Football rewind: Week 5

Scott Knight could tell there was something extra in his Nashua High School South football team while it was warming up  before Friday night's 41-7 win over Concord.

The Panthers looked quick in the pregame and Knight thought that it was going to be a good night if it carried over into the game.

"I watched us warming up and said if we play like we’re warming up, we’re going to explode tonight," he said. "I think fresh legs had a lot to do with it."

During practice leading up to last week's game against Manchester Memorial, the South coaches had worked the players hard throughout, leading to "leg tired" when they went into the game. This week, the Panthers backed off in practice and focused on being at full strength for Concord.

"We spent last week going best-on-best (in practice) before Friday night," Knight said. "We were trying to clean stuff up. We knew we were going to be leg tired. We were all uppers this week and we backed off. The kids said their legs felt great tonight. That really made a difference."

That difference was noticeable, as South moved the ball through the air and on the ground on offense. The Panthers capitalized on great field position for their first two touchdowns, and perhaps most importantly, the defense stepped up in areas that it had struggled in previous weeks.

"I was happy with the way we hit and tackled on defense," Knight said. "I'm proud of the way we cleaned some stuff up the last few weeks."

Next up for South is a date with Nashua North. The teams meet on Friday at 7 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.

So what did we learn? While the Panthers played better defense against Concord, there are still some question marks. Of the Crimson Tide's 169 yards on offense, 127 of them came through the air, and at times, South seemed vulnerable to the pass. With games against North and Salem in the two of the next three weeks, the Panthers need to figure out how to fix those holes.

Bedford 19, Con-Val 16 (2OTs)

Even though Bedford is in its third season as a varsity program, and even though the Bulldogs have a senior class for the second year in a row, coach Kurt Hines still has a young team on the field. To have the players persevere  the way they did against Con-Val was encouraging.

"We’re a young team, starting seven sophomores," Hines said. "To be in a tight game like this and have the guys not fold … something was on our side."

One of those sophomores is quarterback James Caparell, who looked like a varsity veteran driving the Bulldogs down the field in the final seconds of regulation. After throwing for just 51 yards through the first 47 minutes of the game, Caparell completed passes of 26 and 29 yards on Bedford's first two plays after Con-Val tied the game at 13.

From there, Caparell only had time for one more throw and it was broken up by Con-Val. Perhaps if Bedford had had a little more time, Caparell could have gotten his team into the end zone. Even so, he finished the day 13-0f-19 for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Bedford goes out on the road for just the second time this season when it heads to Milford on Friday at 7 p.m.

So what did we learn? After winning its two previous games by a combined 89-0, Bedford showed it win the close ones, too. Now at 4-0 in Division III and 5-0 overall, the schedule gets a lot tougher. Three of the final four games are on the road for the Bulldogs against Milford, Hollis/Brookline and Souhegan, with a home game against Portsmouth in between.

Salem 67, Nashua North 54

No, the teams didn't decide to play basketball game Saturday morning instead of football. Salem led 28-0 after the first quarter, 34-0 early in the second quarter and 54-28 at halftime. But the Titans didn't fold in the second half, wining the third quarter 13-0 to make it a 54-41 going into the final 12 minutes. It could have been worse in the first half for North, if not for Andre Williams' 102-yard interception return for a touchdown. Williams finished with 170 yards rushing and Brandon Karkhanis threw for 242 and four touchdowns, but Salem's running back duo of Max Jacques (240 yards, five touchdowns) and Jerikson Fedrick (166, four) who stole the show.

North goes back in action on Friday against Nashua South.

So what did we learn? Not entirely sure, other than maybe its a bad idea to play high school football games at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. The Titans get no rest as they face another offense that could light them up this week.

Timberlane 31, Merrimack 21

Merrimack outgained Timberlane and didn't turn the ball over, but it still wasn't enough against the Owls. Quarterback Zach Harris had his biggest game of the year for the Tomahawks, throwing for 123 yards and a touchdown and adding another score on the ground. But Merrimack was unable to shut down Timberlane's Nick Lawrence, who ran for 171 yards and all four of the Owls' scores.

The Tomahawks will try to stop a two-game slide on Friday when they host undefeated Keene.

So what did we learn? After back-to-back losses at home to Bishop Guertin and at Timberlane, Merrimack has shown it can keep up with some of the best in the division. Now the Tomahawks have to find a way to get over the hump. A big passing day by Harris also shows that Merrimack can move the ball through the air if needed.

Catholic Memorial 26, Bishop Guertin 14

Bishop Guertin had its 20-game win streak snapped on the road against Catholic Memorial of West Roxbury, Mass. Steve Cuipa had a touchdown run that capped a 17-play drive in the first half and Alex Eaton added a third-quarter touchdown that pulled the Cardinals within 19-14. The Knights scored with under five minutes remaining in the game to put it out of reach.

Bishop Guertin returns to Division II play on Saturday, when it hosts Dover at 7 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.

So what did we learn? The Cardinals are still going through growing pains on defense. While Cuipa, Eaton and company are certainly capable of picking up the slack for the injured Mike Kelly, the big-play potential of the BG offense drops a few notches. That said, it would be shocking if the Cardinals make it to the playoffs with more than one or two losses.

Manchester Central 21, Souhegan 12

There's one number that tells the story of this game for Souhegan - 32. That was the completion percentage for Sabers' quarterback Mike Luks on Saturday against Central. Luks was 10-of-31 for 157 yards, 53 of which came on a touchdown pass to Matt Schagrin in the fourth quarter. The Sabers ran for just 51 yards, while Central's KK Haliburton went for 124 rushing yards and three touchdowns, the last of which came with 2:12 to play in the game.

Central becomes just the third team - Plymouth and Milford are the others - to beat Souhegan since the start of the 2007 season, and it was just the Sabers' second loss in their last 30 games. Souhegan will try to bounce back at Pembroke on Saturday.

So what did we learn? Souhegan's offensive starts are mortal after all. After some big offensive performances in the passing game this year, the Sabers' were off just a little against Central and it showed. Chalk it up to a Saturday night kickoff or maybe facing a Division I opponent, but the Sabers are still the favorite in Division III.

Portsmouth 40, Milford 0

It's safe to say no one saw this coming. Milford managed just 122 yards rushing as a team, as Portsmouth was able to hold running back John Forte (29 yards) to what was by far his lowest total of the season. The Clippers needed just 52 seconds to get on the scoreboard and it was all down hill from there for the Spartans.

Milford tries to bounce back against Bedford at home on Friday.

So what did we learn? Well, it wasn't so much a learning experience, but a reaffirmation that if Milford can't run the ball and control the clock, it's going to struggle to beat teams that can move the ball on offense.

Hollis/Brookline 55, Pelham 8

For the second time this year, Hollis/Brookline bounced back from a loss with a big win. The Cavaliers rushed for 330 yards, led by Colin Pellerin's 130 yards and a touchdown on the ground and three scores from Brian Liamos (82 total yards). Quarterback Kyle Gervais also threw for 116 yards and two touchdowns for H/B.

The Cavs go on the road on Friday to take on Con-Val.

So what did we learn? H/B is blowing out the teams that it should be blowing out (Pembroke, Pelham). Now it needs to prove it can go on the road and beat a tougher opponent, which it did a year ago at Con-Val.

Dover 48, Alvirne 0

This one was not pretty for Alvirne, which had been competitive in the first half of games this season. The Broncos were outgained 188-2 in the first half against the Green Wave. It doesn't get any easier for Alvirne, as it heads to Winnacunnet on Friday.

So what did we learn? It looks like it's going to be a long season for the Broncos.