Top 10 Games from 2020: No. 3

By rbrown
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Updated: December 9, 2020

TOP 10 NHIAA GAMES FROM 2020
No. 3: Nashua North 33, Salem 28

This matchup with Salem in the Division I semifinals proved to be the biggest speed bump on North’s march to the Division I championship this year.

North led 33-21 in the fourth quarter until Salem quarterback Cody Clements tossed a 55-yard TD pass to running back Dante Fernandes with 7;33 to play. Salem then forced a North punt with 5:02 remaining, but Salem’s final drive ended with 2:27 on the clock and the Titans leading by five at Stellos Stadium.

It was the fourth straight season Salem was eliminated in the Division I semifinals. Nashua North went on to defeat Goffstown in the Division I championship game.

The Titans hadn’t trailed during the season until the Blue Devils opened the game with a 13-play, 74-yard drive that concluded with Clements scoring from a yard away.

North quarterback Curtis Harris-Lopez ran for four touchdowns (30, 5, 33 and 1 yard) in the victory, the first of which came in the second quarter and cut Salem’s lead to 7-6. Then the Blue Devils responded with a 12-play drive capped by Aidan McDonald’s 6-yard touchdown run to make it 14-6.

The Titans seemed to take control when Harris-Lopez ran for two touchdowns in the final 2:30 of the second quarter. The 21-point quarter gave the Titans a 21-14 halftime lead.

Salem punched back and tied the game when Fernandes scored on a 24-yard run, but North asserted itself and led 33-21 after Jayden Espinal scored on a 2-yard run with 4;25 left in the third and a Harris-Lopez found the end zone from a yard away with 8:53 remaining in the game.

Harris-Lopez finished the contest with a game-high 203 yards rushing on 23 carries. McDonald (21-118) and Fernandes (13-108) each surpassed the 100-yard mark for Salem, which received 15 tackles from Jake Brady and 12 from Noah Poulin.

No. 10: Pelham 14, Monadnock 10
No. 9: Goffstown 26, Bedford 21
No. 8: Dover 7, Exeter 6
No. 7: Plymouth 16, Timberlane 14
No. 6: Plymouth 21, Kennett 20
No. 5: Lebanon 7, Newport 6
No. 4: Salem 21, Londonderry 13

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