Londonderry’s Vincent Parilla, left, gets past Manchester Central’s Lquan Desir on his way to a 52-yard touchdown run during the third quarter of Friday night’s Division I game at Lancer Park in Londonderry. Josh Gibney photo.
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — Londonderry High School may have turned around its football season in the blink of an eye.
Actually, make that three blinks.
A trio of long scoring plays in the third quarter lifted the Lancers to a 30-21 win over Manchester Central on Friday in a key Division I game at Lancer Park.
Londonderry improved to 3-3 overall and 3-2 within the division. Central, which saw its two-game win streak come to an end, dropped to 3-3 (2-2).
Londonderry’s Vincent Parilla, left, is congratulated by teammate Colin Kennedy after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter of Friday night’s Division I game against Manchester Central at Lancer Park in Londonderry. Josh Gibney photo.
“This game had big playoff implications,” said Lancers coach Jon Rich. “The kids responded; they practiced hard all week.”
Londonderry, coming off a 54-19 loss to arch-rival Pinkerton Academy last week, took a 17-14 lead when Sean O’Gorman scored on a 99-yard kickoff return with 9:09 left in the third quarter.
It was a sign of things to come.
Central was able to absorb that haymaker, but the Lancers later countered with a 1-2 punch that put the Little Green on the canvas for good.
With 4:01 remaining in the third, Alex Lambert opened a Londonderry drive by running for a 70-yard touchdown to give the Lancers a 24-14 lead. Central fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, and it didn’t take long for Londonderry to take advantage.
On the next offensive play, Vincent Parilla scored on a 52-yard run to make it 31-14. Perhaps feeling left out of the big-play madness, Central countered with a touchdown from John Taylor on the ensuing kickoff. But the damage had already been done.
After combining for three touchdowns in a span of 27 seconds, the teams went scoreless the rest of the way. That was just fine with Londonderry, which bolstered its postseason chances with an important victory.
Manchester Central’s Mike Cavanaugh (20) runs for a first down pursued by Londonderry’s Sean O’Gorman, left, and Jake Finnegan during the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Division I game at Lancer Park in Londonderry. Josh Gibney photo.
“When you let up a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and the next two offensive plays they run are untouched for touchdowns, it makes it very difficult for you to get back into the game,” said Central coach Ryan Ray. “We missed some tackles, and with their team speed they get in the end zone.”
Big plays weren’t the only reason for Londonderry’s success. The Lancers thrived in the trenches, rushing for 312 yards behind a workhorse effort from Lambert (22 carries, 150 yards). Parilla also made the most of his nine carries, gaining 95 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns.
“I was impressed with the way the offense drove down the field,” said Rich. “That’s what I love to see. We did throw it around quite a bit last week, but we’ll never get away from our roots running the football. That’s what we do best.”
Manchester Central’s Junior Brown (8) makes a catch in front of Londonderry’s Joshua Roberts and runs in for a touchdown during the third quarter of Friday's game. Josh Gibney photo.
This loss stung for Central, which was coming off impressive wins over defending champion Nashua South (20-14) and Manchester West (42-21). The Little Green could have solidified their playoff positioning with a victory. Instead, they go back to the drawing board with Salem and Pinkerton still left to play on the schedule.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to become a good team,” said Ray. “We’ve put ourselves in a deep, deep hole and we have to see if we can climb out.”
The Little Green trailed 10-0 before getting a 3-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jared Chandler to Felipe Acevedo with 9 seconds left in the first half. Central also scored on its first possession of the third quarter, taking a 14-10 lead on a 30-yard touchdown catch by Junior Brown.
After that, however, it was all downhill for Central.
“At times we had a little bit of success, but more often than not we didn’t,” said Ray. “It was a big game and I don’t know if we showed up to play the way that we should have.”
Londonderry 31, Manchester Central 20
Central 0 7 13 0 — 20
Londonderry 3 7 21 0 — 31
Scoring
First Quarter
LON — Charest 23 field goal, 2:43.
Second Quarter
LON — Parilla 10 run (Charest kick), 2:27.
CEN — Acevedo 3 pass from Chandler (Taylor kick), 0:09.
Third Quarter
CEN — Brown 30 pass from Chandler (Taylor kick), 9:26.
LON — O’Gorman kickoff return (Charest kick), 9:09.
LON — Lambert 70 run (Charest kick), 4:01.
LON — Parilla 52 run (Charest kick), 3:46.
CEN — Taylor kickoff return (kick failed), 3:34.
Fourth Quarter
No scoring.
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Individual statistics
RUSHING — Central: Cavanaugh 14-95, Watley 2-10, Graham 2-7, Chandler 7-7, Halliburton 2-3. Londonderry: Lambert 22-150, Parilla 9-95, McLaughlin 11-41, O’Gorman 7-20, Carter 2-6.
PASSING — Central: Chandler 8-17, 94 yards (2 TDs, 1 INT). Londonderry: Johnston 2-6, 20 yards. Lambert 0-1.
RECEIVING — Central: Brown 3-56, Graham 2-17, Cavanaugh 1-12, Mills 1-6, Acevedo 1-3. Londonderry: McLaughlin 2-20.
MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.
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