Nashua South football changed the script to get its first win of the season

All four games for the Nashua High School South football team have felt eerily similar to coach Scott Knight.

The Panthers come out, ground and pound their way down the field and into the end zone, and then they start to come apart.

"It’s one of those things," Knight said. "We went in at halftime, it’s the exact same scenario as every game. It’s exactly the same. We go down, we jam the ball down someone’s throat and then we give up easy scores. We turn it over and then we’re down. Physically, we feel like we’re there, but we’re down a score. We’re still turning it over. We’re 0-6 in turnovers."

South had leads of 7-0 and 14-7 over Nashua North in Friday night's Battle of the Bridge game at Stellos Stadium. But the Titans responded quickly to each touchdown, and after North's John Barry, Jr., intercepted South's Michael Rutstein, the Titans were able to jump ahead.

Down 27-14 at halftime, the Panthers got the ball to start the second half and did their best to never let it go. South scored on the opening drive, the defense made one stop, and the Panthers were able to come back for a 43-42 win over the Titans in a Division I West Conference game.

"We found ways to get it done," Knight said. "I’m really proud of how they responded to adversity. We’ve definitely faced adversity. A lot of it is our own doing. We were able to finish. Hopefully, we can build on this."

Through four games, the Panthers have allowed the most points of any team in the state, as the 175 points allowed is one more than Franklin (Division IV) and four more than Hollis Brookline (Division II).

So how did South (1-3) flip things in the second half? By keeping the football away from the Titans (3-1) for as long as possible.

All six of the Panthers' touchdown drives went for eight plays or more, and two of them were 14 play drives. Overall, South ran 79 plays to just 37 for North and had a commanding edge in time of possession, 30:13-15:47.

The Titans had the ball for just 6:58 after halftime and ran only 15 plays.

"We were on the field a long time," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "They had some long, sustained drives, and they are tough to tackle. We didn’t get a stop when we needed to."

Josh Compoh led South with 212 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 35 carries, an average of almost 6.1 yards per attempt. Rutstein also went over a hundred yards, gaining 111 and two touchdowns on 17 carries, and Connor Roswell added another 35 yards on the ground.

The Panthers even got a 33-yard run from Lorenzo Abreu on the first play of the third quarter to get that drive jump started.

"We found a couple of things," Knight said. "We lived off some counter and stretch read and stuff like that in the second half. The off-tackle game was good. We probably could have given the ball to Zo (Abreu) a few more times. He had a real good run. I thought we played pretty well up front."

South did that despite missing starting lineman Colby Vancelette, but Parker Fleury was able to jump in and help the Panthers rush for 391 yards.

"They had the momentum and they were running the ball," Laurendi said. "They had confidence in their running game."