DERRY — The Derry Demons third-grade and under team remains undefeated. The team traveled to Manchester South on Sunday to take on the Sabres.
After a successful defensive stand on the Sabres' first possession, Brady Day took the Demon's second play from scrimmage for a 55-yard touchdown run for the first of his two touchdowns.
The opening kickoff of the second half was received by Jordan Tunstall, who raced 60 yards down the left sideline for another Demon touchdown. The Demons then held on for a 19-14 win in a hard-fought matchup to go 2-0 on the season.
In fifth-grade action, the defense set the tone for the game early against the Huskies in Plymouth. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Huskies drove to the Demons' 4-yard line on six plays. The tight Derry goal line defense then kept Plymouth out of the end zone on four consecutive plays.
The first offensive possession for the Demons made a statement as well. Covering 93 yards in 10 plays, beginning with Matt Newman slashing for 35 yards through the center of the line on the very first play and ending with his 47-yard touchdown run.
This put the Demons on the scoreboard and gave them a lead they would never relinquish. The game was marked by other great team performances on offense. The offensive line opened holes, allowing the running backs to rush for a total of 294 yards and three touchdowns.
Offensively, Aaron Tunstall (one touchdown) and Matt Newman (two touchdowns) accounted for the scoring. Michael Gorham's 20-yard dash set up Newman's second touchdown of the day. Hard yardage carries by Newman and Ja'vall Desir set up Tunstall's touchdown run.
While having a steady performance at quarterback for the Demons, Mark Hayward's most notable plays of the day were on defense where he intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards, and sacking the Huskies' quarterback for another 4 yards. Equally as notable on defense were Frank Lamour's three sacks, accounting for 16 lost yards and Jordan Dube's sack accounting for 4 yards.
The Derry Middle School team defeated the Salem Rams, 28-6, Sunday to improve to 2-0.
Mike Curley had another impressive day running the football and put the Demons on the scoreboard early in the first quarter with a 58-yard touchdown run.
Gil Culbertson scored his first touchdown of the season one minute into the second quarter with a 19-yard run. Culbertson later found the end zone for the second time on an 18-yard run in the third.
The Demons finished off the scoring on a 49-yard touchdown pass from Aidan Sullivan to tight end Michael Horak. Horak and Matt Mulligan also scored on extra point conversions.
The Demon defense was solid all day, with notable performances by Greg Lund, Collin Young and Matt Hamilton.
In other action, the Derry sixth-graders pounded the Manchester South Sabres, 27-0, in the Queen City. The fourth-graders traveled to the Monadnock region and fell in a tight contest against Keene, 13-6.
