Merrimack back Reimello Hyde plows into the Nashua South defense during Friday night's 28-26 Tomahawk win, putting the Panthers in a tough 0-3 hole. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

It’s not so early any longer.

Just take a look at the woes of the Nashua High School South football team, who go into Friday night’s Battle of the Bridge game at 0-3 and needing a win to try to salvage the fall.

Going into the season, the Panthers looked like they would be solid contenders, with a returning line and growing pains behind them.

But it just hasn’t worked out, as they can’t get their best players through a game and also are shooting themselves in the foot.

“We’re not dead yet,” South coach Scott Knight said. “But we’ve got to start playing better, physically and mentally. We’re just making critical errors.”

South had given up 212 total yards and 21 points in the first half of Friday night’s 28-26 loss to Merrimack, but settled down defensively in the second half holding the ‘Hawks to just a touchdown.

But the Panthers are suffering from a penalty problem, and are also not getting many breaks. A seemingly obvious roughing the kicker call when punter Mike Rutstein was tripped up after getting the kick off didn’t get flagged, unless the ball was barely – and we mean barely – tipped.

But here’s the other thing that Knight isn’t happy about: Turnovers. No, not making them, but causing them for the opposition.

“We didn’t turn it over (Friday), which is good, but we have not created a turnover in three games,” he said. “We don’t have one takeaway in three games.”

Now North is looming. The Titans are the comeback kids after rallying to beat both Merrimack and Windham in the fourth quarter. One would think the Panthers basically need to win out (six games) to make the playoffs. They certainly need to beat North to have any hope unless the rest of the West Conference teams fall apart.

In the West-South scheduling cluster, many think that three teams from the South will make it and then just the conference winner from the West. Salem’s two losses, though, may give some hope of debunking that theory, but not a lot.

Health could play a role.

“I feel like we’re hanging by a thread half the time,” said Knight, who again lost back Josh Compoh for much of the fourth quarter and had the team’s other top back, Connor Rowsell, playing on one leg. “The guys up front are pretty durable, but after that….”

No way did Knight feel his team would be in this predicament.

“Not at all,” he said. “We put in way too much work (to be 0-3).”

TOMAHAWKS FIND SOME DEPTH

Saturday night’s Merrimack (1-2) at Bishop Guertin (2-0) game at Stellos Stadium looks a lot more interesting, especially with the way the Tomahawks have put up 71 combined points in the last two games.

Merrimack’s offense isn’t just based on the senior combo of QB Kyle Crampton to Shea Goodwin; receiver Braden Page made two huge catches in Friday night’s win and junior running back Reimello Hyde was more than solid with 120 yards on 17 carries.

“No. 6 Braden, he’s a sleeper, not many teams know about him,” Crampton said. “I still think everyone’s going to still stay on Shea. I think we have a lot of weapons on this team; no team can guard all of them, and we’re going to just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Hyde is an interesting story. In selling the coupon books that a lot of teams do door-to-door in the preseason as fund raisers, he suffered a dog bite. He was on crutches for much of camp, played sparingly in the opener and sat out the North game, and the ‘Hawks got sophomore Garron Brown untracked.

Friday night, though, Hyde was the feature back with xx yards on x carries.

“I’m so proud of him for stepping up,” Crampton said. “He had a tough (pre) season because of the bite, it really hurt him. He’s obviously a great player, you saw him out there today. He doesn’t quit.

“You can’t just play our pass game, you can’t just play our run game. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”

“(Hyde) is definitely a difference maker on offense and defense (linebacker),” Merrimack coach Kip Jackson said. “He’s probably our smartest player. He makes all the calls on defense, we put a lot on his shoulders. And he did a great job carrying the ball.”

BRONCO WOES

What’s happening to the Alvirne football team is unfortunately fairly predictable, but not many expected a 20-point loss to Keene (27-7) the other night.

The problem? It’s just unfortunate the Broncos are in a no-win situation in Division I after being forced to move up following two very successful – and more important, competitive – seasons in Division II. And then placed in the same conference with Pinkerton, Londonderry and Salem, the latter being Friday night’s opponent in the last of four straight home games (one left next month vs. South).

Broncos coach Tarek Rothe has been clearly angry at the move, and Alvirne was missing starters and still couldn’t handle Keene.

“We still have Salem, Londonderry, Merrimack, South and Pinkerton,” he said, clearly concerned – and annoyed.

Can’t blame him.

MANCHESTER ISSUES

This has not been a COVID-free season, not in Manchester. Manchester Memorial is in the midst of a 10-day shutdown , its game with Goffstown cancelled, as well as this weekend’s Memorial-Manchester Central game.

Goffstown is reduced to a seven game season, while Memorial, and Central are now reduced reduced to six.

DIVISION II

It’s clear there are some levels to the divison, but you can bet the Souhegan and Milford will continue to be in the mix. The Sabers’ youth may hurt them against physical teams (like in their close loss to Milford), but on turf against others they can put up the points, 87 in their two wins.

The Spartans certainly would like to have their fourth quarter vs. fellow contender Lebanon back, and certainly will be heavily favored over a struggling Hollis Brookline team that has given up 127 points in two games Saturday night, in what’s a clear rebuilding year.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS AT CAMPBELL

A reminder this weekend’s Campbell-Trinity game at CHS, unlike most Cougar games, is not a Saturday matinee but a Friday night game at 7 as the school is bringing in portable lights. Windham did the same thing last week vs. North for its annual “Black Out Cancer Night” and word was if you didn’t get there early you could end up parking as far as a mile away from the school.

That might not be the case at Campbell, but there certainly will likely be a bigger crowd for a big Division III game.