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# Nashua South football sticks with it, comes back to beat Merrimack (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/nashua-south-football-sticks-comes-back-beat-merrimack-video/
- Published: 2017-09-16T14:00:21.000Z
- Updated: 2017-09-16T14:00:21.000Z
- Description: MERRIMACK - The Nashua High School South football team did not have its back against the wall Friday night against Merrimack. But, boy, where the Panthers close. Sitting with two losses after a pair of tough games to open the season, South set the Tomahawks up with good field position for Merrimack'
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, football, Merrimack, Nashua South, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

MERRIMACK - The Nashua High School South football team didn't quite have its back against the wall Friday night against Merrimack.

But, boy, where the Panthers close.

Sitting with two losses after a pair of tough games to open the season, South set the Tomahawks up with good field position for Merrimack's first drive, and trailed early for the third game in a row.

But behind quarterback Sean Holland and receiver Alex Amigo, the Panthers found away to bounced back. The pair of seniors connected for three touchdown passes, as South rallied and then held off Merrimack for a 27-20 win in a Division I contest.

"We got out of the gate really bad, made a couple of bad decisions, and gave them the ball in great field position," South coach Scott Knight said. "That’s the thing, I give them a lot of credit, because we have not been playing well the first couple of games. We said ‘you know what, enough is enough.’ We responded."

Holland led the Panthers (1-2) with 110 yard rushing and was 16 of 29 passing for 276 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Amigo was on the receiving end of all three scores, as he finished with seven catches for 131 yards. Jaylan Pacheco added 89 yards rushing and a touchdown, as South got 231 of 507 yard of offense on the ground.

"We told the kids, (Scott) Knight does a lot of things well, but one of the best things he does is when their backs are against the wall, they respond," Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. "They did (Friday)."

Merrimack (2-1) got another big game from Joe Eichman, as he finished with 202 total yards of offense and ran for a 49-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to get the Tomahawks back into the game. He also intercepted Holland with 4:32 left to give Merrimack a shot at tying the game.

South's defense was able to make a stop with 3:22 remaining, and the offense was able to pick up enough first downs to run out the clock.

"If you don’t win, your backs are completely against the wall," Knight said. "You don’t want to have a win-out situation in Week 3\. We really put ourselves in a hole a couple of times. It’s a character game for us."

That hole got plenty big on the Panthers' first drive. South was unable to pick up a first down, and on fourth down from his own 29-yard line, Amigo elected to try to pick up the first down instead of punt.

The run went for no gain, and four plays later, Ben Eichman carried it in from 1 yard out to put Merrimack ahead just 1:43 into the game. South was able to block the point after to keep it at 6-0.

Amigo more than made up for the failed fake, starting midway through the second. A South punt put Merrimack back its own 22, but Joe Eichman found a gap and broke through the defense.

Three Panthers tracked him down, and while Eichman was trying to make a jump cut to get by them, Aimgo knocked the ball out. South recovered at its own 28, and Holland led a nine-play, 72-yard drive, finding Amigo for a 30-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-7.

After Merrimack went three-and-out, South needed just five plays to go 75 yards, with Holland connecting with Amigo again for a 40-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead at halftime.

"You play like you practice, and (Amigo) had a great week of practice," Knight said. "Sean had a great week of practice running the ball. Our offensive line had a great week of practice."

The Tomahawks got the ball to start the second half, but South's defense forced the ball over on downs at its own 33-yard line. The Panthers needed 11 plays to go 67 yards, this time with Pacheco rumbling in from 2 yards out to make it 20-6.

Another touchdown from Holland to Amigo, this time from 20 yards out, made it 27-6 with 1:36 to go in the third, and South appeared to be in control.

"We were trying to play aggressively on the outs and we shouldn’t have been," Jackson said. "We did some things when they were in trips that if we have the opportunity to play them again won’t happen."

But Joe Eichman returned the kickoff just over midfield, and on Merrimack's first play from scrimmage, the senior found an opening in the defense and went 49 yards for a score, making it 27-13 with 1:17 remaining in the third.

After forcing South to punt, Merrimack went on a 10-play, 51-yard drive, and made it a one-possession game on Ryan Devanna's 8-yard touchdown run with 7:37 left to play.

Eichman's interception on South's next drive game the Tomahawks the ball at the Panthers' 38, but a hold on second down pushed Merrimack back, and it was forced to punt with 3:22 remaining. The Tomahawks never got the ball back.