Balance was key for Nashua North football in win over Merrimack

There were a lot of moments when the Nashua High School North football team needed a big play last Friday night against Merrimack and found a way to make it.

What made it tougher for the Tomahawks was that they didn't necessarily know which one of the Titans was going to make it in North's 49-7 win. Six players scored a touchdown for North and two had interceptions. Twice, the Titans converted fourth downs in the first quarter, one in the air and one on the ground.

And then there were the kickoffs, which North's Dionard Toplana was routinely putting deep, making Merrimack have to go a long way to get anything going offensively.

"Them being able to put you in a hole pretty much every time they score, they play good complimentary football that way," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "They score quickly on offense, then they put you on the 20, and now you have to try to dig out of that hole. They ended up with the ball multiple times on our side of the 50 and then they score again. It snowballs."

That happened in the second quarter, when the Titans (6-0) turned a one-touchdown game into a 35-point lead at halftime. Merrimack's average starting position during that frame was its own 22-yard line while North had two touchdown drives late that were from 36 and 37 yards, respectively.

"Special teams is something we focus on," North coach Chad Zibolis said. "Dio is unbelievable. On kickoff, the ball is in the end zone most of the time. That part of the game is huge."

But it was two long drives before that that swung the game in North's favor.

On the Titans' fourth possession of the game, after the Tomahawks (4-2 in D1, 4-3 overall) had cut the lead to 14-7, they faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 42-yard line late in the first quarter. North went for it and quarterback Derek Finlay ran for 2 yards to keep the drive going.

Nine plays later, Amaury Almonte scored from 6 yards out to make it 21-7, capping a 13-play, 67-yard drive.

Merrimack was able to return the kickoff, getting a 28-yard run back from Jackson Forbes, and the Tomahawks put together a drive of their own. A couple of big pass plays from Trent Jackson to Aidan Centrella and Logan Day, plus a personal foul on North, helped move the ball to the Titans' 21.

But on third-and-8, Jackson's pass was tipped by a North defender, went through the hands of the Merrimack receiver, and ended up in the possession of North's Jack Peters, who returned it 94 yards for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead.

Peters added a 4-yard touchdown run later in the second quarter, while Finlay, Steven Rosario and Luke Peters also had rushing touchdowns and Nick DiGesse caught 39-yard touchdown pass from Finlay.

"(Jack Peters) wasn’t even utilized that much on offense," Kip Jackson said. "They are a challenge with all the weapons they have, really all the athletes they have who can do multiple things.

"They don’t have a running back who can just run the ball, they have multiple guys who can run and catch and block. Finlay is a special athlete. He can throw the ball, he makes good decisions, he’s very calm under pressure. He finds a way to make plays."

Zibolis wanted to see the Titans focus more on their passing game, and while he had just one touchdown pass, Finlay completed 10 of 12 passes for 133 yards, all in the first half.

"We threw the ball well, which was good," the coach said. "Getting Derek to stay in the pocket and throw the ball, which is good.

"It’s always nice to see a defense fly around. When you know you have a good defense, and you know they’re pretty fast, they hit people, you can be in any game."

The win for North makes a big game this week even bigger, as the Titans host Bishop Guertin (6-1) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in a game that will likely decide which team wins the West Conference and gets a first-round bye in the playoffs.

"You tell the kids it’s week to week, it's any given Friday," Zibolis said. "You know any given day any team could come out and beat you up. You’ve just got to be careful. You can’t come out flat."