Somehow, they pulled it off.

Yes, Nashua North and South were incredibly able to turn Friday night’s Battle of the Bridge into, well, the Battle of the Bridge.

It was the library-like atmosphere of a year ago, when there were plenty of pandemic related fan restrictions and the stands weren’t even half full. Now Friday night’s boy-girl hoop doubleheader between the Titans and Panthers wasn’t exactly standing room only, but it was loud, it was entertaining, it was fun.

How’d they do it? Well, first, the restrictions that were imposed post Christmas of four tickets per roster player, coach, and cheerleader for the home team and just two for the visitors was increased to four for the visitors. Also, the sub varsity teams were allowed to be there, per usual, and sat on the bench side. But here’s the other key: When last year, the players were strongly encouraged to give the tickets to just family members (and no visting fans, even with North-South), “this year we put no restrictions on it whatsoever,” Nashua athletic director Lisa Gingras said.

Result? Kids. Kids making noise. Kids cheering.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Gingras said. “It wasn’t as packed as pre-COVID North-South basketball games, but it was loud, there was energy, things like that.”

And the games were fantastic, down to the wire, with the North girls rallying for a 43-41 win and the South boys rallying for a 57-51 overtime win.

That helped. Really, folks, this North-South thing, even in today’s pandemic world, is really becoming something that’s can’t-miss. Think back to that North-South boys soccer Division I semifinal in early November, when the kids and even the coaches looked up at the packed Stellos Stadium stands in awe.

And it’s getting national attention. Anyone catch ESPN’s SportsCenter the other night? It showed the play in Thursday’s North-South Co-Ed Unified basketball game when South’s Zach Ostrowski stole the ball and hit a big 3-pointer that brought the house down. It was number one on their Top 10 Plays, and it was a fantastic, touching moment, as only the Unified athletics can produce. Suddenly, that’s the power of North-South.

One thing’s for sure. In these North-South games, when one team has a big lead, it’s not going to last. The Panther girls were up 15-1 and North didn’t lead until the very end. In the boys game, North was up eight with three minutes to go and South sent it to OT where it ultimately prevailed.

“I think it’s just the adrenalin, via the crowd,” Gingras said. “They’re not used to playing in front of a crowd like that. Even in the regualar season, pre-COVID when we don’t have limits on fans and things like that, you don’t get the energy that you get at that game.”

Well, we’ve got two more biggies, as the North and South wrestling teams go at it Tuesday night, 6 p.m. at North, and then the North-Souhegan and South-Pelham hockey teams do battle at Conway Arena this Saturday at 2:10 p.m.

Hey, if you’re given a ticket by an athlete, use it. With this North-South magic, you never know, you could end up on ESPN.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

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