Merrimack tries to get back to basics against Spaulding

The Merrimack High School football team ran into a Keene team last Thursday that was in desperate need to turn its season around. The Blackbirds did, beating the Tomahawks 36-13.

This week, Merrimack will face a Spaulding team that finds itself in the middle of a playoff race for the first time since 2006. The Red Raiders have won their last two games – including a win over Keene – and sit at 2-2 in Division II.

“It’s the best Spaulding team I’ve seen on tape since I’ve been here,” Merrimack coach Joe Battista said. “They look like a legitimate program. The enthusiasm, you can see on tape. Defensively, they are flying to the football. They have a new coaching staff up there, and they are doing a lot of good things.”

Before their two-game winning streak, the Raiders had won just two of their previous 45 games. But in the last two years, the sub-varsity teams have played the rest of the division tough, including wins against Merrimack’s sub-varsity teams.

That, along with the Tomahawks (1-4 in division) struggles, should provide enough motivation for Merrimack, according to Battista.

“Most of my players have had their behinds beaten pretty good two years ago as freshmen and last year as JV,” he said. “I’ll bring that up, definitely. We’re not in a situation where we can overlook anybody.”

Merrimack will host Spaulding at 7 p.m. on Friday for the Tomahawks’ homecoming. After playing well for the first three weeks of the season, Merrimack has taken a step back in its last three games.

“We just need to get back to playing ball like we did at the beginning of the season,” Battista said. “We need to go back to basics. We need to simplify it as much as possible. It’s homecoming this week. We’re getting healthy again, so that’s key. We just regroup.”