Crusaders charge into home stretch

MANCHESTER, NH – The Memorial High School football team has had its ups and downs this season, but the Crusaders look to finish the season strong heading into the final two games of the regular season.

“I would say our season has been a roller coaster so far,” said Memorial head coach Robert Sturgis. “We show great spurts at times, but have not been consistent enough in all three phases of the game to win.”

Each of the Crusaders last two games, in fact, they’ve taken early 7-0 leads.

In their most recent contest, they scored on the first play against Spaulding in Rochester on Saturday, Oct. 13, but ended up losing that game, 49-28.

Similarly, Memorial found the end zone in the first minute of their Oct. 7 home game against Timberlane but fell, 24-7.

On the flip side, the highlight of the Crusaders season so far was a 32-11 win at Winnacunnet in Hampton on Sept. 15.

A significant part of that inconsistency is the reality that the team is still fairly young.

“The kids are getting better and better every week and we look forward to the challenges of finishing the season against two strong teams in hopes to sneak into the playoffs,” said Sturgis.

Memorial, 1-6 through seven games, is scheduled to host 4-3 Exeter on Saturday and then close the regular season at home against 4-3 Keene at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27.

“It will be a very tough test, but our kids and coaches believe we haven’t played our best football yet and hope we can (play their best) to finish the regular season,” said Sturgis.

Among those with standout performances this season, linebacker Jose Soto has been one of the team’s most consistent players, averaging more than 10 tackles a game, in addition to being a strong leader and example to many of the younger athletes, said Sturgis, who also credited Connor McFarland and Erik Seymore for paved the way for Crusaders’ rushing attack.

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