It wasn’t difficult for Trinity High School head football coach Gary Leonard to forgive his star wing back.

After all, Connor Lyons did score three touchdowns, notch three two-point conversions and kick a 41-yard field goal to lead the Pioneers to a 41-7 victory and their first state title since 1988.

The Bedford resident scored the final points of the season for his team during the Division V championship against Bishop Brady on Sunday, Nov. 15, when he intercepted a pass and ran it 92 yards to the end zone.

But without a tackler near him, Lyons dove and extended the ball over the goal line, earning a 15-yard penalty.

“I went up to (Leonard) and said, ‘I’m sorry, but I had to do it,’” said the senior. “I knew it would be the last run of my high school career, and it’s something I am always going to look back on years from now.”

While Lyons produced 27 points, he was actually slowed down throughout the game.

Trinity clung to an 8-7 lead after one quarter and led 16-7 entering intermission thanks to a 35-yard interception return by Jared Butler with 2:53 remaining until halftime.

Leonard kept his team in the locker room for nearly the entire 15-minute break, disappointed with a defensive unit that allowed large chunks of yardage despite holding the Green Giants to just the seven points.

“We did not play good defense in the first half,” said Leonard. “They probably were wondering if they were even winning the game because of the way we were talking to them at halftime.”

The Pioneers responded by not allowing a first down in the third quarter, thanks in large part to a stand by the defensive line with 6:05 left in the quarter.

Bishop Brady needed one yard on third down at its own 30-yard line, but Bedford’s Colin Bouchard led the charge in stuffing the Green Giant ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage, losing his helmet in the process.

The win capped a remarkable turnaround for Trinity, which just three years ago was playing at the club level after struggling with both numbers and talent at the varsity level.

“I’ve watched football at Trinity for the last three years, and I was in the stands when they were getting destroyed,” said Bouchard, a freshman offensive and defensive lineman. “It was a horrible sight, and now to play here and win a title is a great feeling.”

With 4:30 remaining in the game and facing a fourth down, Leonard gave in to Lyons, who pleaded to line up for a field goal.

“I just wanted to show coach that he doesn’t know what he’s doing when he goes for it on fourth down inside the 30,” joked Lyons, who played soccer during his freshman year.

Bedford players on the Trinity roster were Lyons, Bouchard, Joe Pratte, Dan Pratte, Nick Harrington and John Bator. Gary Leonard and his son, Mike Leonard, lived in Bedford before moving to Manchester this year.

Two Bedford residents played crucial roles during Bishop Brady’s run to the Division- V title game. During semifinal action against two-time defending champion Pelham, senior wide receiver Eric Feehan grabbed two interceptions to go along with two touchdowns.

Fellow senior Mike Bachner posted a team-high 16 carries for 105 yards against Trinity.

Although the Pioneers lose Lyons, their playmaker, Bouchard returns, along with the entire offensive line, which Leonard said is the team’s strength.

Bouchard said he and his fellow linemen will continue to pave the way for big plays, even if it isn’t Lyons they’re watching run into the end zone.

“I’m going to get bigger, and we’re all going to be lifting in the offseason to get ready for next year,” said Bouchard. “We’re going to keep pounding it, no matter who’s in the backfield.”

To those of us who live in the Granite State, it’s no surprise that small-town folks have big hearts. With the holiday season almost here, the familiar requests for monetary donations and drives for items of all kinds are being made.

The following are just a few examples of how generous donations of money, time and items from the kindness of strangers will touch the lives of friends and neighbors in need in our communities and provide them with some of the basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, warmth and companionship.

The Rotary Club of Bedford is hosting its annual Senior Citizens Holiday Luncheon on Monday, Dec. 7, from 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Manchester Country Club.

The luncheon has been a longstanding annual Rotary tradition for the past 35 years.

The luncheon’s purpose is not to raise money, but, instead, to raise the spirits of the guests attending, all of whom reside in the nursing homes and senior residential communities in Bedford and west Manchester.

Rotary Club members – 47 in total – and their spouses volunteer their time to transport guests to and from the luncheon and help out during the event.

Tickets for all of the seniors are paid for by club members and the club’s treasury.

“We are expecting about 200 seniors to attend this year,” said Dick Bellerose, president of the Rotary Club of Bedford. The atmosphere at the luncheon is festive. The Rotary Club’s band plays music from the 1940s for dancing, Santa Claus makes an appearance, the ladies receive corsages, and the ballroom is decorated for Christmas.

“A lot of tears are shed by the luncheon guests. Many of them are invalids or shut-ins, so they don’t have many opportunities to leave their residences,” Bellerose said. “The luncheon is very important to a lot of us. It’s quite a tradition.”

Salvation Army bell ringing is another upcoming holiday tradition that has been sponsored by Rotary Club of Bedford for the past 40 years.

This year, club members will take turns ringing the iconic bell in front of Bedford’s Harvest Market supermarket at the corner of Route 101 and Wallace Road each day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Nov. 27 through Dec. 26.

The familiar holiday sound hopefully will encourage shoppers and passers-by to drop spare change into the familiar Salvation Army red kettle.

Last year, the bell ringers raised $18,000 to help fund the Salvation Army’s many community- service programs.

“We even may surpass last year’s total,” Bellerose continued. “People who are able to tend to donate even more money during tough times.”

For more information, visit Rotary Club of Bedford’s Web site at www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/home/homeA.asp?cid=2908.

Connor Lyons earned a much-deserved rest.

The Trinity High School gridiron star and Bedford resident found the end zone four times in the first half of a Division V semifinal-round game before taking the second half off during his team’s 37-0 win over Bow on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The speedy senior opened the scoring with a 4-yard score and pushed the lead to 22-0 as time expired in the first quarter when he returned a punt 80 yards into the end zone.

“He makes coaching very easy,” said Trinity head coach Gary Leonard. “He’s our go-to guy for everything. He got us going, and he has done that all year.”

Trinity attempts to complete its undefeated season against Bishop Brady, which knocked off secondseeded Pelham 32-18.

Lyons continued his dominant play on an 80-yard score with 4:34 to go until the break, and he capped it off 1:58 later on a 29-yard dash for his final score.

“My offensive line blocked perfectly for me, and I had clear lanes all day,” said Lyons, who rushed for 136 yards in one half of action. “We have a bitter taste in our mouths after losing last year, and we want some redemption.”

The blowout was actually tame compared to the week prior, when the teams met to close the regular season in a 59-0 Trinity win.

Leonard said that victory may have led to some sloppy play, including multiple turnovers. “(That win) made us overconfident,” said Leonard, whose team hopes to take its first title since 1988. “We battled that all week long, and then we came out flat. It took us a little while to wake up.”

After earning the top seed in the bracket with Division V’s best regular-season record, Trinity hosts the title game on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Gill Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

Bedford High School’s spirit team lost the services of an athlete in the middle of its Class I state routine. The Bulldogs didn’t miss a beat.

After junior Alyssa Cloutier injured her knee during the squad’s performance at Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday, Nov. 8, the Bulldogs remained focused and ultimately won a second consecutive fall cheerleading title.

Bedford scored 172 points during the evening’s competition, besting second-place Merrimack Valley’s 156 to win the crown.

“They were able to overcome that (injury), and that’s the mark of a championship team,” said head coach Jenn Mason, whose team has yet to lose a senior to graduation. “We’re over the learning process. Between myself and the team, everyone knows what everyone is thinking before it happens. They know how to pull it together.”

In four competitions during the fall season, the Bulldogs were never seriously threatened, winning each by wide margins. Yet Mason said overconfidence was never an issue.

“They were still scared and nervous going into states, even though they had won all four of those competitions,” said Mason. “Our practices never run as smoothly as our competitions. They just thrive on the crowd and the adrenaline that comes with it.”

Team members include sophomores Darcy Brennan, Kristina Ilaria, Josie Schappler and Alison VanDer- Heyden, along with juniors Yoshie Altamirano, Cloutier, Erin Connors, Ashley Kendrigan, Alexandra Phillip and Jade Robinson.

Seniors on the team are Courtney Healy, Jessica Henault, Matte Horton, Meredith LaRocque, Ashley Marcoux, Molly Maznek, Alex McCarthy, Emily Slivka, Zofia Thibeault and Jackie Tinsley.

For men and women like Manchester Fire Chief James Burkush, the Hundred Club of New Hampshire is a safety net. Should they fall in the line of duty, the club is there to catch loved ones left behind.

“It’s a comforting thought,” Burkush said at the club’s annual membership drive on Nov. 4 in Bedford. “This is the community that comes out and supports the families of those who fall in the line of duty. They’re great people.”

Hundreds of past and present police officers, firefighters and public safety officials packed C.R. Sparks Restaurant for the event.

Among the dignitaries and guests were Gov. John Lynch and U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte. At the podium, there was a virtual roll call of praise for the club’s efforts, most urging non-members to join or donate.

“There is nothing more noble than to give back to those who have served us and especially those who have given their lives for us,” Lynch said.

Formed in 1966, the club’s fundraisers and membership dues provide for the widows and children of police officers and firefighters who lose their lives serving their communities, said executive director Michael Bucci. When the public outpouring accompanying the death of an officer or firefighter fades, the club doesn’t forget, he said.

“We are a smaller group so we stay in touch, and we’re there for the long haul to make sure the kids get through school,” Bucci said. “We do like to stay in touch and help them in whatever way we can. We do contact them several times a year throughout the years after the tragedy.”

At present, 12 families with 20 children across the state receive club support, he said. The focus is on getting every child through college.

Each receives about $20,000 a year to pay for tuition, housing, books or anything else they may need, Bucci said. Last year, the club provided about $150,000 in scholarships.

Laconia Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Riley and firefighter Chuck Campbell know firsthand how much that money can mean in the wake of tragedy.

On March 11, 2004, fellow Laconia firefighter Mark Miller died while training with a new dive suit near the main dock at Weirs Bay.

Preparing to ship out to Iraq, Campbell wasn’t around to lend his partner’s wife and children a hand, but the club was, he said.

“If it wasn’t for the club, Gayle and the girls wouldn’t be where they are,” he said.

Since joining the Laconia Fire Department, Riley has seen the club’s continuous support of the Miller family. Before his death, Miller had a home that gave him plenty of opportunities to apply a passion for carpentry and home improvements.

With three girls to raise, the fixer-upper proved too much for his wife to maintain, Riley said. The club stepped in and found a better home for the family.

“Without what (the club) did, it would not be possible for a single widow and mother to provide for and send three girls to college,” Riley said.

Thanks to $25,000 worth of donated materials, along with help from some contractors, a new cabin will be built at Camp Allen, the summer residential and day camp on Sandy Pond enjoyed by children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities.

The staff hopes to have the new winterized, handicapped-accessible double cabin, which will accommodate 28 campers, open in the summer.

“I’m very excited,” said Mary Constance, the camp’s executive director. Materials are being donated by Home Depot, whose help was obtained by Stephen T. Marcouillier, a member of the camp’s building committee and a former member of its board of directors. Marcouillier is organizing a team of contractors who are donating their time or providing their service at reduced costs to build the new facility. “I need good contractors to come in, even it’s for only a (few) hours,” he said.

Home Depot agreed to donate the materials after Marcouillier persistently asked the building supply company for its help.

Last fall, several company employees came out to see the camp.

“They got very excited about the idea of building this double cabin,” Constance said. “So Steve’s been working with them the past year. He made it happen for us. We’re really grateful to Home Depot, too.”

To accommodate the new building, a maintenance shed was knocked down and a staff building was moved. Groundbreaking for the new 3,800- square foot cabin occurred last week, and the foundation is being poured this week.

Marcouillier, a contractor from Manchester, wants the building up before snow falls.

“He’s sort of a guardian angel watching out for our camp,” Constance said. “When he sees a need, he just makes it happen.”

To open the new cabin, however, the camp will need $150,000 to $200,000 to cover the expense of a cistern and other fire safety costs, plumbing and electrical work, and a new septic system for the camp. Constance said whether or not the cabin opens for the summer will depend on if the camp can raise the money.

“If anyone would like to make a donation, we’re very open to that,” she said. “We don’t want a closed building sitting there.”

The camp is 79 years old and showing its age. The staff plans to eventually replace many of its buildings. Some were donated by other camps. Some buildings lack bathrooms.

“They’ve fallen victim to time,” Marcouillier said. “Everything there around them is crumbling.”

Twice, the camp was considered for the television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which travels to communities and features a home being rebuilt. However, the camp didn’t make the final cut either time.

“Their mission is one family at a time, and our mission is hundreds of families a summer,” Constance said.

The camp is located on nearly 60 acres of woodlands and fields. During recent summers, the camp has drawn about 600 participants who enjoy an old-fashioned camping experience that includes swimming, fishing, boating, arts and crafts, dance, music and more.

Staff members, who come from around the world, include professionals in physical therapy, special education, therapeutic recreation, social work and related fields. They work with campers on a one-on- one or one-on-two basis.

Staying at Camp Allen is an experience that participants remember and cherish, according to the camp, and the new friendships, skills, knowledge and attitudes they develop empower them to take on new challenges.

“They love coming here,” Constance said. “We want to keep that campy kind of feeling but give them a safer, more accessible environment to sleep in and dine in.”