Nashua North football rolls past Bishop Guertin, into D1 quarterfinals (video)

NASHUA - The Nashua High School North football team is good. Really good. And the Titans showed Friday night that they haven’t hit their ceiling.

Against a Bishop Guertin defense that stopped the run early, Curtis Harris-Lopez went over the top. Harris-Lopez threw three touchdowns in the first half to propel the Titans to a 35-6 win over the Cardinals in the first round of the Division I playoffs.

Harris-Lopez finished 4 of 6 passing for 65 yards and the three scores. The highlight was a perfect 32-yard rainbow over double coverage and into Jayden Espinal’s hands in the first quarter. The touchdown got the Titans on the board and they rolled from there.

“He can throw the football,” North coach Dante Laurendi said of Harris-Lopez. “We just haven’t had to. We’ve been explosive in the run game, and we’ve been up. We just haven’t had to do it. (Friday) was an opportunity where we kind of had to and we were able to execute.”

Once North got on the board there was no stopping them. The Titans scored on their first five possessions, opening up a 35-0 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Lucas Cunningham had a big game in multiple areas for the Titans. He caught two touchdowns, including a jumping catch on a fade on the last play of the first half. He also nailed all five of his extra points after having struggled kicking earlier this season.

“It felt good after missing so many,” Cunningham said. “I’m a big guy and I’ve been kicking off two-inch tees. I just put it on the ground and it feels a whole lot better because I kept chipping it from the tee.”

Espinal also had himself a game with 87 yards on the ground along with the touchdown reception and a solid night on defense.

With the offense flowing the Titan defense was able to settle in and lock the Cardinals down. Bishop Guertin was only able to generate 91 yards of offense in the opening three quarters. Devin Bracetty reeled in an interception on the Cardinals’ first possession that set up Espinal’s touchdown reception.

The front seven was formidable for the Titans led by seniors Spencer Whiting and Max Ackerman.

“You’re talking about two of the kids that are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached,” Laurendi said. “Multi-sport athletes, wrestlers. They love to show up and play. They play their butts off. They’re the anchor to both those fronts.”

Even with the success, and the fact that it’s the state tournament, North is still figuring things out on the field. Last night’s game was just the Titans’ fourth of the season. Even with the stops and starts, Laurendi said he’s grateful to just be playing at this point.

“It’s frustrating because you lose that ability to get better and work on things each week, but we’re playing,” Laurendi said. “That’s the best bonus.”