NASHUA — Third-and-goal for Nashua North, trailing by seven points to Concord with the last minute of the fourth quarter winding down. The Crimson Tide hadn’t scored since the beginning of the second half, and all of the momentum was on the Titans’ side on their senior night at home.
All it took was one big moment. One special play to keep the Tide rolling.
Seniors Jax Diachenko and Curtis Cooper pushed right through the offensive line. Diachenko came around the edge and got behind senior Nashua North quarterback Brady O’Connor. The Titans’ passer had nowhere to go with Cooper already in his face, his arms raised to hit the football out of his hands to force a fumble.
Cooper’s fumble recovery sealed a narrow 21-14 Concord victory over the Titans at Stellos Stadium on Friday night.
“I was playing line knowing that our team needed that one and I just went in, created that moment,” the defensive lineman said.
After losing the last two weeks to Pinkerton and Haverhill, Mass., Concord needed that win.
It was a night filled with adversity for the Tide, between a heavy downpour that stunted its offense, injuries and flags all over the place and a surging Titans team that fought them to the wire.
Nashua North head coach Chad Zibolis confirmed post-game that if his team had scored a touchdown, they wouldn’t have tried to tie the game. The Titans would have gone for the two-point conversion and the win.
The Tide defense got the job done when it mattered most to improve their record to 4-3.
“Proud of our guys; they fought hard. Credit to North; they fought hard too, so it could’ve gone either way at the end,” Concord head coach Mike Leonard said. “We were in a bend-don’t-break mentality there at the end.”
The game started near-perfect for Concord. On the first series, junior quarterback Rhys Craigue found junior receiver Lucas Jefferson wide-open on third-and-7 for a 39-yard touchdown.
The defense forced a punt and Concord drove right back down to the end zone its the next possession. Craigue went two-for-two to junior Nick Marquis and senior running back Colin Savard did what he knows best — follow his blockers and gain big yardage on the ground. Savard scored the second TD on a four-yard outside run, outpacing Nashua’s defense.
Concord drove down once more in the first quarter after repeatedly stunting the Titans’ offensive plans with good coverage and strong play by the line and linebackers across the middle.
Sophomore Methuselah Doe rushed in the third touchdown to begin the second quarter, and that’s when it started to rain.
The subsequent three quarters did not favor Concord.
The Titans ran the ball effectively with sophomore Jace Gallego and freshman Xavier Maldonado, who looked far more experienced than their ages would suggest. Maldonado, especially for a 14-year-old freshman, fought through the Tide’s heavy-hitting defense and found gaps like a veteran. North notched its first touchdown to bring the score closer on a third down through Maldonado’s rushing.
As the rain continued to pour, Concord’s Savard took a big hit with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter and was helped off the field. His absence and the uncertainty around the offense’s ability to keep producing deflated the Tide.
Savard returned to running like his regular self in the fourth quarter and gave some life back to Concord, but by then Nashua North was surging. On a long drive beginning in the third quarter, the Titans drove downfield for their second score.
They went to Maldonado on five subsequent plays, earning first down after first down, gaining 33 yards and scoring with 7:12 remaining in the period.
Concord and Nashua failed to convert on their subsequent drives, with Savard having a touchdown called back for a chop block and a missed 37-yard field goal keeping the game close.
Diachenko, Marquis, Cooper and juniors Ethan Dunbar, Sebastian Telus and Chase Haskell all came up with big tackles late in the game and resisted Nashua’s advances.
“This is the biggest win of the year, I’d say, because we need one more and we get a home playoff game, and that’s what we’ve wanted since January,” Savard said after battling through injury.
The Tide will have to muster up some more offense and limit its penalties when it returns to action on Friday night, facing a test against 5-2 Portsmouth-Oyster River on the seacoast.