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# Salem football takes control of 2nd half to beat Concord (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/salem-football-takes-control-of-2nd-half-to-beat-concord-video/
- Published: 2023-09-15T15:05:50.000Z
- Updated: 2023-09-15T15:05:50.000Z
- Description: CONCORD - Steve Abraham told the Salem High School football team it needed to play its brand in order to get a win Thursday night against Concord. The Blue Devils couldn't have done a much better job of that in the second half against the Crimson Tide. Salem dominated time of possession, limiting Co
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Concord, football, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

CONCORD - Steve Abraham told the Salem High School football team it needed to play its brand in order to get a win Thursday night against Concord.

The Blue Devils couldn't have done a much better job of that in the second half against the Crimson Tide.

Salem dominated time of possession, limiting Concord to under five minutes after halftime, and the Blue Devils put together three long touchdowns drives to come from behind for a 28-14 win in a Division I Central Conference matchup at Memorial Field.

Six players had at least 20 yards rushing for Salem (3-0), while four scored a touchdown, led by Kevin Todisco, who had 132 yards on 16 carries. That included an 18-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave the Blue Devils the lead for good.

Overall, Salem ran for 374 yards, averaging 6.03 yards per carry, and had the ball for 19 minutes, 11 seconds in the second half.

"That’s a playoff team (Concord) and I think we showed some people we’ll be in it for a while," Abraham said. "We instilled our will and that’s what we wanted to do.

"Our little offensive line fired off the ball and our backs ran hard. Defensively, we were flying around and hitting people. We played a great brand of football. That’s our game."

Felix Gonzalez (84 yards rushing), Talen Walton (47) and Nolan Lumley (48) added a rushing touchdown each, as the Blue Devils scored on four of their six possessions. On the other two drives, Salem turned the ball over on downs inside the Concord 25-yard line.

The loss for the Tide (0-2 in D1, 1-2 overall) may have come with even more bad news, as Elia Bahuma left the game late in the first half with what looked like a knee injury. The senior was on the sideline after halftime on crutches.

"Not sure we’ll have him next week (at Manchester Central)," Concord coach Jim Corkum said. "I guess we’ll have to see what the doctor has to say, but we’ll prepare like we’re not going to have him and make sure guys are ready to go."

Concord was able to regroup after Bahuma left the game, getting a 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Colby Nyhan with 5.8 seconds to go in the first half for a 14-6 lead.

Nyhan had two 1-yard rushing touchdowns in the first half and finished with 78 yards of offense, but threw two interceptions in the second half. The Crimson Tide finished with 249 yards on offense, but 184 of that came in the first half, with Bahuma accounting for 69 yards on 14 carries.

"They tried to load up the box and stop us," Corkum said. "We had to try to come up with some things to try to get the ball in space and get some other people some carries.

"We had some moments where we showed flashes, that we could move the ball, and then we’d have missed assignments, missed blocks, running in the wrong hole. It’s just a poor performance in the second half all the way around."

Salem forced a three-and-out from Concord on the first possession of the game and then marched down the field, capping an eight-play, 73-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by Gonzalez. But the extra point was short, keeping it a 6-0 lead for the Blue Devils.

The Crimson Tide responded with a 12-play, 76-yard drive, with Nyhan's first score and PAT giving Concord a 7-6 lead. After Salem turned the ball over on downs at the Crimson Tide 12, Concord ended the half with a 17-play, 88-yard possession, with Nyhan's second touchdown putting the Crimson Tide up by eight going into the break.

The Blue Devils seemed poised to answer to open the second half, driving down to Concord's 24, but another turnover on downs ended the possession.

But Concord's offense wasn't on the field long.

"We had said, the biggest series of the game is going to be when we come out in the second half," Corkum said. "They get the ball and start driving, we get a big stop and the offense is ready to go out, maybe eat up some clock, play that field position game. The offense goes out for one play and we turn it over. That gave them a huge momentum swing."

A pass from Nyhand along the home sideline was picked off by Salem's Calen Smith, giving the Blue Devils the ball back at Concord's 45\. Nine plays later, Lumley scored from just outside the goal line, but the conversion failed, keeping it 14-12 Crimson Tide with 2:30 to go in the third quarter.

"That was a huge play," Abraham said. "We were moving the ball well and not getting the results. That’s something we have to learn. We don’t finish all the time, but after that interception, we started finishing offensive drives."

After a three-and-out by Concord, which took just 1:38 off the clock, Salem took the lead when Todisco capped a 13-play, 79-yard drive with his touchdown run. Lumley hit Smith for the conversion and the Blue Devils led 20-14 with 5:33 to play.

The Crimson Tide failed to pick up a first down again before punting, and Salem went on another long drive, this time covering 72 yards in 11 plays. Walton ran in from 3 yards out and then caught a pass from Lumley for the conversion and a 28-14 lead with just 1:18 remaining.