All season long, the Pelham High football team had the look of a champion.
On Saturday, the Pythons became one.
Pelham steamrolled its way to a New Hampshire Division 3 state championship with a 40-0 victory over Stevens at Pelham’s Harris Field. The Pythons completed a perfect 8-0 campaign during this unique fall season that was altered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was Pelham’s first championship since 2008, and it almost didn’t happen. The Pythons nearly had to forfeit their quarterfinal game against Campbell, due to positive COVID-19 tests at the school. But Campbell helped Pelham resolve the issue by postponing the game to allow it to be played and keep Pelham’s deserving title hopes alive.
“I can’t say enough about the collective mental toughness of the team. Our season was in doubt back in August, but the NHIAA urged forth and allowed us a season,” said Pelham head coach Tom Babaian. “Despite an undefeated regular season, our opportunity to compete for a title was nearly lost amidst the pandemic and then subsequently reinstated. Throughout all of the chaos, our players maintained their focus and were able to persevere through the adversity and execute when called upon.
“This is a great group of players and a great group of young men. I’m proud to have coached them and proud to call them champions. They’ve earned it and deserve all of the credit.”
Mason Fecteau got the Pythons on the board with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown. From there, it was all Pelham. It was 34-0 by halftime.
Jake Herrling had two touchdown runs and gained 128 yards on nine carries. Jake Travis added a 34-yard TD run and threw a 14-yard TD pass to Zach Jones.
Derek Muise capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Pelham ran for 279 yards as a team.
Meanwhile, Pelham’s defense recorded its sixth shutout.
“Our defense set the tempo early with the (Fecteau) interception for a touchdown,” said Babaian. “We were also able to break some long runs and capitalize on two scoring drives late in the first half. We came out in the second half and were able to limit the (Stevens) gains in the passing game after making some adjustments at halftime.”
