BY MATT SCHOOLEY
With two undefeated teams going head to head, there was plenty of electricity in the crowd Friday, Nov. 2, as Gilford and Pelham squared off at Pelham High School to close out the regular season.
Strangely, in the first quarter, the only thing missing from the game was electricity.
The Pythons worked around a 19-minute power outage and secured the No. 1 seed heading into the Division V postseason with a 13-12 victory. The contest could prove to be a preview of the Division V championship game.
With 6:10 remaining in the first quarter and Pelham facing 4th-and-11, all of the lights at the field shut down. When power was restored, neither team mustered much offense.
In the second quarter, however, the Pythons struck first. Quarterback Joseph DeAngelo completed a short pass to Tyler Gantt, who found the end zone for a 58-yard score.
After Gilford responded 30 seconds later, DeAngelo put his team on top again, this time with his legs. The sophomore quarterback scampered 66 yards on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, giving his team a 13-6 lead.
Pelham head coach Tom Babaian’s decision to spread out his receivers paid off as the game progressed.
“We needed a spark, and that spread offense was it,” he said. “We had to switch it around, throw the ball, and I think it tired (Gilford) out a little bit. We still have a lot of room for improvement, though.”
Late in the game, it wasn’t DeAngelo’s throwing or running that sealed the victory, but his defense.
With Pelham clinging to a one-point lead, DeAngelo picked off a Gilford pass, the first of three Pelham interceptions in the final five minutes.
“I feel the same about (Gilford) as I did heading in,” said Babaian. “They’re a good team, and they gave us everything they could and more. Those three fourth-quarter picks were obviously really important for us.”
With the victory, the Pythons finished the regular season 9-0 , dropping Gilford to 8-1 and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
Pelham entertains Bow High School in the D-V semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 10, while Gilford hosts Bishop Brady. Kickoffs for both are 1 p.m.