggled to score at all.

In addition to victories over Milford and Pembroke Academy, the Bulldogs narrowly lost on Oct. 17 to ConVal, a team currently holding onto the fourth and final playoff spot.

And against the Cavaliers, the Bulldogs built a secondhalf advantage. With his team down a touchdown, Max Hendrickx connected with Trevor Morrissette on a 25-yard TD pass with 11:53 remaining in the second quarter, knotting the score at 6-6.

Then BHS dominated on the first drive of the second half, starting on the Hollis- Brookline 45-yard line thanks to a 40-yard kick return by Jordan Garron.

Garron and Morrissette rushed for 24 and 10 yards, respectively, putting Bedford near the goal line.

Hendrickx ran a bootleg on the next play, spinning in for the 1-yard score. After Tyler Weber’s successful point-aftertouchdown, the locals took a 13-6 edge.

Hollis-Brookline knotted the score late in the third quarter and put up 14 unanswered points in the final frame to drop the Bulldogs to 2-6; a non-division matchup with Lebanon remains.

“We’ve come light years compared to last year,” said Hines. “We’ve come further than most people expected us to. We’re much improved both physically and mentally, and we’re only going to get better.”

The game also served as the program’s first senior night. Captains Dan Constantino, James Harris, Tyler MacKay and Weber graduate in the spring after leading the fledgling program through its unavoidable growing pains – and some memorable moments. In addition, Ronnie Zamore, Hendrickx, Kyle Norton, Morrissette, Matt Mara, Andrew Galucki, Derek Gookin, Jacob Lademan, Kyle Soucy, Garrett Constant, Cam Oliwa and Luke Schappler were honored.

Still, Hines is excited about the returning players, including Garron and freshman quarterback James Caparell.

While BHS featured a run-heavy offense its first two years, Caparell’s strong arm could make the coach reconsider, though the mentor said that depends on his young signalcaller’s offseason improvement. Hollis-Brookline’s Robinson said the entire roster bears close scrutiny by more established D-III programs.

“(Hines) has kids who play hard for all four quarters,” said Robinson. “I’m just impressed by them, and I know they’re going to be a force in the future.”