Football rewind: Week 6

Nashua High School South coach Scott Knight needed a defense designed to defense against the spread.

Going into last year's Thanksgiving Day game against Nashua North, Knight changed up the Panthers' defense, inserting five linebackers in an attempt to get more athletic players on the field to guard against the athletes on the other side of the ball.

After giving up 56 points to the Titans in the regular season, South allowed just 28 the second time around. And on Friday, the Panthers surrendered just 21 points, seven of which came in the final two minutes of the game.

"The defense is designed to play people that want to play in space," Knight said. "We need to get into a defense to get our athletes out (there). By having five linebackers, you’re answering that by putting you’re athletes out in space."

With new players trying to fill defensive positions this season, Knight and the coaching staff opted to move forward with that defense. Now after the Panthers (3-1 in Division I, 4-2 overall) have a few weeks to grow, including two spotty second-halves against Lowell and Manchester Memorial, the South defense appears to be up to speed.

"The kids are starting to respond to it," Knight said. "When you install a new defense and new personnel it’s going to take time. We have some really good athletes on the field. The big thing for us is we wanted to shore up our defense and play better and I think we’re doing that right now."

The Panthers gave up two big drives to the Titans - an 80-yard scoring drive to open the game and a 98-yard drive on North's first possession of the second half.

That drive was proceed by the best defensive stand of the game for either team. South took the opening kickoff of the second half and worked its way inside the Titans 5 for a first-and-goal. But the Panthers couldn't punch it in and turned the ball over on downs.

But despite those two long drives, North coach Jason Robie felt his team was unable to keep up physically when it was on defense.

"We got pushed around," Robie said. "We lost four all-state Division I football players from our defense last year. It was a matter of time before people found out what they could exploit. Our kids play hard, don’t get me wrong. We have some kids out there that are first-year varsity kids, but you know what, they play tough and they don’t give up."

The Panthers go out on the road on Friday against Londonderry while the Titans (3-2, 3-3)  will host Concord at Stellos Stadium.

So what did we learn? Just two weeks ago, North looked like the class of Division I and South seemed like it would struggle to make the postseason. Now? The Panthers are riding high off two stellar performances while the Titans have questions surrounding their defense, which has given up 105 points in the last two games after allowing just 29 in its first three division games. The good news for North is that its final three division opponents are a combined 4-9 this season.

Dover 7, Bishop Guertin 0

Dover's upset last Saturday night wasn't so stunning in that it happened, but in the way that it happened. The Green Wave held Bishop Guertin (3-1 in Division II, 4-2 overall) in check largely because it was more physical along the offensive and defensive lines, and because the Cardinals committed 14 penalties for 110 yards.

"We just had these mental breakdowns in penalties," Bishop Guertin coach Tony Johnson said. "It’s my fault and we’ve got to change it. We’ve got to go back to ground zero."

The Cardinals had 14 players out with injuries against Dover, and that didn't include Peter Fucci, who went down with a knee injury in the first half. That meant a team that was young to begin with got even younger.

"I’m playing sophomores," Johnson said. "The kids did a great job. The general point of emphasis was to establish a running game. We couldn’t do it. We were getting blown back. Then we lose Fucci, who is our speed guy, and then some of our misdirections and some of our routes have to change because we had to play sophomores."

The Cardinals return to action on Saturday at home against Manchester West, which picked up its first win of the season last week, beating Spaulding.

So what did we learn? Dover coach Ken Osbon said he expects Bishop Guertin to make the playoffs and the Cardinals certainly should. But if Bishop Guertin doesn't find a way to correct its mistakes, it might find itself going on the road in the first round.

Souhegan 54, Pembroke 7

On one side was a team that had won 28 of its last 30 games. On the other side was a team that had lost 20 of its last 24 and hadn't scored a point in over three games.

So how did Pembroke get close to making its contest against Souhegan last Saturday a one-possession game at halftime?

The Spartans found success behind the running of quarterback Joshua Ellsworth. While the Pembroke offense was moving the sticks, it was keeping the Souhegan offense on the sideline.

Because the Sabers were able to score quickly - two drives totaled nine plays and two touchdowns - and on a punt return, they only ran 15 plays in the first half. When Pembroke recovered a Souhegan fumble late in the half, it moved down to the 2-yard line and was ever so close to making it a 20-14 game.

Instead, Pembroke fumbled, Souhegan recovered and on the next play, Chris Chininis ran for a 96-yard touchdown.

"Obviously, that was the turning point in that game," Souhegan coach Mike Beliveau said. "They could have had some momentum. Our defense stripped it out and that’s something we teach, strip and recover."

The Sabers (4-0 in Division III, 5-1 overall) return home on Friday to host Milford, which pulled out an upset of its own, knocking Bedford from the ranks of the undefeated.

So what did we learn? Halfway through the season, Souhegan is once again at the top of the standings and the lone undefeated team in Division III. But if the Sabers don't tackle better than they did in the first half against Pembroke, they're going to be in for a long night against Milford's running game.

Keene 16, Merrimack 14

A fourth-quarter safety was the difference in Merrimack's third straight loss after a 3-0 start to the season. The Tomahawks (2-3 in Division II, 3-3 overall) held a 14-7 lead at halftime, but couldn't get the offense going in the second half. Twice in the fourth quarter, Merrimack stopped Keene on fourth down, giving the Tomahawks the chance to retake the lead. But quarterback Zach Harris was intercepted on the first and Merrimack turned it over on downs on the second.

The Tomahawks travel to Rochester on Friday to take on Spaulding.

So what did we learn? Merrimack is clearly a better team this season than in years past. While the Tomahawks have the talent to win, they might lack the experience at winning to pull out what have been two straight close losses. With back-to-back games against the Red Raiders (1-5) and Manchester West (1-6), Merrimack could easily get itself back in the mix.

Hollis/Brookline 28, Con-Val 12

If the Division III playoffs started this week, not only would Hollis/Brookline be in for the first time in program history, the Cavaliers would be hosting a game. After beating Con-Val on the road last Friday, H/B (3-1 in division, 3-2 overall) is one of four teams with just one loss in the division. The Cavs got up big against the Cougars, leading 14-0 at halftime and 28-0 in the fourth quarter before Con-Val got on the board. Brian Liamos led the way with 123 yards rushing and a touchdown while Colin Pellerin added 108 yards on the ground and two scores. H/B did lose quarterback Kyle Gervais to an injury in the fourth quarter.

For the second straight year, the Cavs will rent lights for a game this season, as they host Bedford on Friday.

So what did we learn? H/B has quietly moved itself into the playoff picture thanks to its running game. The real test for the Cavs comes in the next three weeks, as H/B will take on Bedford (Oct. 15) and then play at Portsmouth (Oct. 22) and at Milford (Oct. 29).

Milford 28, Bedford 7

Milford bounced back from a big loss by knocking Bedford from its undefeated perch. The Spartans (3-1 in Division III, 3-3 overall) got out to a 28-0 lead at halftime and that's where the score stood until the fourth quarter. Milford rushed for 314 yards, 214 of that from Max Goudreau, who also ran for two touchdowns. John Forte (44 yards, one touchdown) failed to top 100 yards on the ground for the second straight game, but Milford was still able to get the win. For Bedford, James Caparell threw for 142 yards and the Bulldogs (4-1, 5-1) only score while Jordan Garron added 92 yards rushing, but the rest of the team had just 10 total yards of offense.

Milford heads to Souhegan on Friday while Bedford will play at Hollis/Brookline, also on Friday.

So what did we learn? Not so much learned, but rather remembering what might have been forgotten in recent weeks. Despite Milford's 40-0 loss to Portsmouth two weeks ago, the Spartans are still a dangerous team when they can run the football. As for Bedford, the Bulldogs are still a young group who have won more games this year (five) than in the program's first two years combined (two).

Winnacunnet 52, Alvirne 15

The biggest news from this game was the injury to Winnacunnet running back/linebacker Mike Trainor, who left with a dislocated shoulder. The Warriors were just too much for Alvirne (0-5 in Division II, 0-6 overall), as Winnacunnet took a 32-7 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Broncos managed just 64 yards on offense, and will go out of the division on Friday when they host Pelham.