Nashua South football hoping a year of experience leads to improvement

The record may not have shown it, but there was reason for Scott Knight to feel good about where the Nashua High School South football was at the end of last season.

The Panthers coach and his staff knew they had a team that was going to take time to put things together.

And while South won just three games in 2022, the final one in a Week 10 contest at Salem, gave Knight a glimpse of what the future could be.

"They were having a similar struggle that we had, but they had some talent and played some tough teams," Knight said. "We saw it as one more opportunity and we went over there and played really well. These kids, that’s their most recent memory of a game. We won and made big plays."

Which was something the Panthers were doing more of coming down the stretch. Had the season not run out on them, there might have been even more improvement.

"We were a team that was getting better (at the end of the year)," the coach said. "If we played a 16-game season, maybe we got .500. But you play nine games, you don’t have a lot of time to improve. It’s just hard to do. You look at us in Week 1 and look at us in Week 10, we were a way better team, we just could have used five more games."

Instead, South went into the offseason knowing it was going to have more experience going into the 2023 season, but it was still going to be young.

The Panthers graduated 19 seniors from last year, and while there were eight juniors on the roster then, not all returned for a senior season.

"We went into the offseason knowing we were going to have a young squad, but talented," Knight said. "The question is, (last) November they were boys, can we make them young men by August? They answered the call because they worked for nine months relentlessly.

"Physically, could we have a problem with a dude that’s 18 years old? It could be an issue because we’re just going to be a super young squad. We’re going to have to overcome some stuff. Doesn’t mean we can’t be successful. Doesn’t mean we’re not good or talented."

The players realize what they could be up against in some games this season, but they're looking forward to the opportunity to change the perception that others might have of them.

"Last year, we didn’t do the best," junior lineman Kevin Ndubuisi said. "We relied on a lot of older guys. During the last few games, we started to find our touch, but the season ended before we prove ourselves. This season, I’m hoping it will be something different."

Ideally for South, that means making the playoffs, but if not, than at least improve on last season and gain more experience for the next.

"You want to make playoffs, take it one game at a time and be better each week, be better than last year," junior Kyle Emmons said. "I think we’ve grown up a lot. We’re still a young team and we’ve got a lot of sophomores who are probably going to start. But I think we’ll do better than last year."

Based on what the Panthers did since the end of the school year, Knight feels they will be.

"We had a good summer and it shows," he said. "We got a lot in this summer. We weren’t so good back in early June, but we’re a lot better now at knowing how to line up and stuff. Most of our guys hit the ground running on Friday. For the most part, our guys are ahead."

South averaged over 40 kids on Thursdays in the summer for their weekly skills and drills. For 7-on-7s, each week, Knight estimates 25-30 kids showed up, even if they weren't going to be participating.

"A good amount of them were coming into the weight room," Emmons said. "Some of them were working out in other places, which is OK, as long as they’re working out. We were doing our 7-on-7s and everybody came to that, which is what I like to see. We’re getting better each day."

And if that consistent work in the offseason helps South carry steady play into the regular season, the Panthers will be on their way to the kind of year Knight wants to see.

"What’s being successful anyway? It’s playing to your capabilities," he said. "That last game (last season), we were successful. Was the season overall successful? Did we play to our abilities? Not always, but I’d say that last game, yes. Did we get better from Week 1 to Week 10? Did we play as well as we could have?"

Time will tell how far South has come since a year ago.