Football Notebook: Manchester West enjoying turnaround this season

Editor’s Note: Manchester West’s game on Friday against Milford was postponed and the Blue Knights were put into a 10-day COVID-19 protocol. 

A scoreboard showing an eight-point deficit during any quarter of play meant certain defeat for Manchester West High School’s football program in the past. That’s no longer the case.

Led by senior quarterback Icean Taylor (133 yards and three touchdowns rushing, 80-yard TD pass), senior defensive back Mike McNally (95-yard pick-6) and junior running back Taylor Gallant (135 yards and a touchdown rushing, 100 return yards), Manchester West overcame a 20-12 deficit to beat Pembroke Academy 41-28 last week, securing the Blue Knights fourth straight win. It’s the first four-game win streak since 2006.

That’s not surprising for a team that had a extensive losing streak when Tom Bozoian took over as head coach five years ago. Now it’s all about building momentum and positivity in the program. Having fun and winning will do that.

“Yeah, it’s been amazing,” Bozoian said. “I don’t care who we’re beating. People look at the records of the other teams. You know, you’ve got to look at where this place was. When I got here five years ago, they had lost 30 straight games. It wasn’t just the losing of the games. The whole program was in disarray. There was nothing going on there that was correct. Nothing. The way they practiced, down to the equipment, down to the uniforms – nothing. Nothing was right.”

Bozoian thinks the ship is now pointed in the right direction. It just needs to expand on crew members going forward. Positivity will help in that regard.

“Every little positive thing we can get is important,” Bozoian said. “Every little thing that creates positivity is good for these kids and this program. Now you have teachers and classmates talking about it in the school and it’s not them asking if you guys are going to win a game this year. That’s important and uplifting to these kids.”

West (4-2) opened this fall with a pair of lopsided home losses to Lebanon (60-14) and Hanover (35-14), but flipped the script in the last four games by outscoring its opponents 174-110 with road wins over John Stark (39-30), Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton (40-24), a home win over Hollis Brookline (54-28), and last week’s comeback win over Pembroke Academy (41-28) on the road.

Taylor, who is most likely to play receiver in college, has made the most of his quarterbacking duties in West’s newly installed spread offense. Heading into Friday’s showdown at Milford (5-1), Taylor is one of the state’s best in rushing yards with 960 and touchdowns at 16.

Despite his offensive prowess, it’s the defense that Taylor highlights as the Blue Knights’ catalyst for success.

“Those first two losses came against great teams,” Taylor said. “We didn’t play great defense those games. Then our defense started picking it up, which led to more offense, more opportunities and more points. The better defense we’ve played, the better it’s translated to better offense and the results we’re getting.”

Taylor has blended well with his West teammates since transferring in from Trinity prior to his junior year of school. As a captain, along with fellow seniors Sean Vincent, Josh Plant and McNally, Taylor thinks there is a little pressure on them to lead the Blue Knights on a tournament run, while also leading the program to expanding in size.

Winning and being talked about positively in the community does just that.

“It definitely does,” said Taylor, who saw the change as a freshman defensive back during Trinity’s title run in 2019. “I mean, come on, kids look at wins right? They don’t want to play at a losing program. They don’t want to play with a team that can’t win a game, where they only scrape by with a win here or there against some other team known as a team that can’t win a game.

“So this year really helps other kids see improvement. We have more people in the stands and more kids coming to look and see us and what we’re about. It really does help our program’s future and getting more kids to want to play football for West.”

West has three regular season games to go in its quest to secure a tournament spot. After visiting Milford, the Blue Knights will host Souhegan (3-3) Oct. 22 and close out at Bow (1-3) on Oct. 30.

“Honestly, the way things are going right now, if we win one of the last three I think we’re going to be in,” Bozoian said. “But Milford is going to be a tough challenge for us. They’re a tough matchup for anyone. We’ll just do what we’ve been doing. Take it one game at a time, focusing on Milford this week and go from there.”

Postponed or cancelled?

Monadnock games on hold this week

All Monadnock athletic events this week were canceled due to the school moving to remote learning until Oct. 18, according to Athletic Director Tom Cote.

This includes Friday’s football game against Winnisquam. The football team is hoping to reschedule its game.

Playmakers

• Plymouth senior quarterback Kurtis Cross threw four touchdown passes (19, 25, 33 and 47 yards) in a 35-7 win over Merrimack Valley.
• Londonderry’s Drew Heenan tossed four touchdown passes in a 42-13 victory over Windham.
• Nashua South quarterback Michael Rutstein (16 of 25, 230 yards, two touchdowns) connected with slot receiver Connor Rowell 11 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-21 loss to Pinkerton Academy.

George Scione writes for NH-HighSchoolSports.com and has covered high school sports in New Hampshire since 1995. To report standout gridiron performances, or offer ideas for the football notebook, send an email to scioneg@gmail.com.