Portsmouth's semifinal against Bedford features two of the best defenses in New Hampshire

PORTSMOUTH - The stakes will certainly be high when two undefeated teams square off in a Division I football semifinal Friday night at Tom Daubney Field.

One of the those teams is the reigning Division I state champion, and third-seeded Bedford High School. The other is No. 2 Portsmouth/Oyster River. The winner advances to the championship game a week from Saturday. The other semifinal features No. 1 Pinkerton and No. 4 Londonderry on Saturday in Derry.

The Bulldogs advanced with a quarterfinal 49-6 win over No. 6 Salem, while Portsmouth beat No. 7 Nashua North, 20-0. Both teams are 9-0.

More: Moss, Poe, Connors all score as Portsmouth/Oyster River football blanks Nashua North

"Obviously, (Bedford) is a good team and it's going to be a tough matchup, but I think it'll be a good game," Portsmouth/Oyster River's Max Durkin said. "I think it's going to go down right to the end. Obviously, we've got to keep it together with no penalties. Against big teams like this, penalties is what's going to crush us. We have to hold back from that, and just play our game the way it's meant to be played."

More: How Portsmouth-Oyster River football has gone from winless to Div. I semis in 4 years.

Portsmouth and Bedford did not play each other in the regular season.

"There's not much to say, they're the defending state champions," Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said. "They've given up 20 points all year this year. They are in sync on both offense and defense. They have names everywhere, and (you) could write a whole article just with the names who are phenomenal players. So, it's a test (for us) against a top-tier team."

Pafford said Bedford doesn't mimic any of the nine Division I teams Portsmouth has played this season.

"There's no (team) like Bedford," Pafford said. "Defensively, they play a four front. All four guys are good and the linebackers are solid. Because they're so good up front that allows their corners to sit back and not give up the long ball. Their safeties fly to the alley as soon as they see a run. They're the full package. Clearly (Bedford) is incredibly well-coached because they read and get to where they need to be quickly."

Portsmouth's Dom Buono said Friday's game will be something the ClipperCats haven't seen all year.

"They're a big team, but I don't doubt our team," Buono said. "I think we can lock in. We can work together and make sure we don't get penalties."

Dover's Eric Cumba weighs in on semifinal

Dover was the only Seacoast area team to play both Portsmouth and Bedford this season, and head coach Eric Cumba weighed in on his thoughts on the upcoming game. Bedford beat Dover, 42-10.

"It starts up front with both teams," Cumba said. "The offensive and defensive lines do a great job of winning the line of scrimmage. Both teams have plenty of athletes who can make plays in space. The heavyweight fight is up front in this game."

Cumba said Portsmouth must win the line of scrimmage, and protect the football.

"Bedford is a very good football team without (getting) help from their opponent," Cumba said. "Giving (Bedford) extra possessions and opportunities creates an avalanche that's very hard to control."

Portsmouth defense has to be ready for its toughest challenge

Bedford scored at least 40 points in six of its eight regular-season games. Other games were a 21-0 win over Nashua South, and a 35-0 win over Keene.

"They've got some kids who are going to make plays, that's going to happen," Pafford said. "We just have to limit those plays and then do what we have to do."

Bedford is the only Division I team to allow fewer points this season than Portsmouth. Bedford allowed just two touchdowns and 20 points all season. Bedford allowed 10 points against Dover, seven to Concord, and three to Bishop Guertin.

Conversely, Portsmouth allowed just two teams - Dover (22) and Windham (14) - to score in double figures this season.

"Our defense is good and it carried us a bunch of times this year," Pafford said. "Coach (Hopley) (prepares) those guys. He'll have guys in the right spots, and then it just becomes are we going to make the tackle."

Pafford said the key is limiting big plays.

"I don't think we've given up any big plays during the games with the (starters) on the field, and I think that's huge," Pafford said. "We make everyone grind for what they get, and we do that by being smart, being in the right spot and good tackling."

ClipperCats must contain Bedford running back Brody Helton

Durkin talked about the challenge that Bedford sophomore running back Brody Helton presents. Helton ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns in Bedford's win over Dover. He scored on runs of 74, 51 and 4 yards.

"(Helton) is an athlete and it seems like a lot of teams had trouble bringing him down," Durkin said. "I'm not too worried about that. As long as we do what we know, wrap up and grab like we're supposed to, and tackle through the guy, then we should be OK. But, obviously (Bedford) has a bunch of athletes; it'll be a tough matchup."

Buono says Helton reminds him a lot of Windham's Tiger An, who ran for 79 yards against Portsmouth in a 34-14 ClipperCat win back in Week 6.

"I'm excited (for the matchup)," Buono said of Helton. "We held (An) in check. I think our linebacker core will be able to do the same thing. We'll be able to hold (Helton) like we held (An). We've just got to lock in, know our roles and do our part."

Buono says stopping the Bedford running game will be top priority.

"They can run the ball from anywhere, and they can score from anywhere," Buono said. "It's going to be tough to stop that running game, because (Helton) is a big running back, and the (offensive) line is big, but I think our defense has them."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth football plays Bedford in NHIAA Division I semifinal