With its return to Memorial Field on Saturday, Concord was hoping it could shake off the last two weeks from being on the road and get in the win column.
The Crimson Tide’s efforts, however, fell short, 48-28, to Portsmouth-Oyster River behind a second half plagued with penalties and turnovers.
Concord started the second half with its defense on its heels. The Tide, on the first play from scrimmage, jumped offsides and gave the Clippercats a plus-five advantage to start their first drive.
Eleven plays and 58 yards later, the Tide let in the touchdown that gave Portsmouth only its second lead of the game.
Following a short drive of their own that featured a false start and a fumble, the Crimson Tide were forced to punt to a red-hot Clippercats offense.
Even shorter than the first drive, the Tide allowed quarterback Will Hindle to score his second touchdown that gave Portsmouth a two-touchdown lead.
Where the figurative spike in the game took place happened on the following kickoff. Portsmouth squibbed the kick with a line drive between two players on Concord’s front line. The middle returners mishandled the ball, and the Clippercats recovered the fumble inside Tide territory.
Concord almost forced a fourth-down stop, but Hindle handled a high snap and, with all his receivers covered, scored on a 41-yard scramble.
The Tide struggled to contain Portsmouth’s do-it-all quarterback as he scored three of its four second-half touchdowns.
Hindle’s explosiveness in the second half gave Concord fits throughout the afternoon. His ability to effectively manage run-pass option plays put the Tide in bad spots and led to two of his three second-half scores.
“They have some great players on their team,” Concord head coach Jim Corkum said. “Their quarterback is a special athlete. You might think you have him and then, all of a sudden, he scrambles for 30 yards or finding a guy open in a zone.”
Different play in the opening and closing halves has been the story of Concord’s season, according to Corkum. In their last two games, the Tide have either only trailed by a score or were tied with their opponents at the half and then lost the game by more than two scores.
As head coach, Corkum has put the blame on himself and has the realization that many of his players are two-way guys for Concord. However, with its small roster size, Concord will have to start putting together full games and not just halves.
“We said that was a huge point of focus in practice this week is being ready to play a full football game,” he said. “I thought that we were ready, but the assessment today is that we weren’t.
“You want to get off to a fast start in that first half, but you have to be able to sustain that start in the second half.”
Concord quarterback Zack Doward and the rest of the offensive crew still gave itself a chance after its forgetful opening drive. Doward, who threw touchdown passes of 56 and 24 yards in the game, remained cool under pressure as the Clippercats’ pass rush ramped up in order to keep their lead.
Doward also commanded another potent day on the ground for the Tide with a touchdown from one yard out, and senior running back Kody Rashed also scored from a yard out.
The junior’s performance was a bright spot in an otherwise murky display at Memorial Field, and the growth he’s made throughout the season is something that has Corkum excited for the back half of the schedule.
“He’s a kid who wants to get better,” Corkum said. “He’s always asking for questions and for feedback on what to do, and if you give him feedback, he’ll fix what he needs to do. He keeps taking those steps.”
At the halfway point of the season, the Tide (1-3) surely haven’t gotten the start they would’ve liked, but there’s plenty of reason to hold optimism.
Their offense has averaged double-digit points, most of which have been through the ground, and that plays into their strengths as a team. Not only the strengths, but the identity that Corkum has set up for his team.
Concord’s second half of the season will go as far as its defensive adjustments allow. In its first four games, excluding the shutout over Spaulding, Concord’s fewest number of points allowed was 39 to Dover. Overall, in their last three games, the Tide have allowed an average of 43 points scored.
Whether it’s through schematics or a return to fundamentals, if the defense can sharpen up in the back half of the season, the Tide have as good of a chance as anyone to run the table.
“This one falls directly on me,” Corkum said. “I’ve got to coach better, our coaches have to coach better and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Tide’s second half of the season starts on Friday when they host Goffstown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.