Hawks try to bounce back against Owls

The Merrimack High School football team got a taste of the big time against Bishop Guertin last week, and although the Tomahawks hung with the champs, they came up short.

Merrimack failed to reach the end zone for the first time this season, and the Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half to take momentum away from the Tomahawks in 28-3 BG win.

“Early on, we had the chance to deliver a knock out and instead, we ended up jabbing,” Merrimack coach Joe Battista said. “We were unable to make plays when they presented themselves and they were able to make plays. I think it came down to a handful of plays.”

The Tomahawks led 3-0 on a 32-yard field goal by Ty Costain in the first quarter and that’s where the score stood until 5:32 remained before halftime. The Cardinals scored three times in those final moments and left Merrimack feeling a little drained.

“We were emotionally gassed and it was just hard to recover from what happened right before halftime,” Battista said. “We could have easily been in the lead or at least down by a small amount. That really hurt.”

What’s also hurting the Tomahawks is their defense’s inability to get off the field on third and fourth down. It’s a problem the team has worked on all season, but now Battista has noticed a new layer to worry about.

“It’s starting to hurt us because we’ve been talking about it so much that, now when it happens, it’s kind of wearing them down a little bit,” he said.

Both the players and coaches got to experience something that none of them ever had before, playing in front of a large crowd.

“We all got a big-game experience,” Battista said. “The crowd was just incredible. I don’t think any of us could have imagined what it was going to be like. I think BG was used to that and we weren’t. Their experience helped them where maybe it got to us. Maybe down the road that will help us, starting this week.”

Merrimack heads to Plaistow to take on Timberlane Friday at 6:30 p.m. The two teams both have 2-1 records in Division II, but because the Owls got both their wins on the road, they have a higher rating.

If the playoffs began today, that rating would make Timberlane the final team in and leave Merrimack on the outside.

“I haven’t brought up that word (playoffs) at all and I’m not going to,” Battista said. “I don’t think Friday’s loss is going to hurt us. We didn’t put a lot into that game emotionally. It was just the fourth week of the season. We’ll be fine.”

The Merrimack defense will face another big challenge going against Timberlane running back Nick Lawrences. Last week against, Alvirne Lawrence rushed for 174 yards, just one week after coming close to 300 against Manchester West.

And he isn’t the only Lawrence kid the Tomahawks have to worry about – Nick’s brother, Nate Lawrence, is the Owls’ quarterback, and while he doesn’t throw a lot, he can be a threat.

“The Lawrence brothers are going to be a key factor in the game,” Battista said. “(Nick) is a really good running back, he’s elusive and he can run with power. His brother is a good quarterback.

“You have to be aware of (Nick Lawrence). You’ve got to practice all week using his number. Really getting across to the kids how good he is. He’s the key to that team.”

Merrimack and Timberlane kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Friday.