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# Defense did the job for Nashua North football in win over Bedford
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/defense-did-the-job-for-nashua-north-football-in-win-over-bedford/
- Published: 2022-09-06T14:00:52.000Z
- Updated: 2022-09-06T14:00:52.000Z
- Description: There were other reasons why the Nashua High School North football team won its season opener Friday night, beating Bedford 19-7 at Stellos Stadium. But there was one play that will stand out to both sides, at least until they kickoff again this weekend.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bedford, football, Nashua North, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

There were other reasons why the Nashua High School North football team won its season opener Friday night, beating Bedford 19-7 at Stellos Stadium.

But there was one play that will stand out to both sides, at least until they kickoff again this weekend.

With the Bulldogs trying to get something going late in the first half, quarterback Danny Black hit Dom Tags for an 8-yard gain to the Titans' 8-yard line. Facing a second-and-2 with the clock running and no timeouts, Bedford hurried to the line, and rather than spike the ball, ran a play.

It went like a lot of plays did against North's defense on the night. The Titans' Jack Peters got pressure on Black, wrapping him behind the line of scrimmage, but as the junior went to the ground, the ball came out of his hand and landed near North's Toby Brown, Jr.

Brown scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 86 yards for a touchdown with no time left on the clock, giving the Titans a 19-0 lead going into halftime.

"I was holding my outside contain and I saw the quarterback roll out of the pocket," Brown said. "I started shuffling. Jack Peters came in and nailed him, the quarterback went to toss it at the same time. I just grabbed it and took off. I had something like that happen to me last year, where I got caught down field so I hit the gas this time. I wasn’t going to get caught."

It was one of seven sacks on the night for North's defense, with Brown accounting for 2 1/2 of them and another tackle for loss. Peters and Jordyn Raisanen-Andino also had two sacks each, as the Titans pressure was relentless.

"Defensively, keeping these guys to seven (points) is outstanding and the positions we put them in weren’t great (for North)," North coach Chad Zibolis said. "We’re putting our defense in some terrible situations and we’re still coming out allowing seven points."

Black finished the game 12 of 19 passing for 129 yards, but with the yardage lost on sacks, Bedford had just 87 yards of offense.

"To be honest, (Brown's return touchdown) was not the reason we lost the game, it was just an additional disappointment," Bedford coach Zach Matthews said. "They took it to us up front. Their defensive front took it to us and we could not sustain any sort of drives. We had to try to make some gains in the pass and pass protection wasn’t holding up.

"Credit to them. It’s not like they did anything different that we hadn’t seen, they outexecuted us and were more physical than us. We have some young kids up front and they have a lot of experience up front."

While Peters and Raisanen-Andino were a big part of North's success on defense, Brown was the catalyst, as he forced Bedford to alter it's pass protection to try to slow him down.

"They left ( tight end Cal McAuliffe) in sometimes just to pass block him," Zibolis said. "That’s taking him out of the pass game. They have to take one of their best pass (catchers) out there and try to pass block Toby.

"With Jack blitzing from inside linebacker, we know we can get pressure that way. We’ve got Xavier (Jalbert) playing the nose there. He’s a newbie for us and he’s flying around. He’s helped us. I knew we could get some pressure on them."

The Bulldogs had a plan for Brown going into the game, but it became clear in the first half that it wasn't going to work.

"We had a plan for (Brown) and ways that we thought we could try to account for him, and that plan went out the window," Matthews said. "At a certain point in the second half, I’m having to keep a tight end in on pass plays.

"Our game plan initially was to chip him and release the tight end. That didn’t work. I had to start keeping Cal in because he was the only kid who could handle him, so we’re keeping a tight end in to help our tackle. He’s going to be a problem for a lot of people."

North ended up needing that type of play from its defense. After racking up 157 yards on offense in the first half, the Titans struggled, gaining just 18 yards and one first down after the break, as Bedford's defense stepped up.

"Offensively, that’s always a work in progress," Zibolis said. "I thought we gave them a lot of opportunities with some bonehead mistakes. I try to tell my kids mistakes will happen, but you’ve got to bounce back from those mistakes and respond after that."

### Notes

- North got two field goals from senior Dionard Toplana, as he connected on kicks from 35 and 39 yards, with the second kick looking like it might have been good from another 10 yards out."We knew our kicker was going to be a weapon," Zibolis said. "We can be out almost 25 yards and we can use him. We’ve had him kick 47 (yards) in practice with people coming at him. It depends on how the game is going. He also helps us on kickoff where he puts it in the end zone every time."
- The win was the first for Zibolis as head coach, as the longtime assistant took over for Dante Laurendi going into this season. There were nerves for the game, but it was a different kind leading up to it. "It was a different nervous," he said. "Play calling makes you nervous, too. During the game, I was less nervous. I wasn’t calling the plays, I’m just helping with that type of stuff, which is a little bit different. It’s everything before the game. The unknown of the first game, that part made me nervous. The kids came together and they played physical. That’s what we’re going for."
- **Next games:** Bedford returns home to face Salem on Friday at 7 p.m. North will return to Stellos to host Manchester Central at 6:30 p.m., also on Friday. Salem beat Central 35-7 last week.