BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Following consecutive Division I title-game losses to Pinkerton Academy, Salem’s geographic rival and annual road block, you can’t blame coach Jack Gati and his players if they had revenge on their minds.

But in the marquee event of the Blue Devils’ homecoming festivities, five costly turnovers – spread throughout the contest – led to another Blue Devil loss on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Astros, 25 – Blue Devils, 20.

Stopping PA’s opening drive with a quick three-and-out, Salem drove down field into scoring position before senior running back Kevin Sledge  fumbled at the Pinkerton 10-yard line.

 Though Pinkerton didn’t score, its defense held Salem on the following possession. Following a botched Salem punt that was accidentally downed on the host’s 9-yard line, the Astros quickly scored. A two-point conversion put them ahead, 8-0.

But Salem showed resiliency throughout the contest.

Sledge capped a 55-yard drive with a 4-yard score, though the Blue Devils missed the two-point conversion.

“This is the best we’ve played, outside of the big turnovers,” said Gati. “We played hard, and that’s all I can ask for. We just need to stop making these mistakes.”

Indeed, another fumble led to a second Pinkerton score and 15-6 edge at halftime.

After the break, Salem tried to control the pace of play and was successful – to a degree. James Stewart’s 2-yard score completed a nine-plus minute drive.

Pinkerton’s response, however, took 45 seconds; a 64-yard score on the second play of the drive extended the ’Stros’ lead again.

 Salem, in turn, came right back when Sledge returned a kickoff 97 yards to paydirt.

“I knew I just needed to make a big play to make up for my early mistake,” said Sledge.

In one minute, 30 seconds, the PA lead shrunk from 15-6 to 22-20.

 A fourth quarter Pinkerton field goal and two late interceptions sealed another Salem loss.

Gati couldn’t explain his program’s poor performance against the Astros, seven consecutive losses including playoff contests.

A week after a 34-14 home loss to Londonderry, Salem dropped to 1-2 in Division I following the Pinkerton loss, knocking the Blue Devils off their perch of preseason favorite.

“We’ve got to win some games first. We’ve got two losses staring us in the face with some good teams down the road,” said Gati. “We’ve got to take care of what’s ahead of us. We’ll worry about the playoffs later.”