Quick Hits: Windham football never quit in comeback against Concord

Trailing by three scores into halftime, the Windham High School football team rallied with 30 unanswered second-half points and a stellar defensive effort to beat Concord 30-21.

Windham running back Tiger An and quarterback Josh Sweeney led the charge offensively. Sweeney completed 7 of his 14 passes for 116 yards, including an 11-yard connection with Bryan Desmarais in the back corner of the end zone to get the Jaguars on the board early in the third quarter.

An handled his business on the ground, rushing for 92 yards on 22 carries. His three touchdowns of 1, 2 and 5 yards were spread out from the final 54 seconds of the third quarter until 2:30 remained in regulation.

Windham coach Jack Byrne was proud of how his team responded coming out of the break.

“It was a great finish against a strong Concord team,” Byrne said. “I think the fact that we had already qualified for the postseason took a little pressure off and kept guys a little looser. But they didn’t give in. That could have gotten ugly. These guys didn’t quit.

“I don’t think it’s me or my coaching so much, as it is the combination of experience - between coaches and players - in that locker room. These guys know what needs to be done on the field, and they did that in the second half.”

During its second-half rally, Windham (6-2) recovered one of two onside kick attempts, and went 3-for-3 on two-point-conversion attempts against Concord (6-2).

That Jaguars defense was stellar in the second half, holding the Crimson Tide scoreless on its three possessions - which Byrne credits to the entire defensive unit and Windham’s defensive coaching staff of Rodney Brow and David Crichton.

“They made the right adjustments,” Byrne said. “The way they talked to the kids and got them to buy into those adjustments was key. And then the kids executed all that perfectly.”

It’s was quite a difference from what was a first-half highlight reel of Concord’s Elia Bahuma, who rushed for all three Crimson Tide touchdowns and a 21-0 lead through two quarters.

Bahuma, who ran for 161 yards on 19 carries, scored on runs of 6, 7 and 37 yards.

“He’s a hard running back to take down,” Byrne said of Bahuma. “The adjustments we made gave less room to operate in the second half, and the guys were wrapping up much better when tackling.”

Now Windham has a bye in the final week of the regular season to rest up and prep for the playoffs. Concord will visit Pinkerton Academy in Derry on Friday at 7 p.m.

“It’s good to give the guys some extra recovery time for their bodies,” Byrne said. “It’s also good to have some extra time with our families as coaches during football season. That said, we’ll put in the work and be ready when the playoffs get started.”

Pelham 28, Souhegan 21

When Pelham quarterback Jake Travis pushed his way into the end zone from the 1-yard line with 32 seconds left, he accomplished two things. First, the touchdown secured a 28-21 victory over Souhegan. Second, it kept the Pythons undefeated with their 26th straight victory spanning two years — including a Division III championship in 2021.

How Travis and the Pythons got into that position was no secret. They rode the back of Ethan Demmons, who finished the night with 119 yards on 24 carries - including 42 yards on eight of the game-winning drive’s 12 plays. As a team, Pelham rushed for 217 yards.

Now sitting at 8-0, Pelham coach Tom Babaian was happy to pull out a tough win in a high-pressure situation.

“I think you need quality wins in different situations,” Babaian said. “This was definitely a different situation than we’ve experienced all season, and no doubt this is a quality win for these guys. They showed a lot on that last drive and finished it off.”

Souhegan, which has also qualified for the postseason at 7-1, trailed at halftime for the first time this season. The Sabers struggled on the ground in this one, including coughing up three fumbles in the loss.

Quarterback Romy Jain kept Souhegan in the game, throwing for 329 yards and three touchdowns - an 80-yarder to Steven Reynolds for a 7-0 Sabers lead, a 27-yarder to Reynolds to tie the game at 14-14, and a 40-yarder to Connor Cassidy evening the score at 21-21.

That first Jain scoring strike aside, Pelham owned first half that saw Travis connect on a 19-yard touchdown pass with Alex Carroll to knot the score at 7-7, and grab a 14-7 advantage on a Travis to Jake Cawthron 42-yard strike coming on a fourth-and-3 play.

Following the second Jain-to-Reynolds hookup, the Pythons completed a quick 35-yard drive with a Demmons touchdown run and a 21-14 lead with 10:10 left in regulation.

The Sabers ate some time off the clock in their game-tying drive, but 5:54 left on the clock was just enough for the Pythons and Travis to finish things off.

“We close the regular season at Hanover,” Babaian said. “So I think we’ve gotten a good look at what the playoffs will be like over our last three weeks with Milford, Souhegan and now Hanover. Now it’s just continuing to execute this week and then carry that all over into the postseason.”

Manchester Memorial 28, Nashua South 27

Quarterback Connor McFarland threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Manchester Memorial (2-5) to a 28-27 win over Nashua High School South (1-7).

McFarland’s top target? Martin Alisandro, who was on the receiving end of two scoring strikes. He’d also have an interception on the defensive side of the ball.

Trailing by one with seven seconds remaining South came up short, as Memorial’s Lucas Brown pulled in one of his two interceptions on the night to secure the victory.

The Panthers were led by quarterback Karsten Lemire, who rushed for 155 yards on 22 carries, and threw for 204 yards. Those three interceptions proved costly though. Kyle Emmons was Lemire’s top target with six catches for 118 yards.

South wraps up its regular season with a trip to Goffstown on Friday at 6:30 p.m., while Memorial closes out at Exeter that same night at 7 p.m.