DERRY — Underdog Exeter followed a tried-and-true formula for its title-game tilt with No. 1-ranked Pinkerton Academy.

It goes like this: Stay within striking distance of the heavy favorite, creating the chance to win in the end.

The game plan paid off Saturday at Memorial Field. Exeter erased a 10-point deficit, knotted the contest at 13-apiece heading into the fourth quarter, and celebrated a stunning 23-13 NHIAA Divison I championship win in front of 4,000 fans.

“Outstanding defensive game. Great kicking game. Opportunistic offense,” said Exeter head coach Bill Ball, describing a team that won the program's first championship since topping Division II in 2007.

Conor Carrier delivered the dagger for Exeter's opportunistic offense — an up-the-gut, fourth-quarter run that went for 37 yards and the tie-breaking score.

“We had a good mindset. We worked hard. We thought we could compete with them ... and that was the case tonight,” said star kicker Logan Laurent, who tacked on Exeter's 20th point with 7:10 left in the fourth quarter, and later added his third field goal, a 23-yarder, in the final minutes.

Turnovers hindered Pinkerton's bid to win a second consecutive title and 11th under head coach Brian O'Reilly. The Astros lost four fumbles.

“It doesn't help,” O'Reilly said. “But if I said it was turnovers (that caused the Astros to lose), it would be disingenuous to what Exeter did. They did a great job today on both sides of the ball. They wore us down in the second half.”

Exeter (11-1 overall, 9-1 Division I) scored the game's first points. Laurent kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first quarter.

But, on the second play of the second quarter, Pinkerton (10-2, 9-1) pulled ahead. Emmitt Smith raced 77 yards for a TD. Ryan Coombs kicked the extra point that bumped the lead to 7-3.

Pinkerton's next possession ended in similar fashion. Smith raced 78 yards for the score. Another Astros rout appeared at hand.

Instead, the Blue Hawks responded with an eight-play, 55-yard drive. Quarterback Jamie Tymann rolled to his right and fired a 15-yard scoring strike to Lucas Gajewski. Laurent's first successful point-after pulled the underdogs within 13-10 at halftime.

“At 13-3, we still felt OK. And then at 13-10, we felt better,” Ball said. “We had to secure the edge (on defense) better than we did in the first half. We did. Great job by the guys.”

Smith, who finished with 188 rushing yards on 12 carries, was limited to 35 second-half yards on six touches. The Blue Hawks left little room for Kevin Davies to maneuver between the tackles, too. Pinkerton's punishing running back/linebacker finished with 36 rushing yards on eight attempts.

“They just shut down the middle. We couldn't really get our offense in flow,” Davies said. “Obviously, the scoreboard indicates they played better defense than us.”

Laurent's squib kick after Carrier's touchdown run was among the game's key plays. The up back wasn't able to handle the ball and Carrier recovered at Pinkerton's 42-yard line. The drive didn't end with points, but it drained valuable time off the game clock.

The Blue Hawks, however, took advantage of great field position on their next possession. Starting 25 yards from the goal line, they drove to the 7-yard line before Laurent, who earlier tied the game with a 40-yard kick, converted his third field goal.

In total, Exeter closed with 20 unanswered points.

“We stayed with it,” Ball said. “We stayed with the fight.”