Concord football wins, but loses out on playoff spot

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SALEM – With their playoff hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads, Concord took care of business on its end. About 15 miles away, Londonderry was not cooperative.

The Concord High football team put in an inspired effort in its final divisional game, beating winless Salem, 34-14, to go 4-4 in Division I. Londonderry, however, failed to pull off the upset of Nashua South, losing 35-24 to officially knock the Tide from the playoff picture.

“We said before the game, we have no control over what happens in Londonderry. To make the playoffs, we’ve got to win,” Concord Coach Eric Brown said. “We could only worry about what we can control. And we got a spirited, spirited effort from everyone.”

Offensively, Tolbert Nemo scored two touchdowns and ran the ball 34 times for 179 yards to eclipse 1,000 yards for the season with a game yet to play. Quarterback Robbie Law scored three times, rushing for 73 yards on 15 carries. He also completed 10 of 13 passes for 99 yards.

On the defensive side, Law and Seimou Smith both came up with interceptions, and Devon Ferland and Diego Hebra both had a pair of pass break-ups.

And the Tide (5-4 overall) took control of this one from the outset.

It took Concord all of five plays to get on the scoreboard, with Law sweeping around left end for a 20-yard score. Then, after Law’s interception gave Concord the ball back near midfield, Nemo slipped through the Blue Devil defense for a 36-yard touchdown. Marc Gaudet’s second of four PATs put Concord up, 14-0, just seven minutes into the game.

A 32-yard reception from Jacob Szulc and a great surge from the offensive line of Seth Gosse, Sean Larner, Kyle Corriveau, Wyatt LaBombard and Kyle Cushman helped set up Nemo’s 2-yard plunge for a 20-0 lead in the second quarter before a pair of turnovers late in the half helped Salem get back in it on an 11-yard touchdown run from Jason Martinez.

With the O-line asserting itself and Nemo and Law getting great blocks from Nate Mullen and Gaudet, Concord went right back to work in the second half. Law scored on an 11-yard run, and after a 29-yard TD reception from Salem’s John Hartman, the Tide put together a seven-minute drive, capped by Law’s quarterback sneak from a yard out.

With that, Concord celebrated its victory with seniors Braum Griffin and Sam Kilham getting their first playing time of the season to help stop Salem’s final two possessions.

And even though the Tide won’t be playing in the semifinals in two weeks, it does have one game left, against Division II Spaulding.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to get our goal of having a winning record. And we’re going to work our tails off to do that,” Brown said. “And knowing these kids, I’m confident they’re going to be hungry for a win next week and not just finishing off the season disappointed that we didn’t make (the playoffs).”

(Sandy Smith can be reached at ssmith@cmonitor.com or 369-3339.)