For much of the first half it appeared the Bow Falcons football team was in position for an upset of undefeated and top-ranked Pelham High School, trailing 7-0 at intermission.

Things weren’t as they seemed. Pelham scored 35 second- half points to cruise into the Division V championship game with a 42-7 victory over the fourth-seeded Falcons on Saturday, Nov. 10.

“Before the game, I told the team that we needed to stop major momentum shifts,” said Bow’s head coach, Paul Cohen. “We were knocking on the door and didn’t score, and you can’t have that in playoff games.”

Ninety seconds into the game, senior Jim Paveglio pounced on a fumble, giving the Falcons 1st-and-10 at the Pythons’ 20-yard line.

After a Pelham penalty and a nine-yard rush by Ian Hanson, the Falcons reached the 1-yard line. However, the Falcons fumbled and didn’t threaten again until the game was out of hand.

The Pythons started eight drives in Bow territory, keeping the Falcons backpedaling throughout the game.

“It hurts a ton. It gives them enormous momentum,” said Cohen. “They had an enormous advantage to start on a short field, and even if you hold them you have a long way to go to score. This is a game of territory.”

Pelham’s Tyler Gant returning the second-half kickoff to the Bow 10-yard line, and the Pythons scored three plays later for a 14-0 lead with 11:11 remaining in the quarter.

The Falcons prevented the shutout when Justin Hodgkins capped an 81-yard drive with a rush from five yards out. But Bow managed just 146 yards of total offense. Nathan Potter reeled in 53 of those yards from his wide receiver slot, but it was an isolated example for Bow, which finishes the season with a 6-4 record.

“You need concerted, consistent effort up and down the field, especially when we’re on offense,” said the Bow coach. “You can’t win when you’re inconsistent, and that hurt us today. But it’s been a great season.”