Nashua running back Sam Levine tries to escape Pinkerton's Bentley Blais during Friday night's Division I clash in Derry. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

DERRY – You have to think the Nashua High School South football team had the Pinkerton Academy Astros right where they wanted them, down 21-7 in the second half Friday night at Memorial Field.

“Our team just does a great job of not letting the bad plays get to us,” South quarterback Cody Jackson said soon after his interception sealed a 25-21 comeback win, one of a couple the Panthers have enjoyed this season. “Our continuous losing in games and coming back is just a product of everybody’s mentality. Nobody quits. It’s great.”

As a result, the Panthers end the regular season 6-2 in Division I (7-2 overall) and are hoping to be a fourth seed and grab a first round bye when the four-week playoff gauntlet starts next Friday. They’ll find out for sure when the official pairings come out Monday.

The 6-2 (6-3 overall) Astros, stunned after Panther Sam Levine’s 60-yard TD on a screen pass from Jackson gave the Panthers their 25-21 lead with 6:27 to play, were driving, down at the South 29 with just under a minute to play. But ironically the Astros tried a short screen pass but the Aiden McDonald’s pass was a just a little high, went through the receiver’s hands and into the hands of Jackson, who is usually in on passing situations in prevent mode. As a QB he went 5 of 8 for 163 and three TDs in the swirling gusty wind.

“In the second half we were able to get the pass game going,” South coach Josh Porter said. “We answered the bell, then we got them into a passing situation at the end of the game, that’s right where we wanted them.”

But the Astros might have been able to say the opposite earlier. Trailing 7-6, the Astros took a 14-7 lead into the half thanks to an 87-yard kickoff return by Rysan Michaud early in the second quarter. Then they increased that advantage on James Caruso’s 2-yard plunge set up by his own 27-yard jaunt with 2:03 left in the third quarter, plus a two-point conversion.

But penalties – a dozen, including eight procedure callse – killed the Astros, and so did South’s big plays. Justin Fish’s catch-and-run of 46 yards helped make it a 21-13 game with 5.6 seconds left in the third quarter.

Then the Astros fumbled on their next possession to start the fourth quarter, the ball recovered by South’s Ray Karuru. A 29-yard Jackson pass to Josh Tripp followed by a 6-yard flip to Colvin Levesque and it was 21-19 just like that with 11:06 remaining.

The Astros have lost three in a row, two in Division I.

“Penalties, it’s killing us, and the fumble down there, we left at least two touchdowns on the field,” Astros coach Brian O’Reilly said. “It’s just frustrating, we’re making too many mistakes.”

The Astros, known for their running game, started the game with a 10-play, 64-yard drive, Brady Spellman rumbling in from 3 yards out halfway through the opening quarrter. South eventually answered with a 1-yard Jackson plunge and Preston Bois’ PAT made it 7-6 nearly four minutes into the second quarter.

Nashua South’s Sam Levine is off to the races on a 60-yard screen pass TD that provided the difference in a Panthers win over Pinkerton Friday night in Derry. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

But things didn’t get wild until the fourth. The Panthers had the screen to Levine in their back pocket all night.

“We tried it earlier in the game, it was incomplete, unfortunately,” Jackson said. “We knew we were going to come back to it later.”

“That (screen pass) broke us. But it’s not the defense that beat us tonight. It’s our offense did not do what it’s supposed to do.”

South is hoping to get into the fourth or fifth spot with some help. “But we wanted to take care of business tonight first,” Porter said.

Remember, South was also down 24-8 at the half vs. city rival Bishop Guertin three weeks ago before rallying for a 28-24 win.

“I think this one might be even more meaningful than the BG win,” Jackson said, “because of the program they’ve (the Astros) got over there. And going into the playoffs it’s a good confidence boost for us.”