RallyNorth.net

NASHUA — One week before a regular-season showdown against Londonderry with a playoff spot up for grabs, it would have been easy for Salem to overlook a two-win Nashua North squad.

Especially when a junior running back will be taking his first snaps as a varsity signal caller.

While last night's victory might not have been the Blue Devils' prettiest performance of a stellar season, Salem's 12-7 win got the job done.

Nick Shumski proved more than capable of getting the job done, one night after being told he'd be subbing under center for starter John Cerretani, who was not in uniform because of a coach's decision.

Shumski rebounded from an interception on his first throw, completing four of his remaining five passes. Each completion went to Kenny Calabrese, none bigger than his leaping 28-yard reception at the Titan 1, setting up Johnny Bartose's clinching touchdown with 8:07 remaining in the game.

"I found out (Thursday) before practice," said Shumski, who's only previous QB experience this year was the first half of the first junior varsity game. "One of my teammates told me. I thought he was messing with me at first, but it turned out to be the real deal.

"I just thought it was a big opportunity right now. I had to play my best and help my team out. Everyone is stressing out about Londonderry, but we knew we had to get this one first"

The inexperienced Shumski was helped significantly by Charles Sibanda, who led a balanced rushing attack with 118 yards and the game's initial touchdown midway through the third quarter.

"Nick's a great football player," Salem coach Rob Pike said. "We had full confidence in him. He did fine. We just had a lot of other issues we have to take care of."

Those issues would be penalties that stymied may possessions, including one that lasted 9 minutes and 18 plays and reached the North 1. The Blue Devils were flagged 13 times for 126 yards. Six of the calls were of the personal foul-unsportsmanlike varieties. The two teams combined for 238 yards on 24 penalties.

Defense played a huge role, holding the Titans to 102 rushing yards and 164 total. The biggest play was Bryce Haynes' interception that halted Nashua North's final possession.

"Defense is playing great," Pike said. "There's a ton of guys I could highlight."

DERRY – There were things that Jason Robie thought his Nashua High School North football team might be able to do to have success Friday night against Pinkerton Academy.
But coming up with a game plan, and executing it, are two very different things. Especially against the top team in the state.
A week after picking up over 400 yards of offense, the Titans managed just 59 yards against the Astros, and saw Pinkerton run its way to a 51-0 win in a Division I contest.
Pinkerton gained all of 399 yards on the ground, with Peter Cyr leading the way with 86 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just four carries. TJ Urbanik added 84 yards and a score and Jack Hanaway also rushed for a touchdown as the Astros (6-0) got out to a 37-0 lead at halftime.
“The scary thing is, you know what they’re going to run,” Robie said. “You try to come up with something to stop it, and I thought we had a manageable plan, but they’re just big and fast and we had no answers.”
The struggles came on both sides of the ball, as North (2-4) didn’t pick up a first down until midway through the second quarter and had just four total on the night.
In the first quarter, it was Pinkerton’s Justin Poitras ending the Titans’ drives. The senior linebacker intercepted a Colby Gunter pass on North’s opening possession to set up a 21-yard touchdown run by Urbanik.
On North’s next two drives, Poitras sacked Gunter for a 10-yard loss on third down, forcing the Titans to punt each time.
“He’s our captain and he certainly had a good game,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said of Poitras. “We played very well in the first half on both sides of the ball. We did what we needed to do.”
The Astros scored on each of their first four drives, the first three of which all started in North’s side of midfield, and Pinkerton found the end zone on its sixth drive of the first half.

DERRY – There were things that Jason Robie thought his Nashua High School North football team might be able to do to have success Friday night against Pinkerton Academy. But coming up with a game plan, and executing it, are two very different things. Especially against the top team in the state. A week after picking up over 400 yards of offense, the Titans managed just 59 yards against the Astros, and saw Pinkerton run its way to a 51-0 win in a Division I contest. Pinkerton gained all of 399 yards on the ground, with Peter Cyr leading the way with 86 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just four carries. TJ Urbanik added 84 yards and a score and Jack Hanaway also rushed for a touchdown as the Astros (6-0) got out to a 37-0 lead at halftime. “The scary thing is, you know what they’re going to run,” Robie said. “You try to come up with something to stop it, and I thought we had a manageable plan, but they’re just big and fast and we had no answers.” The struggles came on both sides of the ball, as North (2-4) didn’t pick up a first down until midway through the second quarter and had just four total on the night. In the first quarter, it was Pinkerton’s Justin Poitras ending the Titans’ drives. The senior linebacker intercepted a Colby Gunter pass on North’s opening possession to set up a 21-yard touchdown run by Urbanik. On North’s next two drives, Poitras sacked Gunter for a 10-yard loss on third down, forcing the Titans to punt each time. “He’s our captain and he certainly had a good game,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said of Poitras. “We played very well in the first half on both sides of the ball. We did what we needed to do.” The Astros scored on each of their first four drives, the first three of which all started in North’s side of midfield, and Pinkerton found the end zone on its sixth drive of the first half.