Merrimack football happy to be back on field, but looking for better showing

Given the option of playing a game or not, the Merrimack High School football coaches and players would take the former every single time.

But as good as it felt getting back on the field Friday night at Salem, it didn't ease the frustration the Tomahawks had after losing 48-13 to the Blue Devils.

"It was a challenge," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said of returning to the field after almost two weeks away. "I think it’s going to help, not only the players from a physical standpoint, it’s going to help them from a mental and emotional standpoint, to get back into that rhythm, versus wondering when the next shoe is going to drop."

It had been two weeks since the Tomahawks last game, a season-opening win against Bishop Guertin. After positive Covid-19 tests among the student community, Merrimack's games against Nashua North and Salem were canceled.

The Tomahawks were to return to action last week against Nashua South, but that game was canceled as well. Merrimack looked like it would go another week without a game, but on Sept. 14, Pinkerton canceled all of its fall sports, and Salem, again without a game, came calling.

"We were on the field, preparing for South, and then they told us we were playing Salem," Jackson said. "We had to change gears. They were preparing for a Wing-T team (Pinkerton) and had to play a spread team. We were preparing for a spread team and had to play a Wing-T team."

Those gear changes didn't go as smoothly as Jackson and his coaching staff would like, as the Blue Devils gashed the Tomahawks defense for 537 yards, all but 75 of that coming on the ground.

In the first half, Salem had three touchdowns of 65 yards or more, despite being penalized nine times for 70 yards.

"We didn’t finish drives on offense and we didn’t finish drives on defense," Jackson said. "Some of that is not being in game situations and some of it is they were better prepared than we were and they played better."

Some of the biggest swings came early. After Salem took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, Merrimack answered with a nine-play drive, getting down to the Blue Devils' 11-yard line.

On fourth-and-4, it looked like the Tomahawks were going to lineup for a field goal, but then called a timeout and put the offense back on the field. A pass by Kyle Crampton fell incomplete and Merrimack turned the ball over on downs.

Salem responded with a 10-play, 89-yard drive that ended with another touchdown and a 14-0 lead for the Blue Devils.

"If you look back at the BG game, we didn’t do well on what we call ‘money’ downs," Jackson said. "The same thing happened (Friday). We have to figure out a better way of coaching them and that’s on me."

The Blue Devils final two touchdowns on the first half came in those situations, just 2:24 apart.

Salem was called for a hold, setting up a first-and-20 from the Blue Devils' 25, but on the next play, Cody Clements hit Ryan Allard for a 75-yard touchdown.

The Tomahawks went three-and-out, but it looked like their defense might get a stop when the Blue Devils faced a third-and-12 at their 23. Instead, Salem's Dante Fernandes made a couple of moves to get into the Merrimack secondary and outran everyone for a 77-yard touchdown.

In just a few moments, it turned from a one-possession game to a 34-13 halftime lead for Salem.

"They’re really good and they made us pay for it," Jackson said. "We have to finish better. It’s just a challenge to get the kids back into the rhythm of playing football."