Nashua South senior Tyler Armeen scored the Panthers' first and last touchdowns in Friday night's 41-7 win at Bedford.

BEDFORD — Tyler Armeen set the tone for Friday night with the first touchdown, a 15-yard jet sweep early in the first quarter.

The Nashua South senior hammered home the clincher, with the last score of the night too, his first career pick-six late in the third.

In between, there were plenty of promising Purple Panther signs at just the right time as South crushed Bedford, 41-7, in the regular-season finale, to close the coronavirus-shortened campaign at 2-2.

“We knew we’d be playing our best ball in Week 5. This was an important one for us with so many young guys,” said South coach Scott Knight. “We’re getting better every week. It’s just a project. Incrementally, we’ve played a little better each week.

“We needed a signature win. This is a good (Bedford) football team. These guys beat (defending state champ) Londonderry.”

Next up, potentially, is a playoff opener, with Merrimack High, but nothing in 2020 is set in stone.

“It’s very important (to win) going to the playoffs. Coach Knight said we need to be playoff-ready. We came and we showed it tonight,” said Armeen. “This game, in my opinion, showed us that we can play with any team.”

For Armeen and the Panthers, the opening half could not have run smoother.

South held Bedford to just 28 yards of offense before the break. Meanwhile, the Panthers pretty much called their shots in building a 28-0 halftime lead.

The Panthers mounted TD drives of 61, 55, 32 and 31 yards.

Bulldozer Jason Compoh ran for touchdowns of 1 and 3 yards on his way to an 108-yards rushing on 18 carries before exiting in the third quarter. Sliding out to defensive end, he regularly disrupted things in the Bedford backfield, finishing with seven ear-popping tackles and a sack.

“He’s a man,” said Knight. “That’s what he’s been doing.

We moved him to D-End, and it’s made a world of difference.”

QB Chris Keefe also ran for two scores, finishing his day early with 78 yards on 14 carries. He was 6 of 11 through the air for 52 more yards.

And, of course, there was Armeen, who played like a kid just happy to have a season.

He ran four times for 35 yards and caught four passes for 47 more.

“It was fun tonight. I got my first pick-six. Starting off the game with that touchdown, it was really uplifting,” said Armeen.

South kicker Evan Wilson clicked on 6 of 7 PATs, and Drew Fleury lowered the boom on defense, while adding a couple of well-placed punts in the special-teams game.

Jaden Murphy had an interception for the Panthers, who now look ahead to the postseason.

“It’s really important, especially because of the first-round (playoff) loss (at Exeter). That’s been a South thing in the past,” said Armeen. :We really want to come out strong, push forward and make it to the championship. I know we have it in us.”