Some of the last players to the leave Memorial Field on Friday night were the first ones on it.
It took a few moments before Kaevryel Madison, Hunter Jeffers or Kody Rashed stepped off the damp grassy field for their last time as members of the Crimson Tide.
The trio of senior captains played their last game and while Friday’s game will be a bittersweet memory – a 42-19 loss to Exeter – their contributions to restoring life into the football program will be remembered for years to come.
Concord (3-6) attempted an onside kick to open the game, and it backfired as the Blue Hawks (6-2) picked up the loose ball for a 75-yard touchdown return.
If the opening kickoff wasn’t indicative of the troubles the Tide ran into Friday night against a finely tuned Exeter program, touchdown drives of 83 and 36 yards might suffice. Or the 39-yard interception returned for a touchdown.
The list goes on and on, but even so, Concord managed to carve out pockets of success as it has done all year long.
Junior quarterback Zack Doward engineered a drive where he connected with wide receiver Matt O’Rourke for a 22-yard pass and catch that put the Tide into Exeter territory. A few minutes later, Doward snuck his way into the end zone for Concord’s first touchdown of the game.
With most of the Exeter starters pulled, it didn’t matter who the Tide were playing against in the second half. They were playing with something to prove and not to their opponent, but to themselves.
“We knew we were up against a tough team,” coach Jim Corkum said, “We knew this was our last game and I said, ‘Let’s finish the right way.’ I think we did that.”
And indeed they did.
The Tide outscored the Blue Hawks, 12-7, in the second half, with touchdowns from Divon Duncan and Rashed. Despite the game being well out of hand in terms of a comeback, Concord didn’t look the part of a wounded, emotional animal.
It looked like a group of high school kids playing under the lights one last time together and, win or lose, that’s something no record can take away from them.
Year one under Corkum had incredible highs and basement-level lows. Truthfully, the Tide were a handful of plays between their current record and a mark that might reflect a little more accurately what this program was capable of doing.
In the offseason Corkum had many conversations with Exeter’s Bill Ball – the renowned coach and someone who Corkum said is the standard of New Hampshire football – on what it’s like to run a program and be successful.
Those conversations had glimpses of reality throughout the season.
With a foundation now built with nine games as the support, the offseason won’t be spent learning new things, but rather building upon what the Tide now know.
“I’m already counting down the days (until next season),” Corkum said. “We’re going to spend a lot of time at the middle school just building the numbers up, keep our kids together. We’ve got a lot coming back.
“This summer is going to look a lot different than last summer.”
Those summer days won’t be for a while yet. A long winter awaits in the weight room and wherever field access awaits for kids who want to hone their skills prior to the dog days of camp.
As the quarterback, Doward highlights the list of returners and plans to put all of his energy into making sure that next season is one to remember.
“I’m dedicating my life to this Concord football,” he said. “This offseason I’m working with all my receivers, running backs, be in the gym and on the field. Once we put it all together, I think we can be unstoppable.”
The future is bright at Concord. The next step forward is already under way, not even a night after the last.