Football Notebook: Nashua South, Merrimack looking to right ship

Week 3 of the high school football season is all about course correction for Nashua High School South and Merrimack High School.

With two losses in two games this fall, the Panthers and Tomahawks square off Friday at 6:30 in Merrimack hoping to record the season’s first win and reestablish a path to the playoffs.

If you were one to believe both teams’ playoff hopes were already gone starting the season 0-2, you’d be wrong. In fact, bouncing back from 0-3 – which one of these teams will be Saturday morning – is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Four times, not including last year, since Division I expanded to 20 teams in 2013 a team started 0-2 and made the playoffs. Two of those playoff teams began the season 0-3.

South coach Scott Knight has been a part of such a turnaround, including a pre-expansion title run in 2008.

“Yeah we know the season isn’t over yet,” said Knight, whose Panthers have lost to Salem 62-36 and Londonderry 43-0 over the first two weeks. “We were 0-2 in 2008 and won the title. We’ve had plenty of 0-2 starts and reached the playoffs. We just need to practice well, stay healthy, chip away each week and the rest will take care of itself.”

Merrimack coach Kip Jackson isn’t throwing in the towel just yet either. He’s heading into Week 3 looking to get his Tomahawks heading in the right direction, stressing this could be a make-or-break game for their playoff aspirations.

“Honestly, we thought last week versus North was that game,” said Jackson, whose Tomahawks have lost to Londonderry 35-6 and Nashua North 44-43 over the first two weeks. “We knew the opening part of our schedule would be tough. Heck, our entire schedule is tough playing in the West Conference and facing the South in crossover games. We just need to buckle down and focus on one game at a time. If we do that, and do what we’ve been practicing, good things will happen.”

Good things are happening for South heading into the meeting, as a number of starters return from injuries suffered in the second half on opening night.

The Panthers lost a good number of defensive starters to severe leg cramping and injuries in what started as a Week 1 first-half shootout, and ended as a 26-point loss to Salem. A few of those guys were out in Week 2 when South lost to an emotionally fired up Londonderry squad, celebrating the life of Jake Naar, a senior captain on the Lancers’ football and lacrosse teams last year. He died in a single-car accident in March.

“We had a good shootout going in the first half against Salem, then some breakdowns defensively on the perimeter really cost us,” Knight said. “We had eight guys coming out of the game between cramps and injuries. We didn’t have all our guns in that second half, and we just don’t have the depth to make up for losing that many guys at once. Then we ran into an absolute buzz saw with Londonderry. They were 11 guys across the board full of intensity – honoring a teammate – and we were on our heels all night.”

Merrimack faced that Londonderry buzz saw in the season opener, getting clobbered at home by the Lancers.

“Our first game, we just didn’t play well and Londonderry did,” Jackson said. “Against North, we played better in spurts. We just didn’t finish strong in that one.

“Now we face off with South, and we’re like a mirror image of each other with slight differences.”

The biggest difference by game’s end will be which team locks down its first win, taking that first step in correcting the course and keeping playoff hopes alive.

Other Key Matchups

With Nashua South and Merrimack facing off in a battle of the beatens, and looking to get on the right track, the Division I South and West Conferences are in the spotlight.

Londonderry will host Bishop Guertin Friday at 7 in a battle of unbeatens, while Pinkerton Academy brings its 2-0 record to 1-1 Salem for 7 p.m. start.

In Division II, 2-0 Lebanon visits 2-0 Milford Friday at 7. In Division III, Pelham, Campbell and Trinity look to improve their 2-0 records. In Division IV, Newport (2-0), Epping-Newmarket (2-0), Mascoma Valley (1-0) and Fall Mountain (1-0) want to remain undefeated after this weekend’s action.

Career Night

Pereira dominating south of the NH border

Auburn native Ayden Pereira is opening eyes nationwide. Unfortunately for Pinkerton Academy and Manchester Memorial – the two schools Auburn high schoolers attend if staying in state and public – it’s not in an Astros or Crusaders uniform.

Pereira, a senior quarterback at the Lawrence, Mass.-based Central Catholic High School (Division II), led the Massachusetts third-ranked Raiders to a 67-52 season-opening win over top-ranked Springfield Central (Division I) on Sept. 10 in Springfield, Mass. The 6-foot, 190-pound field general connected on 24 of 30 passes for 448 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for three more scores and 162 yards on 12 carries.

CCHS is back in action Saturday with another road trip. The Raiders will travel to Danvers, Mass., to square off with No. 9 St. John’s Prep at 1 p.m. The Eagles beat No. 11 Marshfield 47-42 in their opener.

If Pereira continues lighting up the opposition and the scoreboard, he’ll continue adding to his scholarship offers from multiple Division I colleges, currently highlighted by Colorado State University, University of Kentucky and Central Connecticut State.

Sadness in Bow

Falcons football season dedicated to Ouellette family

Bow helmets will all be sporting No. 55 decals for the remainder of the season in honor of Nick Ouellette, who died in an early morning car crash on Sept. 10 along with his younger brother Gavin. Their dad, Tom Ouellette, a Bow High School resource officer, was driving and injured in the crash.

A junior on the football team, Nick’s jersey No. 55 has been on display at the Falcons’ stadium since last Friday. Other schools – including rival Merrimack Valley and Concord – have reportedly contacted Bow head coach Paul Cohen to say they’ll be wearing similar helmet decals moving forward.

Schools, athletic booster programs and individuals across New Hampshire have offered support, including with donations to a GoFundMe page. That page, with an original goal of $150,000, has raised more than $280,000 for the Ouellette family.

Bow canceled its Sept. 10 game against Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton following the news of the brothers’ deaths. There is no makeup game scheduled.

Bow has moved its homecoming game against Plymouth from Saturday afternoon, the day of the memorial service, to Friday night at 7.

Saturday’s service will take place at Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester with doors opening at 10:30 a.m. and the service beginning at noon.

Quick Hits

Finlay, DiGesse are Titans to remember

Nashua North’s Nick DiGesse was on the receiving end of 10 Derek Finlay passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Titans over Merrimack, 44-43. Finlay competed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards and the two touchdowns connections with DiGesse. Finlay also carried the ball 12 times for 107 yards and three TDs in the win. The North duo leads the Titans (2-0) into Windham Friday to face the Jaguars (1-1).

Defense wins games; just ask Gilford-Belmont, Hanover

Gilford-Belmont’s defensive backfield shut down Pembroke Academy in a 28-7 victory. The trio of Riley Marsh (two INTs), Hutch Haskins (two INTs) and Michael Kitto (one INT) combined for five interceptions and only allowed nine completions in 28 pass attempts on the day.

Hanover’s John Bucci recorded a pick-six, one of two turnovers for the Marauders, in a 35-14 win over Manchester West, which was limited to four first downs the entire game. Hanover also had a big fourth-down stop of the in the first half.

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.