Londonderry football comes alive in 2nd half to beat Nashua North (video)

NASHUA - The Londonderry High School football team was in need of a wake-up call.

The Lancers got one midway through the third quarter, when Nashua North's Luke Peters returned an interception for a score to give the Titans the lead.

That was enough, as Londonderry scored a touchdown on its final four possessions of the game, and kept North's offense from scoring all night, in a 31-7 win Friday in a Division I game at Stellos Stadium.

Four players scored those touchdowns for the Lancers (4-1 in D1, 5-1 overall), with Carson Palma, Damon Dawson and Conor Williams running for scores. Alex Villa added a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mason Paquette and Blake Thompson kicked a 29-yard field goal for the only points of the first half.

As a team, Londonderry outgained North, 388-75, with 242 yards coming in the second half. The Lancers also had 10 of their 15 first downs after halftime.

But with under seven minutes to play in the third quarter, Londonderry was looking at a deficit on the scoreboard, after Peters picked off a pass into the flat by Sam Ogden and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown.

"We did not play well in the first half at all," Londonderry coach Jimmy Lauzon said. "My thought was I just hope they wake up. It’s kind of go time. We responded great with a terrific drive."

Londonderry took over on its own 37-yardline and needed seven plays to retake the lead, going ahead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Palma.

After a three-and-out by the Titans, the Lancers needed just five plays to cover 59 yards and find the end zone again, this time on Villa's pass to Paquette. A conversion run by Ogden made it 17-7 with three seconds left in the third.

"If we could play like that all the time, I’d feel differently about what we can achieve," Lauzon said. "I’ve got to bring it out of them every single drive. We’ve got to figure it out, and once we do, we’ll be a pretty good team."

While the offense might have been sputtering, Londonderry's defense was doing its part, holding the Titans (3-3) in check for most of the night.

North quarterback John Canaway finished the game 9 of 21 for 70 yards and an interception, but the Titans had just 5 yards rushing.

"Our front five (on the offensive line) has been a mix-and-match all year long," North coach Chad Zibolis said. "We’re just trying to find people to fill those spots and we’re having an issue up front. If you can’t run the ball, you can’t win in high school football."

The Titans' two best drives on the night were sparked by Canaway and the passing game, as North got to the Londonderry 30-yard line early in the second quarter. But on fourth-and-12, Canaway was picked off by Seth Doyon to give the Lancers the ball.

After Londonderry went up 10 points at the end of the third quarter, North went on a drive to start the fourth. Beginning at the Titians' 37, Canaway completed 5 of 6 passes for 37 yards to get them down to the Londonderry 28.

But the drive stalled and North ended up turning the ball over on downs with 9:20 left. Londonderry went on a 12-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard scoring run by Dawson to make it 24-7 with 4:24 to play.

Williams added a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining to finish out the scoring.

Ogden finished with a game-high 94 yards rushing and was 4 of 8 passing for 57 yards and an interception. Cam Brutus also had 79 yards on the ground and Jake Schena added 43 yards, while Paquette had two catches for 43 yards.