When Concord High football Coach Eric Brown took his team out for its final test drive a week ago, he experienced some sputtering problems. When the Tide rolled out for its season opener on Friday, those same sputters and stalls reappeared.
Concord cruised up and down the field against perennial power Pinkerton, but nearly every time it punched the accelerator, the Tide stalled, eventually falling, 19-7, on a night when the community honored former principal Gene Connolly by naming the Memorial Field press box in his honor.
“My concern is, against Central (in a preseason scrimmage) we moved the ball, and then we stalled and didn’t put it in. Same thing tonight, so that’s a concern,” Brown said. “We’re bogging down and I don’t know why. Is it the wrong plays I’m calling? I don’t know, but we’re going to figure that out.”
Over the course of the game, Concord drove inside the Pinkerton 30-yard line on eight of its nine possessions, but only once did the Tide convert the forward momentum into points.
Pinkerton threatened to make it a blowout early on, scoring just three plays into the game behind the sharp, quick cuts of Nico Buccieri (176 yards on 19 carries) and the speed of Ty Hicks (92 yards, six carries), who reached the end zone from 33 yards out for the early lead.
Concord responded with the power ground game of Kevin Suarez (118 yards, 26 carries) and the arm of Christian McClellan (183 yards on 13-of-34 passing), reaching the Astros 27 before coming up short on fourth down. The next drive penetrated the red zone, but again stalled on fourth down.
Pinkerton took advantage, using a 50-yard run by Hicks – stopped only after being run down from behind by George Tarwo – to set up Buccieri’s 3-yard leap at the line for a 13-0 lead.
Concord again drove deep into Pinkerton territory before an interception ended the drive. But the Astros gave the ball right back on a fumble, and this time the Tide made good. McClellan connected with Matt Burke on a perfectly executed 35-yard scoring strike to the right corner of the end zone, cutting the deficit to 13-7 with 43 seconds to go before halftime.
“We did some good things at times. We ran the ball well, Kevin Suarez was a horse. He’s a hard-nosed runner. He’s a north-south guy and that’s what we like,” Brown said. “And Christian did well, too. He’s got a strong arm, he’s just got to develop a little touch.”
The Tide recovered the onside kick and moved to the 24, but had two passes to the end zone fall incomplete as time ran out.
While Concord’s defense stiffened in the third quarter, keeping the Astros off the scoreboard while limiting them to just seven plays, the offense was still struggling to put up points, with drives stalling at the Pinkerton 10, 45 and 4.
The dagger was inserted early in the fourth quarter, with the Tide controlling play but still trailing by a single touchdown, 13-7. Concord stuffed the Astros on three straight plays, forcing a fourth-and-8 from Pinkerton’s own 22. But with everyone at Memorial Field expecting a punt, Coach Brian O’Reilly reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out a 19-yard pass from kicker Andrew Lufkin to a wide-open Tyler Mackiernan.
Not only did the play give Pinkerton new life, it sparked the Astros on an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by Buccieri’s 5-yard sprint around left end for the final 19-7 score with 7:47 to play.
“It’s making plays when we need to make them,” Brown said. “We’ve got to be able to do that; I think we have the talent to do that, we just didn’t do it tonight.”
Lebanon 34, Merrimack Valley 20
Key players: MV – Evan Martin (7-for-15, 72 yards, TD, interception; 26 carries, 174 yards, 2 rushing TDs), Ryan Neylon (6 rushes, 111 yards, 22-yard TD reception), Mike Smith (9 tackles), Chase Keyser (good blocking); Lebanon – Ryan Milliken (more than 200 yards rushing)
Highlights/key moments: With Martin and Neylon leading the way on offense, the Pride stayed in striking distance. But MV had no answer for Lebanon’s Milliken, who ran wild and broke severa;l long scoring runs to lead the Raiders to the win.
Coach’s quote: “We are very young, very inexperienced, and a lot of that inexperience showed. … Milliken exposed a lot. The kid’s phenomenal. He’s legit. He really is. I have nothing but respect for how they play him.” – MV’s Jim Coll
Records: MV 0-1; Lebanon 1-0
Winnisquam 34, Somersworth 19
Key players: Winnisquam – Brendan Vaughn (8 catches, 237 yards, 2 TDs), Hunter Tierney (284 passing yards, 3 TDs; 60-yard rushing TD), Garrett Patten (38-yard receiving TD), Isaiah Singleton (8 tackles), Tyler Moran (sack)
Highlights/key moments: With Somersworth playing the run, the Bears turned to the pass and gashed the Hilltoppers through the air.
Coach’s quote: “Just a good way to start off the season, go on the road and pick up a win.” – Winnisquam’s Pat Riberdy
Records: Winnisquam 1-0; Somersworth 0-1
Kennett 43, Belmont-Gilford 22
Highlights/key moments: Belmont-Gilford stumbled out of the gate against the Eagles, a Division II semifinalist last year.
Records: Kennett 1-0; Belmont-Gilford 0-1
Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton 34, Manchester West 0
Key players: H-D/H – Prince Mansah (3 rushing TDs, 110 yards rushing), Sage Dubois (166 yards rushing, TD, 11 tackles), Liam Flanagan (10 tackles, 2 deflections, sack), Henry Yianakopolos (11 tackles, 2 deflections, interception), Aidan Horne (team-high 16 tackles), Carter Quiet (interception), Reed Cullen (interception).
Highlights/key moments: Mansah returned the opening kickoff for an 86 yard touchdown in Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton’s NHIAA debut. He finished with 196 total yards. The defense allowed 120 yards and recorded three interceptions.
Records: Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton 1-0; Manchester West 0-1