The Londonderry Lancers methodically picked apart Concord football’s defense on Friday night and ran away with the game, 35-7.

The Lancers, who have played in the last three Division I championship games and won the title in 2021, shut out the Tide in the first half. The difference between the teams did not seem very large, but a blocked field goal attempt did not help the Tide’s case. 

Beating last year’s runner-up was always going to be a big challenge.

“Their effort was fantastic. I thought they battled the entire time,” said head coach Jim Corkum about his team. “When you’re playing a team like this, those little things make a huge difference. One little mistake sometimes can be the difference in a score in an entire possession. And some of those things we still need to clean up.”

The Tide won their first two games this season, first against Goffstown in a nail-biter, and then a blowout against Manchester Central in last Saturday’s homecoming game. Londonderry (2-1) was a new top-tier test.

The Tide’s offensive scheme featured a split between short passes and creative play-action run plays. Quarterback Colby Nyhan had a good game with only one interception, and led the team in its final drive for a 25-yard rushing touchdown by Trevor Craigue.

Unfortunately for Concord, the scheme did not translate into points to stay in the game earlier.

“(Londonderry is) very, very, very good at shutting down any running game inside, in the middle, and they’re big on their front. They do like to bring a lot of pressure,” said Corkum.

Defensively, the Lancers did not have to come up with huge highlight plays, but were solid in secondary coverage and pressured the pocket.

“Our team hustled to the ball all game,” Londonderry defensive coordinate Billy Clement said. “We pursued very well and tackled. Our front held up very well with their O-line, and allowed our linebackers to fill and make plays.”

The Lancers effectively used their strong junior running back, Adrian Cruz, to march downfield. Cruz had over 115 all-purpose yards and ran in the first three touchdowns for Londonderry. Quarterback Sam Ogden was versatile, running in one touchdown, and had over 115 passing yards with one passing touchdown.

Concord’s defense had many good tackles in the backfield for losses, and junior Tim Fahnbulleh had an interception in the first half, but the Tid could not find an answer to stop the attack. Sawyer McCready, Travis Dunbar, Craigue and Nyhan played well, but the front lines and secondary had trouble stopping Cruz.

The Concord football team will travel to Malden Catholic in Massachusetts on Friday for a new test away from its usual Granite State opponents. Malden Catholic beat Windham High School, 28-13, earlier in the season (out-of-state games do not count in the NHIAA Division I standings). 

“We’ll get in and take a look at the film. I know they’ll be tough and well-coached and so we’re looking forward to another challenge,” said Corkum.

Concord resumes NHIAA play on Oct. 4 at Memorial Field against Windham.