It’s a task Tom Babaian hasn’t faced in recent years, but the Pelham football head coach must now help his team find a way to bounce back.

After producing undefeated state championships the last two seasons, the Pythons are now 1-2 in Division V play following a heartbreaking 17-14 loss to visiting Bow High School on Friday, Sept. 25.

Pelham clung to a 14-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Falcons took control of the ball with 6:26 remaining in the contest and drove down to the Pythons’ 10-yard line with 30 seconds remaining.

Bow’s Austin Hill threw a corner end zone fade to a tightly covered Tom Poitras, but the 6-foot-6 receiver reached over the head of the defender and hauled in the go-ahead score.

“We had it covered perfectly. What else are you supposed to do?” said Pelham’s head coach, Tom Babaian.

The Pythons responded rapidly with a threat of their own as Tim Schaffer took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to the Bow 43-yard line with 17 seconds remaining.

Quarterback Joseph DeAngelo had one clean shot at the end zone, but the well-thrown ball fell through his receiver’s hands, and he was sacked while scrambling on the next and final play of the game.

DeAngelo gave his team a lead early on, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a quarterback keeper in the first quarter.

Bow struck back late in the second quarter to knot the score, but DeAngelo and the Pythons answered the call on a 41-second drive that culminated with a touchdown pass to freshman Kevin Cheam with 1:49 remaining until intermission. The second half, however, belonged completely to the Falcons, who possessed the ball for 19 of a possible 24 minutes while pounding into the teeth of the Pelham defense.

The Pythons missed an opportunity just prior to Bow’s game-winning drive. With 8:13 remaining in the contest, Conor McColgan leveled a Bow ball carrier, jarred the ball loose, and Josh Luciano scooped it up at the Falcons’ 31-yard line. But four plays later Pelham turned the ball over on downs, setting up the frantic finish.

Pelham went 22-0 combined in 2007 and 2008, but Babaian said it’s unfair to compare this year’s unit to those teams because of the skilled players and leaders who graduated.

“We are nowhere near the team we were in ’07 and ’08. You have to put that all behind,” said the Pelham mentor. “A lot of (the early struggles) are that they’re still trying to find each other, figure out what their teammates can do.”

Bow head coach Paul Cohen said his team knew coming it faced a difficult foe … and may have to again.

“Do I think they’re a team who can be one of the top contenders in the division? Absolutely,” said Cohen. “If we see them again, we’re going to have to prepare even harder.”

Babaian said his team wants that chance.

“We’re hoping,” he said. “That sure would be nice to get another shot at them.”