Nashua South football hangs on to beat Nashua North in Turkey Bowl

NASHUA - With one play left to determine a winner in Wednesday's Turkey Bowl, Scott Knight had faith in the Nashua High School South football team's defense.

Up by six with 8.7 seconds remaining, the Panthers needed to stop North on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to hang on for the win.

South did, stopping Levi Gosselin for no gain, and the Panthers finished off the season with a 41-35 win over the Titans at Stellos Stadium.

"We got comfortable and then gave up some plays, but when it came down to it, our defense did what it had to do," Knight said. "We've done that all year. We've been very good in those short-yardage situations all year, so I wasn't worried. I was going to let the clock tick down because I thought we were going to get a stop. We covered all the gaps. We did a good job and stayed low and did what we had to do."

The Panthers (7-4) were able to get the win despite falling behind 13-0 in the first half, and watching the Titans (8-4) come back from a 20-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to make things interesting.

Sean Holland led South on offense, going 14 of 28 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, and the junior quarterback added 57 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Myles Johnson also had a big game for the Panthers, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Taevon Olson added four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, and also played well defensively, while Max Osgood and Alex Amigo also caught touchdown passes.

Amigo's touchdown came with a little more than 10 minutes left in the game, as he slipped behind the North defense and caught a ball Holland lofted down the sideline. Amigo danced his way to the end zone for a 40-yard score, and less than three minutes later, Holland scored on an 8-yard run to make it 41-21 with 7:43 to play.

South's Caio Campos sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds and North elected to have the Panthers kick again. The decision paid off, as Tylor Chase returned the kick 87 yards for a touchdown.

On the Panthers' next possession, Holland was picked off by Mason Dane, giving the Titans the ball at the South 22. Four plays later, Gosselin ran it from four yards out and North was back within a score, setting up the finish.

"I told the kids 'no quick scores,' and then bam, quick score," Knight said. "Then we turn the ball over and bam again."

Gosselin had 68 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and also caught four passes for 88 yards, while Jeff Baldassarri was 17 of 31 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and a pick for the Titans. Steve Lambert caught 11 of those passes for 99 yards and a touchdown while Jordan Buckmire also had a touchdown reception.

North scored on its opening drive, and after Holland was picked off by Gosselin on South's second play, the Titans got down to the Panthers' 12-yard line. But the South defense held, and in the second half, limited North to just 160 yards, including 67 on the ground.

"We played hard, we played until the end, but we made enough mistakes to hurt us," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "We couldn't come back when we needed to. Credit to South, they played really well and made some great plays when they needed to. They made a few more plays then we did."

The Titans got the ball back on their own 38 with 3:29 to play, and quickly moved down the field. A 24-yard run by Baldassari set North up with first and goal from the South 3 with under a minute to play.

But the Panthers stopped Gosselin for no gain on first down, and gave up a yard on second and third down, setting up the fourth-and-goal finish.