In the state final, the Pembroke Jr. Spartans smelled the end zone. They just never tasted it.

Hampered by an ankle injury to starting quarterback Seth Gonya, Pembroke fell in the title game of the Granite State Football League, 30-0, to a powerful Bedford Jaguars team that heads to Orlando, Fla., with an 11-0 mark and a chance at the American Youth Football national championship.

“We were able to move the ball for two and a half or three quarters at will, and then when we got to the red zone, Bedford would shut us down,” said the Jr. Spartans’ head coach, Len Poole. “Whether it was exhaustion or the strength of the other team, we’ve never been in a game of that magnitude.”

Poole, in his second year with a group that includes students from six area middle schools, took control of a squad that won zero games two years ago and just two last year. The Jr. Spartans finished the regular season 7-1 before splitting a pair of postseason games. The team fell to Bedford in October, 28-20, in the last minute of that game.

“We revamped the entire coaching staff and provided stability,” said Poole. “These kids see that what we’re saying now will be the same next year and the same as last year. They need that within a program in order to be successful.”

In the title game, Pembroke kept the top-seeded Jaguars in check during the first half and headed into intermission trailing only 8-0, but Bedford pulled away in the second half.

Poole said he has been impressed with the progress his three running backs, Mike Melvin, Devaun Gil and Nick Francios, have made.

“I have been waiting for a long time for them to really come into their own, and that time finally came,” said Poole. “Mike especially, I wanted him to understand what he has. He has a lot of potential. I think he has the skill sets to be big.”

Setting up its spot in the championship game was Pembroke’s 30-20 victory over Concord in the semifinal and an offense that scored the secondhighest point total in the league.

“The backs received the glory, but without the offensive line they would not have been able to move the ball,” said Poole. Brad Scheaffer, Bryan Doughty, Dan Reeves, Colin Flannagan and Mike Walter were the Jr. Spartans’ starting linemen.

Though Poole said losing Gonya to injury was a difficult blow for the team’s title hopes, replacement Ben Paradis did a solid job of leading the offense. “Without getting a decent amount of snaps during the year, it puts a lot of stress on you where you haven’t had it before,” said Poole. “He only had about 35 seconds to think about it.”

After two difficult seasons heading into 2008, Poole said the relationships between his players lifted the team – captained by Francios, Doughty and Tony Vazquez – to its strong finish. “Last year, I had a much smaller team, but I never got them to work as a team,” said Poole. “This year, we were 26 kids, and they are all friends.”