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Salem loses late lead in shootout loss to Nashua South

Saturday, October, 23 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

NASHUA — Among the offensive-happy teams in Division 1 in New Hampshire, no lead is safe and the only enemy is the clock.

Salem found that out once again last night at Stellos Stadium as it saw a 10-point lead wither in the last six minutes of play in a 38-34 loss to Nashua South.

The Blue Devils rushed for 406 yards and had 537 yards of total offense, but the host Panthers gained 512 yards of their own and made the key plays at the end of the game to once again shake up the league standings.

Thanks to South’s late rally, there are now four teams in a logjam behind Pinkerton (4-1). Nashua North is 5-2 in Division 1 play while Salem, South and Manchester Central are all 4-2. North, Salem and South have all given up more than 100 points in their last three Division 1 games.

“There are a lot of skill players in the league this year,” said Salem coach Jack Gati, “You have to play good defense and it’s not easy.”

Two of those skill players, of course, are Salem backs Jerickson Fedrick and Max Jacques and they had another terrific game. Fedrick led the way with 201 yards and three TDs, two on runs of 53 and 51 yards, while Jacques gained 197 yards. They have combined for 2,169 yards and 33 TDs on the year.

Add in three pass receptions by Michael Lorenz for 67 yards, a sensational 36-yard touchdown catch by Jared Matthews along with two Chris Saulnier field goals and it should have been enough for victory No. 6.

But South was able to match Salem offensively and the Panthers were lethal at the end of the game.

Trailing 34-24 with 6:56 left, South marched 57 yards in just 1:14, scoring on a Keith Farkas 5-yard run, to make it 34-31, and then stopped Salem after just one first down.

A fine punt by Salem’s Matt Cannone put South back on its 8-yard line, but a 16-yard run by Armond McRae on third-and-13 provided a first down. Then, three plays later, McRae took a swing pass, broke two tackles along the way and went 75 yards down the sidelines for the winning points.

“I knew we needed a big play and I just kept fighting,” said McRae, who finished with 13 catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.

Gati, of course, saw it a bit differently.

“We had poor positioning and didn’t tackle well,” he said. “We missed at least two tackles on that play and should have held him to five or 10 yards. In big games, you have to make big defensive plays and we didn’t do it today.”