The Pelham High School football team won’t have to dig too far into the archives to find game film for the Division V title game.

After overcoming a sloppy first half, the Pythons rolled past Bow High School 42-7 at home to set up a rematch with Gilford in next week’s D-V final.

Pelham edged Gilford on Nov. 2, 13-12.

Pelham’s offense struggled early on Saturday, Nov. 10, and the top-seeded Pythons clung to a 7-0 halftime lead vs. the fourth-ranked Falcons. However, Tyler Gant took the second-half kickoff to the Bow 10-yard line to grab momentum for Pelham.

Three plays later, Bruce Vieira rushed five yards into the end zone with 11:11 remaining in the third for one of his four touchdowns on the day. The 10-yard scoring drive was one of eight straight times the Pythons started in Bow territory.

“(Good field position) makes a huge difference in our offensive attack,” said Pelham head coach Tom Babaian, whose team fumbled multiple times in the first half. “They came out nervous. Being at home in a playoff atmosphere can be tough. They are only high school kids after all.”

Bow head coach Paul Cohen said the now 10-0 Pythons were simply stronger on both sides of the ball.

“They have a very powerful offense, and they were able to mix it up pretty nicely against us, and they stymied our offensive attack pretty effectively,” he said. “I told the team before the game we had to prevent major momentum shifts. We were knocking on the door early and didn’t score, and you can’t have that in a playoff game.”

The Falcons recovered a Python fumble at the Pelham 20- yard line with 10:27 remaining in the first quarter. The Falcons gave the ball back, fumbling at the 3-yard line.

Babaian said his half-time speech was simple.

“We talked about what had worked for us, and that we couldn’t play tense. We really had to get our act together and play more disciplined,” he said.

After Bow slowed Pelham offensively in the first half, the Pythons exploded for 35 second- half points. Pelham retains its home-field advantage, and the Pythons host Gilford in the championship game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Game notes
Quarterback Joseph DeAngelo had 15 carries for 87 yards, two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown, in addition to an interception on defense to help lead the way for the Pythons.