CONCORD, N.H. — After a rocky first half that saw Salem struggle to find any offensive momentum, the Blue Devils knew they needed something big to start the second half.
Fortunately, their dynamic running back duo was ready to deliver.
“We new we needed something,” said running back Aidan Shikrallah. “We weren’t moving the ball. The team needed a big play. Our line opened a big hole, and I took it.”
Four plays into the third quarter, Shikrallah darted through the line and broke free for a 54-yard run — more than half of the yardage Salem managed in the first two quarters. A play later, Jordan Zannini powered in for his second score of the day.
The Blue Devils never surrendered control from there, toughing out a season-opening 21-14 win over upset-minded Concord.
“It feels great to get a good win,” said Zannini. “We made a lot of mistakes and have a lot to fix, but we put our bodies on the line out there and came out with a tough win. We’re excited about that.”
The junior one-two punch did most of the hard work for the Salem offense. Shikrallah needed just eight carries to pile up 141 rushing yards, while also adding a 33-yard reception that set up Salem’s final score. Zannini scored twice, while finishing with 85 rushing yards, and Colin Salkovitz added 78 rushing yards.
The Blue Devils fell behind early, when Concord’s Colin Savard broke a 76 yard run on the game’s opening play. Zannini answered with a 6-yard score, but Salem managed just 106 yards total in the first half.
“The players and coaches made some adjustments at halftime,” said Zannini. “In the second half, we needed to be better. Aidan turned in that huge run. We needed the momentum. Then I put in the (go-ahead score) and we felt good from there.”
A possession later, QB CJ Goss found Shikrallah for the 33-yard pass to the 1-yard line, then ran the QB sneak in himself to make it a two-score game.
Concord responded with one more score, but Salem held strong with a final 3-and-out. Ryan Bryant had an interception and Ryan Todt added a sack for the Blue Devils.
“The defense played great today,” said coach Steve Abraham.”We were flying around. Their guys can be electric, but we played very well on defense. On offense we made a lot of mistakes that hurt us, but we moved the ball. We will clean that up.”
TWITTER: DWillisET
Salem 21, Concord 14
FIRST QUARTER
C –Colin Savard 1 run (Patrick Owen kick), 9:58
SECOND QUARTER
S — Jordan Zannini 6 run (Ryan Bryant kick), 9:26
THIRD QUARTER
S — Zannini 10 run (Bryant kick), 9:34
S — CJ Goss 1 run (Bryant kick), 4:30
C — Savard 4 run (Owen kick), 0:15
STATISTICS
RUSHING: Salem — Aidan Shikrallah 8-141, Jordan Zannini 12-85, Colin Salkovitz 10-78, Jacob Beaudy 2-14, Jewry Nunez 1-0, CJ Goss 7-(-23); Concord — Colin Savard 23-205, Curtis Cooper 2-(-3), Rhys Craigue 4-(-22)
PASSING: Salem — Goss 3-8-0, 67; Concord — Craigue 7-20-1, 44
RECEIVING: Salem — Shikrallah 1-33, Salkovitz 1-17, Brody Longtin 1-17; Concord — Nicholas Marquis 1-3, Travis Dunbar 2-16, Tim Fahnbulleh 2-15, Savard 1-5, Ben Ryder 1-5