Merrimack football capitalizes on opportunities in win over Nashua North (video)

MERRIMACK - When the door was left open Friday night, the Merrimack High School football team repeatedly barged in, taking advantage of every opportunity given by Nashua North.

The Tomahawks scored off two turnovers and an unsuccessful fourth-down attempt by the Titans deep in their end, and the Merrimack defense was able to withstand another big performance by North's Curtis Harris, to come away with a 32-24 win.

The win clinches first place in the Division I West Conference for Merrimack (7-1), and the Tomahawks will play for the top seed in the cluster when they head to Bedford in the regular-season finale on Oct. 26.

Ben Eichman scored four touchdowns while rushing for 107 yards for Merrimack and had an interception late that helped thwart a come back by North (6-2). Harris nearly led the Titans back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit, as he ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns, including a 55-yard scramble late in the fourth that got North within one score.

On the play, a fourth-and-7 near midfield, the Merrimack pass rush seemed to have Harris trapped in the backfield, but the sophomore escaped and went untouched down the left sideline.

"He was able to find a seam when he dropped back and take off," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "In the open field he is trouble. I was trying to tackle him, but I couldn’t catch him either, I’m too old. It’s fourth down and he made a move like that. He’s a special player."

James Dowling finished the day 14 of 20 passing for 138 yards and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eichman in the third quarter that also came on a fourth-down play. Jared Dyer also had a 1-yard touchdown run and caught three passes for 43 yards and Devin Wood had three catches for 51 yards, and on defense, had the game-ending interception.

Harris was also 8 of 16 passing for 100 yards for North, but threw three interceptions in the second half, two on the Titans' final two possessions. Mike Loveless added 40 yards rushing and a touchdown and Austin Ouellette had five catches for 66 yards.

North looked like it would take the lead on its second drive, but Merrimack's Zach Twardosky recovered a Loveless fumble at the Tomahawks 6-yard line to end the possession. The Titans held on defense, but they were called for roughing the kicker on fourth down, giving the ball back to Merrimack.

Five plays later, with the Tomahawks facing a third-and-5 at North's 33, the Titans were called for pass interference, and on the next play, Eichman scored from 18 yards out, and then caught a pass from Dyer on the conversion for an 8-0 lead.

"We have a great drive and turn the ball over, kind of put ourselves behind the eight ball," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "They answered. We had opportunities and we didn’t capitalize."

The Titans got on the board in the second quarter, going on a 16-play, 84-yard drive that took up 9:03 and saw North convert all five of its third-down attempts. Loveless ran it in from 1 yard out, but was stopped on the conversion to keep it an 8-6 Merrimack lead.

That's where it stood until early in the third, when the Titans lined up to punt on their first possession. Merrimack's Logan Karch busted through the line and North's Sam Nicholls couldn't get the punt off and was stopped well short of the line to gain.

"He was just trying to make a play," Laurendi said. "He didn’t have time to run it and rugby kick it. It gave them great field position and these guys don’t need great field position."

Merrimack took over at the North 25 and three plays later, Eichman scored from 8 yards out to make it 14-6. After another three-and-out by the Titans, the Tomahawks extended the lead on Dowling's touchdown pass to Eichman, making it 20-6 with 5:54 left in the third.

"That was extremely important," Jackson said of taking advantage of opportunities. "We wanted to play with the field tilted toward their side and it allowed us to run the ball a little bit more and be a little more physical."

The Tomahawks weren't done in the quarter. Facing third-and-7 on the North 23, a pass by Harris went off his receiver's hands and was picked off by Eichman. Two plays later, the senior ran it in from 34 yards out to give Merrimack a 26-6 lead with 4:05 to go in the third.

"Every time I get the ball, I’m thinking I’m going to score," Eichman said. "I look at my blockers, and they put the work in, so I’ve got to put the work in. We fought through adversity very well. We stopped them on defense multiple times and we got it back and scored."

North's comeback started on the next possession, as Harris completed passes to Loveless and Ouellette for 6 and 27 yards, respectively. Two plays, later Harris found Brian Montminy for a 23-yard gain to the Merrimack 18.

The Tomahawks looked like they might come up with a big stop, but on fourth-and-1 at the 9, Harris gained 7 yards and on first-and-goal, he scored from 2 yards out. The kick was blocked, but North carried the momentum into the kickoff, as a fumble by Merrimack's Tristan Wood was recovered by North's Isaac Smith, giving the Titans a first down at the Tomahawks 30.

Five plays later, North faced another fourth-and-1, this time at the Merrrimack 3, but Harris got 2 yards for the first down and then scored on the next play, cutting the Tomahawks lead to 26-18 with 10:37 to play.

Merrimack responded with a 10-play, 62-yard drive that took up 5:18 and ended in Dyer's 1-yard touchdown run. On the drive, the Tomahawks faced a fourth-and-3 at the North 43, but instead of punting, Eichman ran for 30 yards and a first down at the Titans 13.

"We knew he was pretty good," Laurendi said. "He’s a talented kid and he’s really been showing his talents the last couple of weeks."

North was able to answer the touchdown with Harris's long fourth-down run that made it 32-24 with 3:48 to go, but the Titans weren't able to do much offensively after that.

The win means Merrimack will be hosting a quarterfinal game on Nov. 3, and will be the No. 1 or 2 seed depending on next week's results. North is also in the postseason as the No. 3 seed and will be on the road for the quarterfinals.