Concord High football’s hopes of exacting revenge flew in the air with four seconds left in the game. Junior quarterback Rhys Craigue aired a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, hoping it would find a teammate’s hands. It fell into Windham’s Quinn Belair’s instead.
Concord fell to the Jaguars, 31-28, at National Guard Field on Friday night. It was a rematch of last year’s first round Division I overtime thriller, that saw Windham win 20-14 to eliminate the Crimson Tide.
Concord’s fate on Friday night was sealed as Belair was engulfed by jubilant teammates and fans. History didn’t repeat itself, and Concord didn’t blow a two-touchdown lead this time around, but the Jaguars found a way to come out on top by one score — again.
Concord’s second half was nearly perfect after a lopsided first half saw it trailing 28-14.
“The first half was not Concord football. The second half was our brand. That’s what we’re trying to continue through the rest of the season,” Craigue said after the loss.
It all started off on the wrong foot. On the second play of the game, Windham junior quarterback Jackson Wright found senior receiver Sam Roidoulis on a slant that turned into a 56-yard touchdown to open it up.
Concord didn’t move much on its first offensive series. Windham got the ball back and methodically marched downfield when Wright found his other key receiver, 6-foot-5 Central Catholic (Mass.) senior transfer Chris Boyd, for a touchdown.
Concord senior running back Colin Savard knew the offense needed to get something going, so on the ensuing kick return he took the ball for 85 yards all the way to the end zone, breaking multiple tackles through the middle before finding the sideline and the points.
The Tide’s offense found its rhythm and grew throughout the game, but the defense didn’t find a way to contain Windham’s versatile attack in that first half. It was un uphill battle of its own making. Three of Windham’s touchdowns came through the air, and Concord’s defenders either missed by a step or couldn’t bring the opponent down to stop them.
Tide coach Mike Leonard said it was a “hell of a lesson to learn” to start the season. Coming out slow and reeling from the get-go is not a recipe for success in Division I football, and Concord knows it now.
Leonard thought his team showed grit and mental toughness to stick through until the very last second, and he believes the Tide can take this experience into the rest of the season and use it for the better.
“It’s great to see the fight that our kids have. We just gotta put it together now for four (quarters) instead of just two,” Leonard said.
The Tide flashed big-play potential throughout.
Craigue showed his mobility and arm strength with impressive connections. He scored two touchdowns in the second half, one rushing and one through the air to running back Curtis Cooper. Savard scored the Tide’s two first-half touchdowns with his power on the ground.
Juniors Lucas Jefferson and Nick Marquis showed up in key moments with clutch receptions on offense and big tackles on defense. Seniors Jax Diachenko and Raider Agan and junior Sebastian Telus all did the dirty work in the trenches, holding the Windham offense to just three points in the second half. On defense, sophomore Methuselah Doe shut down Windham’s Boyd on multiple pass attempts to keep the Jaguars at bay.
Diachenko, a defensive leader who had two sacks on the day and multiple tackles for losses, knew his offensive line unit came out flat and so did the defense.
“It all starts with practice. When you set the tone in practice and come out really quick on Monday,” he said on how the Tide can bounce back.
The secondary — juniors Edison Harerimana, Finn Gfroerer and Marquis — and outside linebackers Jefferson and junior Chase Haskell improved in the second half. The unit will need to prove it can contain D-I’s best offensive threats as the season progresses if Concord hopes to make a playoff push again.
Savard had a nearly complete game, except for one fumble on a punt return that gave the ball back to Windham. Only 35 yards away from the end zone to start the drive, the Jags got within field goal range and knocked one down to reach 31 points.
Still, his belief in himself and the team was unshaken after Friday.
“We decided to, honestly, just trust ourselves, trust each other, and I think that’s what really helped us push through,” Savard said. “It didn’t go the way we wanted, but if we keep this pace up, I’m pretty sure we’re going to be a damn good football team.”
It wasn’t a perfect game by Concord, but it wasn’t the blowout it could have become. It came down to one final play that could have won the game. The Tide visits Alvirne for its next game on Friday in Hudson.
