Keene High School senior Peyton Gowell collides with Nashua North's Jedwin Lluveres during Friday's game at Alumni Field. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Keene Sentinel)

KEENE — It was a football fan’s football game with the result in the balance from the opening kick to the final whistle, and the Keene High football team did what it needed to do to earn a 23-20 bounce back victory over Nashua North on Friday night at Alumni Field.

In a game that started with North’s Kobe Perry returning the opening kick 75 yards for a touchdown and featured big-play touchdowns on both sides, it was decided by a field goal in the end.

Keene’s Brayden French hit a 32-yard field goal to put Keene up 23-12 with 6:45 to play as the Birds reeled off a six-minute, 15-play drive aided by a North encroachment penalty on a fourth-and-3 that ended up being the difference.

North, now 0-3, rallied to score with 1:08 remaining when Darius Smith plunged in from one yard out on fourth-and-goal, then added the two-point conversion on the ground to make a three-point game. But Keene’s Colin Tinnin fell on the ensuing onside kick to seal Keene’s win.

“All of a sudden we had a little energy, and the energy should have been there from the beginning with that kick return to start the game,” said North head coach Chad Zibolis. “It’s tough to come out here and play, because [Keene] is tough, they are physical, they’re going to punch you in the mouth and if you don’t punch back you’re going to be in trouble. And the first three quarters, we didn’t punch back.”

Before North’s final drive, the Titans best offensive moment of the night came on a busted trick play that paid off. John Canaway tossed a wide receiver screen to his right. The backwards pass was supposed to then be pitched, but was fumbled and picked up by Daryus Sisay, who chucked it deep to a wide open Luke Peters for a 77-yard score that gave North a 12-7 lead on its first possession in the second half.

“That’s the kind of stuff you have to do when you’re not moving the ball,” said Zibolis. “That’s not what we want to do, we don’t want to do trick plays. We want to be able to pound people and score that way.”

But North never got momentum in the running game against Keene’s front-seven, and finished with just 52 yards on the ground.

Keene responded with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that was capped off with a Sawyer Lepple 3-yard touchdown that gave Keene a 13-12 lead with 4:27 left in the third.

After a North three-and-out, Keene struck on the first play of its ensuing drive when Kasen Abbott hit Tinnin over the middle for an 81-yard catch and run touchdown to make it 20-12.

Lepple then intercepted Canaway on a deep ball on the second play of North’s next drive. That set up Keene’s decisive march down the field into field goal range.

Canaway finished 16-for-26 passing for 89 yards with a pair of picks. He found Shawn Burrus eight times for 54 yards.

Abbott was 12-of-16 for Keene for 201 yards with a touchdown. Eli Kopcha and Sawyer Lepple combined for 127 yards rushing with a touchdown each.

North takes on Nashua South on Friday night at Stellos Stadium in the Battle of the Bridge. Keene (2-1) travels to Merrimack.