Concord football makes most of opportunities to beat Exeter in D1 semifinals

CONCORD – With time running out in the first half of Saturday’s Division I semifinal, the Concord High School football team faced a big fourth down play at Exeter’s 12-yard line.

The play called for desperation, but just like the rest of the game, there was none from the Crimson Tide.

Instead, quarterback Robert Law dumped the ball off to running back Walters Ndi and the senior did the rest, making his way into the end zone for a touchdown. The two-point conversion gave Concord a 14-10 lead at the break and the top-seeded Tide never trailed again, beating No. 4 Exeter 22-10 at Memorial Field.

The win sends Concord (11-0) to the D1 championship game for the first time since 2002, where it will face No. 3 Pinkerton next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Concord. The Astros knocked off No. 2 Keene 44-20 in the other semifinal.

Ndi, Marc Gaudet and Leo Sudieh each had a touchdown and Law completed 7 of 15 passes for 116 yards, as the Tide managed to outgain Exeter 337-252 despite running 27 fewer plays.

“We knew that was their game plan, time-consuming drives and eating the clock,” Concord coach Eric Brown said. “We wanted to make the most of our possessions and I think we did that. We found the end zone when we needed to.”

Exeter (7-4) possessed the ball for 18:48 of the first half and had a 10-6 lead before Ndi’s touchdown with 26 seconds left before the break. Jay Inzenga led the Blue Hawks with 126 yards rushing, including a 19-yard touchdown run, but that score was the only one of Exeter’s 58 rushing attempts to go for more than 8 yards.

“That’s fine because the clock was moving,” Exeter coach Bill Ball said about the lack of big plays on offense. “I don’t think we could have scripted the first half any better, except for the last 20 seconds. That was the script and they made a play at the end. That’s what it’s all about, making plays, especially this time of year. That was a big play.”

Exeter got one on the opening kickoff of the second half, recovering a Concord fumble at the Tide’s 29, but on the first play from scrimmage, the Blue Hawks gave the ball right back with a fumble of their own.

After allowing a 66-yard run by Sudieh that helped the Tide get into Blue Hawks’ territory, the Exeter defense stepped up and stopped Concord at the 4-yard line.

The Blue Hawks picked up two first downs after the stop, but on second-and-7 from the Exeter 35, Joey Jones was intercepted by Concord’s Seimou Smith at midfield. Four plays later, Sudieh scored from 4 yards out and another two-point conversion put Concord up 22-10 with 3:05 left in the third.

Exeter put together a long drive in the fourth quarter, but that stalled at Concord’s 11-yard line and the Tide were able to use up enough of the clock to put the game out of reach.

“I’m just so proud of the kids and the way they handled the ebbs and flows of the game,” Brown said. “Offensively, we did some nice things that I thought we could do. Defense really stepped up big. I can’t tell you how proud I am, the way they sucked it up and played hard against a good football team.”

Concord will try for its first championship since 2000, when it defeated Manchester Central 38-0 to win its fourth football title. Pinkerton, which lost to the Tide 21-14 in overtime on Oct. 11, is playing in the championship game for the fourth straight year and ninth time in the last 10 years.

“We know each other very well,” Brown said. “It’s a big-time rivalry. I’m very excited to play them again. It should be a good one.”