Portsmouth's Durkin vs. Bedford's Sheridan: Key matchup in Div. 1 football semifinal
PORTSMOUTH — There will be a lot of matchups within Friday's Division I football semifinal between Bedford and Portsmouth/Oyster River.
However, Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford calls the matchup between ClipperCat senior Max Durkin going against Bedford's Kevin Sheridan as the biggest individual matchup of them all. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Tom Daubney Field.
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Sheridan, who a few Portsmouth assistant coaches have nicknamed "Travis Kelce", is listed at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, while Durkin stands at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds.
Sheridan plays both tight end and defensive end, while Durkin plays tackle on both sides of the ball. They will often be lined up across from each other.
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"I think it's going to be interesting," Pafford said of the matchup. "(Sheridan) is a big kid. He's got some decent quickness, he's got a good motor and Durkin is smart. We'll see how that matches up. Durkin is not slow by any stretch as a tackle. We've seen him, defensively, get off blocks and make tackles in the open field. It's going to be an interesting matchup to watch for both of them to see where they really stand playing against a top-tier player across from them."
Durkin is 'ready to go'
Pafford said Durkin is ready for the highly-anticipated matchup.
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"He'll be ready to go, he's probably already ready to go," Pafford said during a break in Tuesday's practice. "He's probably way ahead of me."
Durkin welcomes the challenge when he goes up against another top talent like Sheridan.
"Whenever I'm playing against another good player, it gets me more into (the game)," Durkin said. "I really have to focus if I'm going to perform well against these players. There are some good kids we've gone up against; any matchup like that gets me excited because it's a little bit more of a challenge. You've got to really show up and show out if you're going to make a difference out there."
Being aware at all times
Offensively, the ClipperCats will surely have to know where Sheridan is at all times. Durkin said during film sessions, he looks at how Sheridan operates from the defensive side of the ball.
Durkin talked about how Sheridan uses his size and speed to maneuver through the offensive line to get in the backfield to make tackles — something Durkin has done numerous times throughout the season, too.
"(Sheridan) is a fast player," Durkin said. "He's good at finding the tackle on defense. I've mainly been watching him on defense. He's good at getting around people, jumping around and finding the tackle even in situations where you think he might not be able to get there. He's good at jumping through the holes, and getting to the guy, so I was impressed with that."
Bedford lines Sheridan up all over the field, including the backfield on occasion. Pafford said there will be plays where the two won't be matched up against each other. With all the talent that Sheridan possesses and the destruction he can create, Pafford has all the confidence in the world in Durkin, who is one of four Portsmouth captains.
"Phenomenal leader, very quiet on the field," Pafford said. "He just goes about his business and then you watch him and he'll pick a kid up from the other team. When he's playing in the play itself, he's 100% focused, intense and incredibly smart. He'll come out and see things and say, 'Hey, we might want to block this differently,' and he's right probably all of the time."
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Durkin, Sheridan square off in Portsmouth, Bedford football semifinal
