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# Holland always envisioned himself playing football for Nashua South
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/holland-always-envisioned-playing-football-nashua-south/
- Published: 2017-08-09T12:00:20.000Z
- Updated: 2017-08-09T12:00:20.000Z
- Description: It was a snowy Thanksgiving morning and a pair of boys were playing on the sideline of one of the first Turkey Bowls between Nashua's two public high schools. One was the son of a coach who had spent a number of years watching as his dad manned the sidelines, first for a unified Nashua High School f
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, football, Nashua South, NH High School Sports Insider, Panthers, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

*\[Editor's Note: This story also appears in the 2017 Football Prospectus. Get your copy today by* [*going here*](https://shop.nh-highschoolsports.com/football-preseason-2017?ref=nh-highschoolsports.com)*.\]*

It was a snowy Thanksgiving morning and a pair of boys were playing on the sideline of one of the first Turkey Bowls between Nashua's two public high schools.

One was the son of a coach who had spent a number of years watching as his dad manned the sidelines, first for a unified Nashua High School football team, and now for the new Nashua South team.

The other was the son of athletic trainers, both of whom had been around football in Nashua almost as long.

Now, when Sean Holland thinks of that day he and Trevor Knight were on the South sideline, it's usually because one of his coaches are reminding him.

"There’s a picture of me and Trevor on the sidelines, playing in the snow," Holland said. "It's one that the coaches bust me on sometimes."

Knight, the son of South head coach Scott Knight, was the Panthers' quarterback for three years before graduating in 2014 and moving on to play at the University of New Hampshire.

Holland, whose parents Jerry and Michelle have worked with the Nashua school district as trainers for over 25 years, is himself entering his third year as the starting quarterback for the Panthers, something he started dreaming about even before he got to South.

"I always knew I was going to go to Nashua South and be a Panther," said Holland, who lives in Londonderry. "It wasn't really a decision. It was a natural transition. Being around for so long, it becomes a family. I've known Coach Knight my whole life. All these guys are family to me, so I wanted to be a part of it."

As a freshman, Knight saw that Holland had many of the traits that could make him successful, not just in football, but in the other sports that he played in high school.

"He's a really good student and usually our kids who do well in school typically figure out the other part, that the things it takes to be a good players, the hard work on the field and in the summer and in the weight room, and the benefit of playing multiple sports," Knight said. "He gets that stuff. As a freshman, we saw some glimpses and some pretty good things."

That spring, Holland played on the varsity for the boys lacrosse team and got a taste of what that level of high school athletics was like. When football came around, he was prepared and won the quarterback job as a sophomore.

"Going into camp, it was kind of a question mark, but you just have to work hard and see how it shakes out," Holland said. "I got the starting job and started the rest of the season and I haven't looked back."

One reason why Holland didn't look back at that sophomore year was because of how the season went for the Panthers. With a lot of sophomores in the lineup, South had its worst year since the split, winning just two games.

"We're not used to that," Knight said. "All of a sudden, we have this horrible year, and sometimes, it's tough to bounce back from something like that. The kids kept plugging and they figured it out. By the end of the (2016) year, we were a real good football team. We were playing really good football toward the end of the year."

After starting last season a little slow, South won its final two games to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and held its own against Exeter before falling in the quarterfinals.

"It was very big," Holland said of making the playoffs. "Growing up, you see a perennial playoff team. When we didn't make the playoffs the first year, it was kind of like a shock. We had to get back into the groove, get back to the standard of what we consider for Nashua South football was important. We needed some positivity going into the offseason."

With many of those players who survived that rough year as sophomores still around, and with Holland leading the way, Knight has liked what he's seen during offseason workouts.

"The leadership we have, they've taken the bull by the horns," the coach said. "We worked real hard and Sean is a great leader. He's one of the best leaders we’ve had.

"What's a good leader? You lead by example, you do the right things, and he does the right things. Someone who can bring the guys together and talk to them, and he's one of the best vocal leaders we've ever had. He's always there and he's always going to work hard, do the right things. He has all those qualities you ask for from a leader. And he hates to lose, which we really like."