Nashua South football looks to get offense back on track
Something happened to the Nashua High School South football team in last Friday's 20-3 loss to Concord that hadn't happened to the Panthers in almost four years.
South was kept out of the end zone for the first time since the 2008 season, when the Panthers were shutout by Pinkerton on Oct. 25, 10-0. Earlier that season, South lost to Lowell, 21-0, but the Panthers still went on to win the Division I title that year.
"At least (against Concord), we kicked a field goal," South coach Scott Knight said. "We were poor all around."
The Panthers went into the game against Concord banged up - Knight estimates there were 11 players on the sideline not dressed to play - and a plethora of mistakes cost South whenever it had the ball. After its first drive ended in a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Guidaboni, South didn't cross midfield for the remainder of the game.
Wrong pass protections, fumbled snaps and missed assignments hurt the Panthers all game, and some of those mistakes were the reason quarterback Trevor Knight was sacked six times.
"One of the things is, we had to use some guys who weren't ready," Scott Knight said. "We've been held together by bubble gum and Scotch tape, to be honest. For example, I had to use a sophomore who hadn't practiced all week, a sophomore, both ways, just because of injury.
"If we just execute, we'd be OK. We had to eat the ball and ended up in predictable situations. Now they're pinning their ears back and you become very predictable. I don't care who you are, you become predictable in long yardage."
The bright spot for South (1-1 in Division I, 2-2 overall) was its defense, which held Concord running back Tolbert Nemo to 61 yards on 20 carries. None of those rushes went for more than six yards.
"We used five or six sophomores and a freshman (on defense) against Concord," Knight said. "I couldn't believe we stopped Nemo with those guys playing. We had some breakdowns later in the game with coverages, but for the most part our defense came to play."
The Panthers will be getting back some of the players who missed time last week, just in time for their regular-season meeting with North (1-2, 2-2).
Knight is trying to view the game as just one of 10 on the Panthers' schedule, but he knows that will be hard for the players to do.
"It’s always a big game," he said. "We've got to get back on track, regardless of who it is. We need to get back on track and start playing better again."
South and North will kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday at Stellos Stadium.
