Momma said there would be days like these..... The Nashua Pal Force 4th Grade football team was riding a modest 2 game winning streak. They headed to Salem to take on the undefeated Salem Rams. The Rams boast one of the more explosive teams in the state. Unfortunately for NPF, Salem showed the rest of the league just how tough they were as the Rams cruised to a 33-0 win.
The 8am kickoff time was a change that both teams were forced to reckon with. But it was the Rams that would answer the bell. After the initial kickoff, the Rams vaunted rushing attack took just one play to find the endzone as their star running back took a sweep to the right side and found an easy rushing lane to the endzone. The extra point was good and Salem had a lead they would never relinquish.
The Force would try to return the favor behind the offensive line of Ethan Paquin, Jesse Allen, Devyn Lavoie, Jacob Moore, Rocco Ciardi, Alex Forbes and Riley Bean. After two tough inside runs, Zach Howard would take a handoff from Juan Torres around the end. Howard would use the misdirection play well and get around the edge. He would be tackled just short of the first down marker. NPF would go for it on fourth down but the pass play would fall incomplete giving the ball back to Salem. The defense behind Keyshawn Bugg, Marcus King, Drew Sheehan, Liam Finn and Dylan Homsy would make some big tackles forcing a critical fourth down play. The Rams would run a counter play that would pay big dividends as they found a crease in the defense and would score from 35 yards out to push the lead to 14.
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The Rams would add two more scores before the half nearly knocking the wind out of the Nashua. However, the second half saw some renewed energy from the team. Connor Winslow would run hard as he replaced Isaac Smith who is recovering from an injury. Winslow would pick up some good yardage against the tough Salem defense. Defensively,Matt Oliver would come alive in the second half. His energy on defensive side appeared to pick up the team as he would record several tackles for a loss during the second half.
While team score shows NPF on the wrong side of score, the team responded well to the adversity in the second half. The loss moves NPF to 2-1 on the season as Nashua welcomes the Manchester South Sabres in an important Division 2 battle. - Volunteer Reporter Kris Oliver
