NASHUA, NH — A punishing ground game and a stiff Red-Zone defense helped Nashua North pull away for a 31-7 win over Manchester Central, in the season-opener for both teams, Friday night at Stellos Stadium.
Senior Harrison Joshi, one half of the Titans’ two-headed monster at quarterback, rushed for 162 yards on 17 carries. Senior halfback Jedwin Lluveres added 44 yards on the ground, including touchdown runs of 6, 1, and 17 yards.
”They just wore us down, that’s all there is to it,” said Central Head Coach Ryan Ray. “We knew they would have some versatility at quarterback but we didn’t know about (Joshi) specifically. I thought our guys played extremely hard but they wore us down.”
North held a slim 10-7 lead at halftime before breaking the game open in the second half.
The game turned on the stellar play of the North defense, led by Jack Krulikowski. The senior linebacker had a monster game, repeatedly coming up with big plays at critical moments.
Down by 3, early in the third quarter, Central drove inside the North 20. But the Titans’ defense stiffened, stuffing the Little Green on 4th and 4 to end the drive.
Sparked by the play of the defense, Joshi took charge, engineering a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Along the way, he gashed the Central defense on runs of 19,10,15 and 20 yards. But it was Lluveres who punched it in from a yard out to cap the drive and give the Titans a 17-7 lead.
Central appeared primed to answer back on its next possession, marching smartly downfield on the arm of quarterback Drake Jamies (11 of 19, 131 yards, TD). A 37-yard bomb to Trevor Gray and a 14-yard hookup with Romello Diaz moved the Little Green into the Red Zone.
From there, Central went to the ground and runs by Miguel Cruz and Gibril Djuma gave the Green first and goal at the 1.
But just when it appeared Central was ready to claw within 3, the North defense rose to the occasion again. Sophomore Yandel Velasquez stopped Djuma for a one yard loss and a a muffed snap made it third and goal from the 3.
Jamies tried to score through the air but a heavy pass rush led to two incompletions and Nashua North took over on downs at its own 3.
”That goal line stand was huge,” said North Head Coach Chad Zibolis. “These guys never stop fighting, even if the ball is on the 1-yard line.”
Leading by just 10 with 10:51 left to play, North put together a drive that was ruthless in both its style and its efficiency. The Titans marched 97 yards, all on the ground, in 4:06.
Lluveres put an exclamation point on the drive with a 17-yard scamper to put North up, 24-7.
Senior Kobe Perry would later cap the scoring with a 20-yard TD run.
“The offensive line was just outstanding tonight,” said Zibolis.
The game got off to a strong start for Central, which scored on its opening drive of the season. Jamies connected with Diaz on a 53-yard scoring strike to give the Little Green a 7-0 lead.
It stayed that way until midway through the second period, when North’s Marco Raposa drilled a 24-yard field goal to put the Titans on the board.
A miscue by the Central coaching staff helped North take the lead before halftime. Facing fourth and 13 at its own 23 yard line, Central surprisingly chose not to punt and when Jamies was stopped after a 7-yard run, North took over at the Central 30.
After the game, Ray admitted there had been confusion as to whether it was third down or fourth down.
”That’s my mistake. It’s on no one but me,” said Ray.
The miscue led to a 6-yard TD run by Lluveres and a 10-7 halftime lead for North.
North came into the game riding a wave of emotional. Prior to kickoff, the team honored the memory of Ian Blake, a 2025 Nashua North graduate and member of the football team, who lost his life in a drowning accident in New Hampshire shortly after graduating.
The North captains and seniors presented the Blake family with Ian’s No. 54 football jersey in a glass and wood frame. The team will also wear patches on their uniforms in Blake’s memory.