MANCHESTER, N.H. – It was a good first half in Friday night’s football season opener for the Manchester Central Little Green, but they couldn’t continue the momentum after halftime, falling 35-7 to Salem at Gill Stadium.
Central scored on their first drive of the contest as senior Liam Murphy connected with junior Dawon Tyler-Fulse with 4:20 left in the first quarter. The Little Green added two more long, but inconclusive drives before the end of the half, heading into the break with the momentum from that first score and a set of defensive stops, limiting the Blue Devils to just 19 yards from scrimmage over the first two quarters.
Unfortunately for the hosts, a botched punt attempt on the first drive of the second half gave Salem the ball in Central territory, field position that was just too good to keep the shutout going. Salem senior Justice Casado’s 20-yard dash soon gave the Blue Devils a first-and-goal and fellow senior Gavin Simone would put Salem on the board with a scoring run from just outside the goal line three plays later.
From that moment, the two team’s fortunes were irrevocably reversed. Central would later muff another punt and turn the ball over on interceptions to Salem senior David Jacques and junior Calen Smith. Meanwhile, Salem would score on four of their next five drives. Casado and sophomore Talen Walton collected rushing touchdowns for Salem along with a pair from Jacques, with Jacques’ second 45-yard scoring run occurring immediately after his interception.
Salem now faces another road text next Friday as they face Bedford, who fell to Nashua North, 19-7 earlier in the night. At the same time next week, Central will head to Stellos Stadium for a showdown against Nashua North.
Elsewhere, two of the other three Manchester high school football teams recorded losses on Friday night. Memorial fell 41-13 to Timberlane, they will host Dover next week at 7 p.m. West lost to newly promoted Pelham on the road, 34-7. West will welcome Lebanon for their home opener next Friday night at 7. The only Manchester victory came from Division III Trinity, who trounced Kingswood at Derryfield Park, 67-8. The Pioneers will play Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough next Friday at home, also at 7 p.m.
