Morrow looking to lead Nashua South boys lacrosse forward

Collin Morrow knows there will be pressure.

There will be pressure from other boys lacrosse teams looking to take away Nashua High School South’s top offensive threat.

There will be pressure from the expectations, not just the ones that the senior captain has put on himself, but from his peers.

Will Morrow be able to handle it? He’s sure looking forward to finding out.

“I’m a little nervous to see how I perform,” Morrow said. “I’ve been looking forward to it. We have a very young team, we’re very sophomore-based and they’ve worked very hard to get to where they are.”

So has Morrow, who didn’t start playing lacrosse until seventh grade. That late start made him think at first that he wouldn’t be able to make the team in high school, but a little pushing from some coaches helped convince him to give it a try.

“He was kind of up in the air,” said South lacrosse coach Bill Monsen, who is also an assistant football coach. “During football, it wasn’t me as much as it was (coach Ray DeRusha) that talked to him. Fortunately, he came out and played and I just loved his toughness. He just played big. There was no moment too big. And he does it with a smile.”

A year ago at this time, Morrow wasn’t smiling as much as he was shocked at what Monsen had planned for him. After spending his first two years as a midfielder for South, Morrow would be making the switch to attack.

“As a midfielder, it was difficult, because he’d defend so hard, that by the time he gets the ball on offense, he’s gassed,” the coach said. “He could dodge, his passes are great, he can get groundballs, he communicates, he gets transition. His first year playing attack, he had 60 goals.”

And if there was any doubt left that lacrosse was his sport, Morrow erased it with that season.

“Being moved to attack boosted my confidence,” he said. “After each game, I’d gain confidence as the goals were going in, and I thought it was a great switch.”

As a junior, Morrow also served as a captain for the Panthers, but was more behind-the-scenes, deferring to the seniors when the time came. This season, he’s the lone senior captain, and he’s embraced that role.

“We’ve had the best (preseason) we’ve ever had and it’s because of Collin,” Monsen said. “It’s because everyone has followed his lead, his preparation through the summer and the fall and the winter.

“If Collin is a three-sport athlete who gets really good grades, and has already decided where he’s going to (college) and what he’s going to be doing, then you have no excuse. He’s set that tone and it’s been great in football and basketball, but it’s clearly been a game-changer in lacrosse.”

Morrow already has plans to continue playing at the University of New England, a Division III school located in Biddeford, Maine. There, he will be reunited with a former South teammate, Dan Auger, who had a hand in getting Morrow interested in the school.

“I got a call (from UNE coach Charlie Burch) and he said ‘Dan tells me, there’s this kid at South that I need to check out, and he doesn’t say much of anything,’ ” Monsen said of the conversation. “I said I think you should, too, but I didn’t know if Collin would be interested.”

Already wearing Auger’s old number and playing his old position for the Panthers, Monsen wondered if Morrow would want to continue down that path. But once he got there, Morrow was convinced it was the right place.

“There is so much that drew me there,” he said. “I felt like I belonged there. When I went to visit, Dan had already talked to (Burch), and that made me happy, that he sees the same in me that Dan has. He’s a great player. It made me really excited to go.”

South opens the season Monday when it hosts Pinkerton Academy at 6 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.