Pinkerton’s Brian O’Reilly Becomes New Hampshire’s Winningest Coach with Division I Title Win

Astros Defeat Rival Londonderry 42-7 as Matt Morrison Scores Five Touchdowns to Seal Historic Victory

Pinkerton Academy's Brian O'Reilly is now the all-time winningest coach in NHIAA history with 357 victories after Saturday's 42-7 win over Londonderry. / ESPN Boston

Pinkerton Academy football coach Brian O’Reilly has guided the Astros to 12 state championships, but Saturday’s 42-7 triumph over Londonderry in the NHIAA Division I championship game was extra special.

Not only did the victory come against Pinkerton’s rival, it moved O’Reilly into the top spot for career victories by an NHIAA football coach. O’Reilly, who entered the game tied with former Plymouth Regional head coach Chuck Lenhan for career coaching wins, has a 357-130-0 record since taking over as Pinkerton’s head coach near the end of the 1978 season. Lenahan retired with a 356-70-1 record.

“The state championship is what it’s about,” O’Reilly said following Saturday’s game. “This was about the kids. To talk about anything else other than this game would be wrong for these kids. … And nobody’s taking that away from them talking about an old coach who’s probably back (coaching) next year.”

O’Reilly also had a 568-162 record as Pinkerton’s lacrosse coach before he stepped down from that position in 2019. He was inducted into the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame last year.

Senior halfback Matt Morrison scored five touchdowns in Saturday’s win. Morrison, who missed nearly one-third of the season with a broken finger, returned the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aiden McDonald and scored on runs of 27, 5 and 5 yards. 

“We were working for him (O’Reilly) as much as we were working for us,” Morrison said. “We’re all one big family, one big team.”

The fourth-seeded Astros (11-2) led 14-0 before the game was three minutes old thanks to Morrison’s kickoff return and a 35-yard TD pass from McDonald to Camren Dillon. Pinkerton led 14-7 after one quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 28-7 entering the fourth.

Third-seeded Londonderry scored on a 6-yard run by quarterback Sam Ogden with 1:50 left in the first quarter. The Lancers (8-4) have advanced to the championship game each of the last four years, but are 1-3 in those four games.

Morrison’s TD catch came with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter. He had all three touchdowns that were scored in the second half.

“If Morrison doesn’t get injured he’s probably the (Yukica) Player of the Year,” Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. “Great player. Not upset that he’s graduating.” 

Pinkerton has a 37-16-0 edge in the series against Londonderry, including an 8-6 record against the Lancers in playoff games. It was the second time the programs have met in a championship game. Pinkerton beat Londonderry 21-0 in the 1993 Division I title game.

Morrison finished Saturday’s game with 115 yards on 15 carries. He also had three receptions for 37 yards.

“Big players come through in big games,’ O’Reilly said. “Matt’s been that all year long. He’s had a great career here. We’re gonna miss him.”