Football: Concord dominates Windham, 20-7

Cheerleaders and fans alike wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer on Concord’s Friday night win over Windham.

Cheerleaders and fans alike wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer on Concord’s Friday night win over Windham. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Cheerleaders and fans alike wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer in Concord’s Friday night win over Windham.

Cheerleaders and fans alike wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer in Concord’s Friday night win over Windham. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Concord running Tim Fahnbulleh had 63 yards on the ground and a touchdown during the Crimson Tide’s 20-7 win over the Windham Jaguars.

Concord running Tim Fahnbulleh had 63 yards on the ground and a touchdown during the Crimson Tide’s 20-7 win over the Windham Jaguars. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Concord’s defense swarms a Windham player in during a game on Friday night. The Tide’s defense was outstanding in a 20-7 victory.

Concord’s defense swarms a Windham player in during a game on Friday night. The Tide’s defense was outstanding in a 20-7 victory. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Wide receiver Brett Tuttle celebrates a 38-yard touchdown with quarterback Colby Nyhan after taking a 14-7 lead before halftime on Friday night.

Wide receiver Brett Tuttle celebrates a 38-yard touchdown with quarterback Colby Nyhan after taking a 14-7 lead before halftime on Friday night. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

Wide receiver Brett Tuttle catches a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colby Nyhan, giving Concord a 14-7 lead before halftime on Friday night. 

Wide receiver Brett Tuttle catches a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colby Nyhan, giving Concord a 14-7 lead before halftime on Friday night.  Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

QB and kicker Colby Nyhan scored a touchdown through the air and posted eight points through two extra-point attempts and two field goals in the Tide’s 20-7 win over Windham.

QB and kicker Colby Nyhan scored a touchdown through the air and posted eight points through two extra-point attempts and two field goals in the Tide’s 20-7 win over Windham. Chip Griffin / Photos by Chip

By ALEXANDER RAPP

Monitor staff

Published: 10-05-2024 10:29 AM

Modified: 10-05-2024 6:28 PM


Concord’s football team kept its playoff aspirations alive with a win against Windham at home on Friday night in a much-needed victory. The Crimson Tide (3-1) beat Windham, 20-7, and shut out the Jaguars (2-2) after they opened the scoring early in the second quarter.

Concord hadn’t won since its homecoming victory on Sept. 14 and suffered tough losses to Division I perennial powerhouse Londonderry and a bye week exhibition defeat t0 Malden Catholic (Mass.), both by 35-7 scores.

“(Against Windham) it wasn’t just playing four quarters, but playing tough and gritty,” said head coach Jim Corkum. “It could be an overtime game, like you got to gear yourself up for that right now and not let the moment get too big and just go out and play tough.”

After running back Hayden Tedesco scored for the Jaguars with a 6-yard run, Windham attempted a squib kick that allowed Concord to receive the ball in great field position.

“We gave up that early score and then they really locked in and played really tough,” said Corkum. “The key to beating that offense is that you don't try to do too much. You play your job and play your spot and do that throughout the entire game.”

Quarterback Colby Nyhan started that short drive with a 9-yard run and running back Tim Fahnbulleh took it from there. Nyhan completed a 25-yard pass to Travis Dunbar to set the Tide up for back-to-back Fahnbulleh runs to get even.

Fahnbulleh’s opening touchdown was a strong 13-yard carry down the left side as he broke two tackles and walked into the endzone easily.

“I feel like I did great. but there are still some things I could fix, but overall, I think we did great as a team,” he said post-game. “I ran hard.”

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Windham’s next drive was stunted by great defense. Defensive backs Sawyer McCready, Travis Dunbar and Angelino Rodriguez came up with huge tackles to force the Jaguars to punt with three minutes on the clock in the first half.

The Tide’s next drive was perfect. Nyhan completed two big passes to Benjamin Ryder for gains of 19 and nine yards, respectively, Fahnbulleh had an 11-yard carry, and the drive was capped off by a long pass to the endzone to wide receiver Brett Tuttle for a 38-yard touchdown.

“We're going two plays in a row. We did the QB sneak, and then that was our next play. I saw I had (Tuttle) downfield, so I threw it up, trusted my guy, and the line did a great job blocking,” said Nyhan. “We scored and that was pretty awesome.”

In the second half, Concord had good drives but settled for two field goals on fourth downs. Fortunately for the Tide, the defense held up their end and shut down Windham.

“They had a pretty good red zone defense, but overall, we got some points out of the drive which is always a positive,” said Nyhan.

The mood at the game was high — not only for the football team achieving a big win at home — but because attendees brought donations for New Hampshire Tackles Hunger, and because it was breast cancer awareness night. Players had pink socks, referees had pink whistles and cheerleaders and fans were decked out in pink everything.

Concord now has a 3-1 record, but also has a tough schedule ahead and will have to face some of the top teams in D-I. Next, the Tide hosts Manchester Memorial (4-0) on senior night on Thursday, and will end the season with games against Alvirne (3-2), Pinkerton (3-1) and Salem (3-1).