The heart’s healthy

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Nashua-Plainfield football coach Chase Sudol doesn’t like losing to anyone — even if it’s the top-ranked team in the state — 41-7.But there were a couple of reasons — heart and health — Sudol was smiling after Monday night’s loss to St. Ansgar.“I saw a lot of positives out there tonight, and you know, I’m starting to see that our kids believe we can be a good football team,” Sudol said after his team lost its Class A, District 3 opener and fell to 1-2. “We showed a lot of heart out there, and I don’t care what the stats say or what the scoreboard says, it didn’t feel like a 41-7 game.”And he wasn’t blowing any proverbial smoke.The Huskies showed some real grit in the loss and twice stopped St. Ansgar drives into the red zone, including one to end the first half when the Saints drove to the Nashua-Plainfield 7-yard line.Nashua-Plainfield also forced three turnovers, got 124 rushing yards from Braydon Fisher on just 10 carries and a solid night from quarterback Dayton Hansen, who was 6-for-12 passing for 50 yards.“There were times we showed we can compete with them,” Sudol said, “and I think our guys are really seeing the light. Anytime you’re coming off a 1-8 season, the first thing you have to rebuild is confidence, and as strange as it sounds if you look at the scoreboard, we did that tonight.”For the full story, please see the Sept. 15 Reporter.