Tide players and coaches know that in order to take the next step forward, they needs to start beating, not just competing with, some of the state’s best.
Even so, a win against the defending champion Londonderry Lancers in the first game of the season seemed a lofty goal. But the Concord High football team nearly pulled it off.
The Crimson Tide took the lead in the first quarter, made some incredible plays, and were the more composed and collected team on the field in most of Friday night’s 34-24 loss at home at Memorial Field.
It was a game that will go in the loss column, but in almost every other way, it was a win.
“I’m really, really, proud of our guys,” Concord head coach Jim Corkum said. “They came out against who everyone else has pinned as the top team in New Hampshire. Deservedly so. They have a really good football team and program down there. I thought we really battled.”
It didn’t look like it would be that close early on. The Tide went four and out on the game’s first possession and Londonderry senior running back Andrew Soucy (120 rush yards on 10 carries, two catches for 15 yards) ran in a 21-yard touchdown after just five Lancer plays.
“(Londonderry is) fast in every position,” Corkum said. “The message to our kids was ‘you’re going to see a team speed that you haven’t seen in two years.’ ”
But on the next drive Concord senior running back Divon Duncan (88 rush yards on five carries) broke free down the sideline, scoring a 49-yard touchdown to tie the game, and started a series of events that drastically shifted momentum.
A hard tackle forced Soucy to fumble the ball and senior defensive lineman/tight end Austin Wells was there to recover the ball and give Concord possession.
“I saw a sea of hands going in and ripping at the ball like we practice every single day,” Corkum said. “It paid off.”
On the next play, senior quarterback Zack Doward (9-for-22, 112 passing yards) pitched the ball to Duncan who connected with senior receiver Matt O’Rourke (63 yards on three receptions) in the end zone on a 46-yard passing play to give Concord a 14-7 lead with 4:41 left in the first quarter.
“They were all echoing to each other ‘lot of game left, lot of game left’ (after falling behind), Corkum said. “We hadn’t even had a chance to show how we can move the football. We had some kids stepping up in some big ways.”
Soucy scored on a 4-yard run to tie the game, 14-14, at the end of the first quarter and Londonderry senior quarterback Drew Heenan (10-for-14, 232 pass yards, 29 rush yards on eight carries) connected with Andrew Kullman (173 receiving yards on five catches) for a 65-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead.
Concord’s senior kicker Jacob Plante (3-for-3 on extra points) drilled a 26-yard field to make it 21-17 at halftime.
Londonderry’s Anthony Amaro (21-yard run) and Heenan (4-yard keeper) scored in the third quarter to extend the lead to 34-17, but the Tide kept its composure and played the cleaner game out of the two teams down the stretch.
Concord had the ball in the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but were forced to go for a field goal. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Lancers during the kick gave the Tide another set of downs near the end zone, and a holding penalty on Concord’s second field goal attempt gave the Tide yet another set of downs.
Doward lateraled the ball to a teammate behind the line of scrimmage who dropped it. Londonderry assumed it was an incomplete pass, but senior wide receiver Isaiah Turner picked up the fumbled ball and took it 5 yards for another seven points, cutting Londonderry’s lead to 34-24 with 3:27 left in the game.
Londonderry committed eight penalties, compared to just three Tide flags.
“It’s week one. There’s still teams that are making some mistakes here and there,” Corkum said. “We made plenty of them tonight too. Trying to stay cool and calm as they were getting this way down to this part of the field (was key).”
Concord played heads up football all night and Corkum praised the offensive line, highlighting sophomore Kenny Mercado as an example of a younger player who “stepped up and made some big plays.”
“On certain plays we needed (the offensive line) to seal the corner, seal the edge to get around, and we had faith in them,” Corkum said.
He also was impressed with his team’s ability to keep Londonderry’s speed in check and somewhat contain the Lancers’ explosive offensive, shouting out junior Conner Hughes and his aggressiveness at safety.
Another highlight was junior running back Elia Bahuma, who ran for 57 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes for 17 yards in his first game back after missing all of last season due to an injury.
Doward showed he could move the ball and made connections with six different receivers on his nine completions, including a huge, fully-extended grab by senior Peyton Enis Yearout on a third and 10 that set up Concord’s first touchdown.
Defensively, senior linebacker Zach McCoy intercepted a Heenan pass to end Londonderry’s last drive of the first half and senior lineman Nate Feudner had a fumble recovery.
The Tide defense had three takeaways, while the Lancers had none.
“The kids, they were geared up for this game today,” Corkum said. “I had not seen a focus in the team like that at all last year. There was something different about them tonight. They were ready to go.”
Concord next plays at Keene on Friday night.