Fay ready to carry Nashua North football on healthy shoulders

Time wasn't moving fast enough for Max Fay.

The Nashua High School North senior sat at home as the sun came up on Aug. 10, waiting for his alarm clock to get closer to 8 a.m.

Finally, the wait became unbearable. It had been almost a year since Fay had put on a Titans football helmet, and a lot of that time had been excruciating, but those last few hours were too much.

"I woke up at 5 o'clock (that) morning and stared at the clock until it got close to 8," Fay said. "I made it until 7 and then I just came to school an hour early and sat in the locker room, waiting. I was very anxious."

Football has been a big part of Fay's life for a long time. After stepping into the North varsity lineup as a sophomore, he was excited for a big junior season, but it ended not long after it started.

In the first quarter of the Titans' season opener against Bedford, Fay tried to avoid an opposing offensive player and his shoulder popped out.

"The injury actually happened two years before that and I never really let it heal," he said. "I went into that game with a new brace. I tried to shed a block and it came right out and wouldn’t go back in."

The injury was devastating in many ways.

"Losing him, we lost a physical mentality," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "We lost a strong defensive player and a physical kid, and we lost a little bit of his toughness and ability on offense, too. He's an intense kid, very quiet. Any time you lose that, it's never good."

Getting the news that he'd be out for the rest of the season was tough on Fay, and at first, it made it hard for him to be around the team.

"It bothered him," Laurendi said. "At first, when he knew the season was over, I think it was hard for him to the point that it was hard to come around and stay around.

"He didn't like the fact that he could be there, and in his eyes, he wasn't doing anything, or he didn't think he was helping the team. Once we explained and said 'be there so it helps next year,' it eased his transition and made it easier for him to be around."

But what added to the pain of the injury was missing out on an opportunity to play with last year's seniors one more time.

"Football is everything me, so not being able to play really hurt, not being able to be out there with my teammates," Fay said. "I was friends with a lot of the older kids, so it was going to be my last chance to be on the same field as them, and it all got taken away because I wasn't smart in the past."

After letting the previous shoulder injury linger, Fay wasn't going to make the same mistake again. When he was finally cleared for workouts during the offseason, he eased himself back into it, being careful not to risk his senior season before it even began.

Now that he spent a year trying to be a leader from the sideline, Fay admits he feels more comfortable being out on the field to set the example for his teammates.

"That was tough because I'm more of a shower than a teller," he said. "Now that I'm capable, I'm going to do a lot more showing, showing kids how to do things the right way."

Laurendi has already seen the team get a boost from having Fay participating in practices.

"I think he's a comfort to some of the other guys," he said. "It puts guys at ease knowing his on the field. The linemen know they've got a good linebacker behind them, and the secondary knows they've got a guy they can rely on and put their faith in. It's always good when you have that older presence that guys can look to and it calms them down."

Fay believes that the Titans, who made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2010, have the right amount of returning players and talent to get back to the postseason. He knows he'll do what ever he can to get North there.

"I'm very confident with this team," Fay said. "I've played with most of them since seventh grade. We've always been a tough team. Now everybody has grown into themselves and I'm very confident in my team."