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Clutch defense keeps Salem in playoff chase

Saturday, October, 13 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

Whenever a play truly counted, Salem made it.

The Blue Devils stuffed Concord three times on fourth down and forced three turnovers, one crushing a last-second scoring drive at the Salem 12. And all the while the defense, nicknamed the "Wolfpack," was pounding away on every play.

Behind the backfield of workhorse Kevin Sledge and junior Kyle Kenney, the Blue Devil offense did just enough to survive penalties and reward the defense's efforts. With its hard-earned 14-7 victory, Salem (4-3, 3-2 Division 1) remains in the tournament chase with top-four Nashua South and Manchester West left on the Division 1 schedule.

"We put ourselves in a hole by making some mistakes (eight flags for 52 yards) but we made some big plays, too, especially defensively," said Blue Devils head coach Jack Gati. "We kept them to seven points. You can't complain about the effort."

Concord had to work hard for its production, picking up 172 yards on 49 rushing attempts, and only generated one consistent scoring march. Starting the second half with the ball, quarterback Colin Brown knifed over left tackle 25 yards to end a 62-yard drive with points, with Blake Wintle's point-after kick giving the Crimson Tide a 7-6 lead.

Before and after, the "Wolfpack" would not relent. Junior lineman Jason Comtois stuffed a fourth-and-one play for no gain early in the second quarter. Linebackers Jimmy Stewart (9 tackles) and Chris Sousa did the same on the next drive, setting up Salem's first score via Kenney's 10-yard TD run in the second quarter.

Subbing for injured Shane McMahon, Kenney finished with 51 yards on 10 carries and complemented a typically strong night from Sledge (111 yards on 22 attempts).

Defensively, Salem got clutch interceptions from Sousa in the first half and cornerback Peter Allain late in the second half.

"It's a mindset," Sousa said of the Blue Devil success. "We work hard in practices so we can play hard in games. Plus we made some adjustments at halftime to take away their off-tackle running."

After Salem responded to Concord's TD with an 11-play, 68-yard grinder of its own, ending on Sledge's 6-yard ramble to the left corner of the end zone, the "D" shut the door.

A 43-yard pinball pass that ricocheted off a Salem defender and into Kyle Brown's arms combined with a penalty to give Concord the ball at the Salem 12 with 11 seconds left in the game. With no timeouts left, junior Cory Lavallee hauled in a short toss but was rocked upon catching the ball, with Sousa scooping the fumble to seal the deal.

"Every game the effort is there," Gati said. "We've got to stop making mistakes.

"Kids ...," Gati concluded with a chuckle.