Concord football earns first playoff victory at home since 2013

Colin Savard has played football on Memorial Field since he was 10 years old. After scoring 20 points himself to win the Crimson Tide’s first playoff game in 13 years, his last game on that field, he rushed the student section after the final whistle.

Concord hosted its first playoff game since 2013 and did just enough to stop No. 9 Salem on the final drive to win, 25-19.

“I think it means a lot to the team and the town especially,” Savard said. “I’m just proud of everyone.”

The eighth-seeded Crimson Tide led by two scores at halftime, both from Savard, and relied on him late to score a crucial touchdown and two-point conversion to make the score 25-12 with four and a half minutes remaining.

Salem’s senior Jewry Nunez scored a kick return on the very next play, and it was a one-score game again.

Concord only advanced 13 yards on its next drive, and Savarad punted it down to the 2-yard line. Salem was forced to drive all the way downfield with 2:25 remaining. They did march all the way down and had two shots at the end zone as the clock ticked down.

The first slipped through the hands of senior Zachary Santermano. With four seconds remaining, junior quarterback Mason Van threw it up, this time through the hands of David Chandler Jr.

Game over. Concord played playoff-winning football again.

Concord survived with some help from weather and luck. They bent but didn’t break. The ending had shades of their away win at Nashua North in the regular season, 21-14, where they stopped the Titans in the red zone with less than a minute to go.

“Sometimes that’s football and all you gotta do is hang on there at the end. Seems to be our M.O. this year,” Concord Coach Mike Leonard said. “We’re kind of like the heart attack kids.”

Concord’s offense ran through Savard again in the rain. Junior quarterback Rhys Craigue said that he thought he’d throw more, but quickly found out how slippery conditions were.

That bend-don’t-break mentality has carried Concord far this year, but it will have to push a bit more to win its next one.

The Crimson Tide will play away at No. 1 Windham (8-1) in the quarterfinals and once again try to get revenge over the Jaguars.

The Jaguars beat them in overtime of last year’s playoffs, and beat them again to open this season, 31-28.

Craigue will have a shot at redemption in the playoffs after he exited last year’s match with an arm injury. He’s excited to face them again. It’s been circled on his calendar for a long time.

The product on the field at Memorial Field was great this year and ended on a high note. The Crimson Tide fought hard to earn its 5-3 record and secure a third consecutive playoff berth.

Concord hasn’t quite enjoyed the comforts of home despite its strong season either. The Tide have only won one game at Memorial Field this year, 40-0, against the Manchester Central Little Green. They lost to Haverhill in an out-of-state game; they lost their home opener to Windham at the National Guard’s field and finished the season with a 21-12 loss to Londonderry.

The playoff showed they didn’t need a huge crowd to pull off a win, though.

Craigue said it was a great experience to win at home, especially for his senior teammates. He saw a lot of faces he recognized who were seniors when he was a freshman. He saw the players who helped set the winning culture that Concord now has.

He knows how much this playoff win meant to them too.

“People watching our game, that it means something to them, not just us, is really good to see,” Craigue said.

After the win over Central, Leonard said that the boys felt best playing at home and had wanted to return to Memorial Field. As much as they’ve wanted to play at home, it hasn’t translated into results. The atmosphere is quieter, the fan capacity is lower and it can be felt throughout the field on game nights.