Concord head coach Jim Corkum is only in his second year leading the football program, but he’s already seeing the culture he wants to establish blossoming after his team’s 4-1 start.
Even though there were some uneven performances from his team on Friday night, the Crimson Tide still picked up a comfortable 42-24 victory over Nashua South (0-6) in a game that featured several long runs and a couple of successful onside kick recoveries.
Junior running back Eli Bahuma headlined the offensive attack as he’s done for most of the season, accounting for three rushing touchdowns on 20 carries for 231 yards.
Just over five minutes into the opening quarter, Bahuma got Concord on the board with a 34-yard run. Then after recovering the ensuing onside kick, Tide quarterback Zack Doward (3-for-7 passing, 49 yards, 31 rush yards, two TD) ran in a 6-yard TD. Though Nashua South responded with a touchdown of its own to make it 14-6, Bahuma and Concord quickly responded with an 8-yard TD run.
“He’s such a humble, coachable kid,” Corkum said of his running back. “He comes to practice every single day. He does what he’s told. You watch him, he’s special. A play is never over when he’s getting the rock. He’s been such a huge piece of our team’s success.”
Concord scored on each of its first four possessions, including two resulting from onside kick recoveries. The first, coming after the first TD, was a more traditional onside attempt, squibbed roughly 10 yards; the second was a pop-up kick that landed around the Nashua South 30-yard-line for the Tide to fall on.
That play set up a 30 yard TD run for Divon Ducan (82 rush yards on seven carries).
While special teams at the high school level might be more of an afterthought to offense and defense, Corkum credited his kicker Jacob Plante for doing what they’d done in practice all week.
“We had just seen some things on film that their front line seemed to bail out a little early before the ball was kicked,” he said. “And on our second one, we said, ‘Let’s see how they respond to a high one that’s kinda short,’ and again, it worked out well for us. It’s something we practice all the time, so I’m just happy the kids were able to execute it.”
Everything wasn’t perfect for Concord, though. The Tide carried a 28-6 lead to halftime but were then outscored 18-14 in the second half. Corkum was quick to credit the Panthers for the intensity they played with, but he also knows his team still has work to do over the next few weeks if his team wants to best position itself for the playoffs.
“We had some mental breakdowns of assignments,” he said. “We can’t let those happen anymore, so we’ve got some corrections to make.”
Notably, Nashua South quarterback Karsten Lemire gave the Concord defense some difficulty with his speed and agility. He finished the game passing 12-for-28 for 190 yards and a TD, while rushing for 64 yards and a TD on 13 carries.
With three games left to play in the regular season, including matchups with two teams sandwiched between them in the standings entering play Friday night (Pinkerton and Windham), the Tide won’t be able to celebrate their four-game winning streak for long.
But regardless of how the rest of the season unfolds, Concord football has already shown a steady improvement since Corkum took over last season. Through their first five games this year, the Tide have scored 42 points or more in all but one of them. The comprehensive success is something Corkum attributes to his team finding its identity.
“They’re seeing the success and their hard work come to fruition,” he said. “We’re getting to a point now where we’re coming to the games, and they’re expecting to win, and that’s huge. Learning how to win games and knowing how to win and expecting to win shouldn’t be undersold. I think we’re starting to do that. Our kids have been doing a great job. They’re living, breathing football, and it makes our job easier.”