Sunday's Football Scores - August 25, 2013 - 4th Grade

The first game of the Nashua Pal Force 4th Grade football team saw them open the season against their friends and rivals, Nashua Elks Crusaders. Players from both teams were spotted talking with each other before the game and proved that while Nashua has two football programs, friendship and football can cross those lines easily. Of course, once the whistle blew to start the game, the rivalry was on.

The first possession saw the Crusaders start with the ball near midfield. The first regular season action for PAL Force send their defense on the field. Strong play on the defensive line by Marcus King, Drew Sheehan, Jeese Allen and Keyshawn Bugg quickly forced a turnover on downs. The NPF offense took the field looking to capitalize on the good field position. The offense stumbled a bit in the early going. No doubt the first game jitters were at hand. After another exchange of possessions, the Force would once again start with the ball near midfield. This time, NPF would find pay-dirt. On an off tackle play, the offensive line Ethan Paquin, Jesse Allen, Devyn Lavoie, Jacob Moore, Alex Forbes, Rocco Ciardi would open a big hole. Running back Isaac Smith would take advantage of the blocking and cut back across the grain. As he did so, he saw nothing but green space in front of him as he raced 55 yards for the season’s first touchdown.

Both teams defense would make big stops on 4th down to give their offense a chance to score some points before the half. However, it was the Elks this time that would run a modified two minute offense. A few big runs by the Crusaders set them up at the 5 yard line with a chance to tie the game. They would do exactly that as they found a small hole in the hustling defense of the Force to tie the game at 6 going into the half.

At halftime, the Force coaching staff talked about making the most of each opportunity and to continue to play with energy. While the temperature on the field soared to close to 90 degrees, the PAL Force offensive and defensive lines would begin imposing their wills. After each team took a possession, PAL Force would begin to get some traction on offense and would break the tie late into the 3rd quarter. QB Juan Torres would hand the ball off to HB Dylan Homsy. His shifty running style forced many would be tacklers to miss and he would sprint into the end-zone giving PAL Force a 12-6 lead. The point after attempt was thwarted by the Crusaders.

The game stayed at 12-6 late into the 4th quarter. Nashua PAL Force would try to run the clock out for the win but the Crusaders defense was up to the challenge. They stopped the force deep in their own territory. The FORCE turned the game over to the defense to continue its strong play. Strong tackling was seen all game long by Liam Finn, Riley Bean, Zach Howard and Matt Oliver. The game was left with one remaining play for the Crusaders and they needed a touchdown in order to force overtime. A good reverse play nearly saw them do just that but Connor Winslow for the Force made a saving tackle as the time expired giving Nashua PAL Force the 12-6 win in their season opener. – Volunteer Reporter Kristopher Oliver