Nashua South football heads to Concord

Halloween is still a month away, but don’t be surprised is something odd happens to the Nashua High School South football team when it heads to Concord this week.

“Every time we go up there, no matter how good we are, or how bad we are, it is a battle,” South coach Scott Knight said. “We get up on them and they come back. It’s like the place is haunted.”

The Panthers and Crimson Tide will meet Friday at 7 p.m. at Memorial Field in Concord.

South (1-1 in Division I, 3-1 overall) hasn’t lost to Concord since a 32-9 drubbing on its home field in 2005, but the last two times the Panthers have played the Tide one the road, they’ve come away with narrow victories. That includes a 34-25 win in 2008, the year South win its most recent division title.

After last week’s 31-6 win over Manchester Memorial, Knight is looking for his team to continue to put the pieces together.

“It was nice to get untracked and see the defense flying around,” he said. “We went in, we were very concerned about their run game and our ability to stop them. The kids really stepped up and played well all over.”

This week, the Panthers will see a defense that hasn’t given up a lot of touchdowns this season. What has hurt Concord has been its special teams play. In a 28-14 loss to Central two weeks ago, the Tide allowed two returns for touchdowns.

South has been improving each week on special teams, and Knight hopes to see that happen again.

“We need to continue to win that phase of the game,” he said. “We need to play solid special teams. That will keep us in games and win us some games.

“Their defense gives up an average of one or two game. That’s a concern. We’re going to have to move the ball really well. Watching them on film, they move well, their linebackers are solid. They’re a solid team defensively.”

Concord is still without quarterback Graham McIntire, who broke his collarbone in the second week of the season. Marc Gaudet has stepped in under center, and while he might not be as good a runner as McIntire, he’s still a capable quarterback.

“He throws the ball OK and he runs the ball OK,” Knight said. “They have some good backs and they’re much better up front then they have been.”

Despite two big wins in a row, the Panthers are still trying to put together a complete game. Knight would like to see that happen this week.

“Let’s get up there and do the things we’re supposed to do and not let them (get in it),” he said. “We’ve got to keep between the ears right and we’ll be OK. We’ve got to play well for four quarters. We’re nowhere near where we want to be yet, on either side of the ball.”