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# Titans travel to face Astros in Division I final
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/titans-travel-to-face-astros-in-division-i-final/
- Published: 2010-11-19T23:26:21.000Z
- Updated: 2010-11-19T23:26:21.000Z
- Description: The last time the Nashua High School North football team played Pinkerton there were still leaves on the trees, most of the spectators went without coats and sunset didn’t threaten the end of the game.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Fall Sports, football, Nashua North, playoffs, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pinknorthfball0918-nn27-6.jpg "PinkNorthFball0918 NN27-6")

The last time the Nashua High School North football team played Pinkerton there were still leaves on the trees, most of the spectators went without coats and sunset didn’t threaten the end of the game.

When the teams meet again Saturday in Derry for the Division I title game, all those things will be different. As to what happens on the field …

“It’s a season ago,” North coach Jason Robie said of his team’s 33-7 win over Pinkerton on Sept 18\. That game was the only one the Astros lost within Division I, in just the third week of the 2010 season.

Since then, Pinkerton has won seven of its last eight games, with the one loss at Brockton, Mass. Included in that stretch is last week’s 21-14 defeat of Salem in the Division I semifinals, a game in which the Astros (9-2 overall) scored the winning touchdown with 21 seconds left in regulation.

It was the fourth time this season Pinkerton won by seven points, and of their eight wins against division opponents, six of them have been by nine points or less.

“They play within the framework of the game,” Robie said. “It always seems like the first team to blink is going to be the one to lose, and the last few weeks you’ve seen their scores and they’ve been seven-point ball games because the other team blinked first.

“We know it’s going to be a dogfight. They understand what their strengths are and they understand what their weaknesses are. If they’re playing a high-powered offense, they’re going to try to run the clock and move the football.”

North’s offense would qualify as high-powered, having averaged 36.3 points per game in Division I, including 49 against Nashua South in last week’s semifinal.

But the question is, will the Titans (7-4 overall) be able to score against a defense that’s allowing 17.6 points per game. Only twice this year did Pinkerton allow more than 30 points in a game – in the Astros’ loss to North and the following week in a 38-31 win over Salem.

Pinkerton trailed just 14-7 late in the third quarter in the regular-season meeting, when Andre Williams broke the game open with an 80-yard touchdown run. The Titans piled it on from there, generating over 400 yards of offense.

“They’re a seasoned team now,” Robie said. “They’re not a three-week old team with question marks and they’re at full strength. We knew we had a lot of the stuff in that we could run and they’re still maybe feeling some things out. But also, I think that they had a bad game.

“Something is going to give and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a low-scoring game.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pinknorthfball0918-nn44-1.jpg "PinkNorthFball0918 NN44-1")

Although North is playing in its second-straight championship game – the Titans lost to Salem in last year’s final – Robie doesn’t believe that gives his team much of an advantage.

“A lot of those kids have graduated and are gone,” he said. “It helps a little bit from a preparation standpoint. Some of the kids playing for the first time look over to see how our veterans are practicing. We tried to keep everything the same this week and that’s what we did last week. We’re creatures of habit and we try to stay in those habits.”

North got a boost emotionally this week, as teammate Cooper Doucette [returned to Nashua](http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/899916-196/friends-love-strengthens-paralyzed-nashua-north-football.html?ref=nh-highschoolsports.com) from a hospital in Atlanta. Doucette, who was paralyzed in August when he broke his C5 vertebra during practice, may try to attend the game Saturday, according to Robie.

“From what I understand, they’re going to try to make the trip there, but the temperature could be a factor,” he said. “They all went to see Coop a couple of nights ago. It was good to see him. I thought it was important for our guys to see him and for him to see us because it’s been a lot of long distance stuff.

“It was nice to go in and hug him and shake his hand and talk to him in person, face-to-face. I know he’s glad to be home and we’re glad he’s home. It’s nice to have all of your team intact.”

North and Pinkerton are scheduled to kickoff at noon on Saturday.