Concord football came through when it needed to beat Manchester Memorial (video)

CONCORD - Jim Corkum will take any kind of win the Concord High School football team can get.

But he and the Crimson Tide know that, if they want more of them, they're going to have to keep getting better.

Concord took a two-touchdown lead into halftime and overcame a sloppy second half to hold off Manchester Memorial for a 21-12 win Thursday night in a Division I non-conference game at Memorial Field in Concord.

Trevor Craigue scored both of the Tide's touchdowns in the first half, recovering a fumble by Tim Fahnbulleh in the end zone and catching a 41-yard pass from Colby Nyhan, while Nyhan added the game-clinching score on a 6-yard run with 3:03 remaining.

"A win is a win, especially in our division, it’s important to get those," Corkum said. "I said to the kids I was happy to get the win, but I was not happy with how we played.

"I thought the first half, we showed some good signs, then came out in the second half, we had a chance to maybe put up another score, put the game away, and we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and going backwards. We allowed that score and gave momentum right back to them and allowed them to stay in it."

Memorial got two rushing touchdowns in the second half from Collin Beaulieu, the second of which made it a two-point game with 7:43 to play. But after a bad snap on the PAT following the first score, the Crusaders (4-1 in D1, 4-2 overall, No. 8 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) were forced to go for two after the second score and didn't get it.

"It was not one of our better performances," Nyhan said. "There were a lot of mistakes that we made, turnovers, and not our best game with penalties. There’s a lot of stuff we need to pick up in the film room.

"We’re talking about how we’ve got to win these games and see if we can find ourselves a playoff spot. Last year didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. This year we’re hoping to turn that around."

The senior quarterback did what he could for Concord (4-1, 4-2), competing 8 of 14 passes for 115 yards and a score to go with two interceptions. He also ran for 63 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown.

Colin Savard added 50 yards on 14 rushing attempts and Fahnbulleh added 43 yards on six carries, all in the first half.

Beaulieu led Memorial with 86 yards on nine carries and completed 1 of 2 passes for 30 yards and an interception. Mo Olanweraju also had 18 carries for 94 yards, but also had one of three lost fumbles for the Crusaders.

All three fumbles came in the first half, with two of them setting up Concord's touchdowns. After the first one, Fahnbulleh had runs of 9 and 18 yards, respectively, but on the second run, fumbled at the 1-yard line.

The ball bounced into the end zone, where several players from both teams went after it, and Craigue came up with it. The officials met near the goal line, discussing the play for a few minutes before the head official signaled a touchdown for the Tide.

Memorial's second fumble gave Concord the ball on its own 39-yard line, and five plays later, Nyhan threw a bomb to Craigue for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:06 left in the first half.

"That’s his last read on that play," Corkum said. "I was looking at his first read on that play and he was wide open. Then he threw it up and I didn’t realize he had a deep man in the end zone. It was a great throw and a great catch."

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Tide at the Crusaders' 34-yard line, but on the next play, Nyhan was picked off by Jacob Schuff in the end zone.

Concord got the ball to start the second half, but a hold and a false start on back-to-back plays pushed the Tide back and led to a punt. Memorial answered with a nine-play, 70-yard drive, with Olanweraju rushing for 40 yards, and Beaulieu capping it with a 2-yard scoring run.

Another false start on Concord's next possession turned a third-and-1 into a third-and-6, and on the play, Nyhan's pass for Travis Dunbar (three catches, 31 yards) went off the junior's hands and was picked off by Memorial's Landon Murphy.

Starting at their own 39, the Crusaders needed 10 plays to go 61 yards, finding the end zone on Beaulieu's 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal.

A personal foul on the Tide after the conversion attempt moved the kickoff up and Memorial tried for an onside kick. Concord recovered at its own 34 with 7:39 remaining, needing to put a drive together to swing momentum.

The Tide did just that, going on a 12-play, 66-yard drive that including a fourth-and-9 conversion from Nyhan to Angelino Rodriguez to give Concord a first-and-goal at Memorial's 8. Two plays later, Nyhan ran in from 6 yards out and then kicked the extra point to clinch the win.

"It was a designed rollout with a pass to the right," Nyhan said. "I didn’t like it. I saw a lane and took off and it was there. I’m glad for that."

A 30-yard pass from Beaulieu to Joel Gomez and a 24-yard run by Beaulieu got Memorial down to Concord's 11-yard line, but on the next play, Beaulieu was picked off in the end zone by Concord's Sawyer McCready with 2:01 remaining.