By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
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There were about 5,000 people at Exeter's Eustis Field for Saturday's Division II championship game, and it's unlikely that any one of them could have predicted what occurred in the fourth quarter.
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Top-seeded Exeter was leading second-seeded Bishop Guertin 7-0 late in the third quarter when BG coach Tony Johnson pulled senior quarterback Eric Laliberte and replaced him with junior Ryan Burgess. All Burgess did was throw for two touchdowns and run for another in the final 12 minutes as BG pulled out a 21-14 victory.
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"We needed to throw the ball," Johnson said. "We weren't getting much out of our option, and we weren't getting much from our power game."
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Burgess completed each of his six pass attempts for 186 yards. He scored on a 2-yard run with 10:52 to play, completed a 61-yard touchdown pass to Andy Vailas with 7:25 remaining and hooked up with tight end Nick Croteau for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 5:08 left.
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"They made the right move," Laliberte said. "I wasn't playing well. Burgess has the best arm in the state. He was the best quarterback today."
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Exeter kept things interesting when quarterback Mike Kukesh threw his second touchdown pass to halfback Brett McAllister with 4:15 remaining, but Exeter's onside kick didn't travel 10 yards and the Cardinals picked up the first down they needed to run out the clock.
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BG, which completed its season 11-1 overall and 10-1 in Division II, has won the last three Division II championships. BG's only loss came against Exeter in the regular season.
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The Blue Hawks also finished 11-1 overall and 10-1 against Division II competition.
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"We knew what (Burgess) was capable of," Exeter coach Bill Ball said. "He was less of a threat on the option and more of a threat with the pass. Laliberte is really a tailback playing QB. We wanted to stop the option and we were a little more vulnerable over the top.
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"I told the kids we played hard - and I knew they would."
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In Saturday's other championship games top-seeded Pinkerton Academy defeated third-seeded Salem 27-7 in Division I, and top-seeded Bishop Brady beat second-seeded Franklin 49-21 in Division V. Pinkerton and Bishop Brady each won their second championship in as many seasons.
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Pinkerton led 19-0 after one quarter and completed its season with a perfect 12-0 record (11-0 in Division I).
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The Astros received a 9-yard touchdown run from Bobby Dattilo and a 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Bryan Farris before they blocked a punt inside the Salem 20-yard line. Dana MacLeod picked up the ball and ran into the end zone for Pinkerton's third touchdown.
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Salem (8-4, 7-4 in Division I) scored its touchdown in the second quarter, when Kevin Sledge caught a 5-yard halfback pass from Shane McMahon, but Pinkerton regained control on a 96-yard touchdown pass from Farris to Juan Amador late in the third quarter.
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Pinkerton fullback Mike LaRocque rushed for a game-high 119 yards on 13 carries.
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Jordan Smith ran for 225 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead Bishop Brady (11-0) to its 22nd consecutive victory. He finished the season with 1,859 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns.
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Freshman Eric Feehan hauled in two touchdown passes from Bishop Brady quarterback Mike O'Keefe. Feehan's second touchdown catch covered 30 yards and helped the Green Giants build a 28-7 halftime lead.
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Bishop Brady, which beat Franklin 45-14 during the regular season, also received two touchdown runs from Ryan Spain.
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Franklin's touchdowns came on a 43-yard catch by Mason Roberge, a 10-yard fumble return by Jon Tyrell and a 14-yard run by Steve Krauz.
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The Tornadoes completed their season with a 9-2 record.