Bedford's Bennett Matthews named Gatorade New Hampshire Player of the Year
Bedford High School senior quarterback/safety Bennett Matthews was named the Gatorade New Hampshire Football Player of the Year on Friday.
Matthews, who is 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, led Bedford to a 12-0 season and the program’s third NHIAA Division I title in the past four years this fall.
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The top-seeded Bulldogs defeated third-seeded Pinkerton Academy 35-7 in the D-I final on Nov. 29.
A two-time team captain, Matthews completed 70.2% of his passes for 1,334 yards and 17 touchdowns with one interception. As a rusher, he amassed 1,226 yards and 21 touchdowns.
In the D-I final against Pinkerton, Matthews scored all five Bedford touchdowns — throwing for three and running in two more — and ran for 173 yards.
Matthews also plays lacrosse at Bedford and is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 prospect in his graduating class by Inside Lacrosse.
“While some of his plays are designed from the get-go, his real damage comes when he’s in the pocket and he decides that he’s going to run,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said of Matthews in a statement. “He makes opposing players like like they’re afraid to tackle him. No one can get a hold of him. He has lacrosse moves in the open field and he can throw very well.”