Sudieh hoping to lead Concord football back to the top

There will be times this season when Eric Brown will need to get his best running back off the field in order to preserve his best cornerback.

The Concord High School football coach isn’t looking forward to putting Leo Sudieh on the sideline at all, but it’s going to be necessary if Brown is going to keep one of his most experienced players fresh throughout the year.

“We’ve got to rest him,” Brown said. “We’re probably going to rest him on offense because we’ve got some good running backs that we can cycle through and give him a break. I’m really pleased with him.”

As the Crimson Tide get ready to kick off the 2015 season Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Goffstown, a lot of the names and faces will be different from the team that won the Division I championship in 2013.

Sudieh is not one of them, having played on varsity since his freshman year. Last year, as a junior, he ran for nearly 800 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.

“I started playing varsity my freshman year and it’s just gotten easier as the years go on,” Sudieh said as to how he’s grown over the years. “I’m happy to be a senior because I’m at the peak. I’ve gotten bigger and I’m more of a direct runner now. I can see gaps easier and I can run downhill down.”

That was apparent in last Friday’s 17-14 win over Pinkerton in the Queen City Jamboree. Sudieh scored the winning touchdown on a goalline play where he stayed with the lineman blocking for him and jumped through the hole when it opened up.

“Leo is experienced and it’s invaluable,” Brown said. “He sets an example for the kids in the weight room in the offseason. He’s committed to the weight room. He runs track, although I think he runs track because he wants to be a faster football player. There’s a great deal of respect from his teammates for him. He’s been through the wars.”

That included last season, when Concord took a step back from that championship year. The Tide reached the postseason, but it was over quick, losing to Bedford in the North Conference title game.

This year, that experience helped drive Concord.

“A lot of these kids were watching us play last year,” Sudieh said. “They saw the team last year and the weakness last year, and the younger kids are trying to get better.”