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# Merrimack football surges to win over Portsmouth-Oyster River (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/merrimack-football-surges-to-win-over-portsmouth-oyster-river-video/
- Published: 2019-10-19T15:58:18.000Z
- Updated: 2019-10-19T15:58:18.000Z
- Description: MERRIMACK - It's getting to be that time of the football season where the margin for error is shrinking and any misstep can be fatal to a team's playoff hopes. The Merrimack High School football team was fully aware of that Friday night and wasted no time taking care of business. The Tomahawks score
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, football, Merrimack, Portsmouth-Oyster River, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

MERRIMACK - It's getting to be that time of the football season where the margin for error is shrinking and any misstep can be fatal to a team's playoff hopes.

The Merrimack High School football team was fully aware of that Friday night and wasted no time taking care of business.

The Tomahawks scored on all six of their first-half possessions, and after a slow start defensively, held Portsmouth-Oyster River to just one touchdown in the final three quarters, as Merrimack won 56-21 in a Division I game.

James Dowling led the way for the Tomahawks (5-2), as the senior quarterback was 16 of 23 for 322 yards with four touchdowns and an interception while also rushing for a 2-yard score in the first half. Devin Wood was on the receiving end of two of those scoring passes, as he had six catches for 115 yards and also had a rushing touchdown.

Merrimack outgained the ClipperCats (3-4) 547-212, which including almost four hundred yards of offense for the Tomahawks in the first half.

"We had a good week of practice and they were ready to go," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "They knew there was only three games left in the season, and for the seniors, we have a lot who are pretty impactful players. They know it’s getting late early right now and they have to be on their game.

"This was what we call a swing game. It’s a game we needed to play well to beat the team and hopefully this helps us make the playoffs."

Jared Dyer also had a big game for Merrimack, catching seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Twardosky had 120 yards rushing and a score. Jake Trahan had a 60-yard touchdown reception in the first half and CJ Hanscom added a late rushing score for the Tomahawks.

Early on, it looked like the ClipperCats would stay step for step with Merrimack. After Wood's 9-yard touchdown run capped the Tomahawks' first drive, POR blocked the extra point to keep it a 6-0 lead.

The ClipperCats moved into Merrimack territory, and on fourth-and-1 at the 33-yard line, quarterback Jacob Boutin pitched to Jack Russo on an option play, and Russo took it all the way for a touchdown. The extra point gave POR a 7-6 lead, but it was short lived.

Wood returned the ensuing kickoff to the ClipperCats' 36, and on the next play, the senior took a short pass from Dowling 36 yards for a touchdown. The conversion failed to keep it a 12-7 lead for Merrimack.

POR answered right away, returning a short kickoff by the Tomahawks for a touchdown and a 14-12 lead with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

"I think the first drive, we didn’t really know what to expect from them and then we started to get into the rhythm of the game," Jackson said. "When we scored on offense, we started to relax a little. After that, we played pretty solid on defense."

The rhythm on offense started with Dowling, who had touchdown passes of 23 yards to Dyer and 60 yards to Trahan before the end of the first quarter to put him over two hundred yards in the opening 12 minutes. He finished the first half 12 of 15 for 275 yards and four scores.

"We knew they were going to come out punching and that we had to play well," Dowling said. "They’re a good team. We knew that if we lost this game, it’d be hard for us to make the playoffs, so we had to keep going with a full head of steam."

Dowling added a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 35-14 with 9:39 left in the second quarter and connected with Wood for a 15-yard score with 2:45 to go until halftime for a 28-point lead at the break.

POR opened the second half with a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Boutin's 10-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Koener, but the ClippersCats wouldn't find the end zone the rest of the night. A 6-yard touchdown run by Twardosky with 3:22 left in the third made it 49-21.

Boutin finished with 64 yards rushing on 18 carries and was 11 of 24 for 71 yards and two interceptions. Russo added 42 yards on the ground and Koener caught four passes for 55 yards and a score.