They made it further than any Lamprey River Little League all-star baseball team before them.

This year’s 10- and 11-yearolds, with players from Candia, Raymond and Nottingham, not only pushed several perennial Little League powers aside during their unprecedented run, but they gave 2008 champ Goffstown all it could handle in a 4-3 loss in the losers bracket finale on Friday, July 18.

In fact, it took a Goffstown rally in the bottom of the sixth and final inning to prevent the locals from meeting Bedford for the state championship.

Still, manager Paul Coates said it sure was a wild ride. “This team was the most relaxed, fun-loving team that I have ever coached,” he said. “I have been coaching for some time, and this group of players were always a joy. They worked hard … and never let the pressure get to them. They always respected each other and their opponent.”

That was never more evident, said Coates, than at the end of the Goffstown game, when an opposing parent approached assistant coach Carl Edin to thank him.

“(She) expressed her appreciation and respect for (Edin’s son) Adam and the other players for congratulating her son, who hit in the game-winning run. She said that she had never seen such sportsmanship,” said Coates. “This was typical of the Lamprey players throughout the tournament. Win or lose, they understood that all that was required was to give their best effort. On Friday, Goffstown was just a little better, and our players recognized their efforts in a great well-played game.”

The fact that Lamprey River suffered both its setbacks to the champs, said the manager, makes the run that much more impressive.

After beating Manchester South, 4-1, the boys were knocked into the losers bracket courtesy of a 10-0 thumping by Goffstown.

Many teams would have folded. Instead, Lamprey River came from behind to defeat Pelham, 4-2, handed Bow a 5-2 loss, then socked a solid Windham squad, 6-1, before taking down Derry American, 4-3.

“It’s very difficult in Lamprey River, as opposed to a Little League composed of one town, for the kids to come together in an all-star format,” said Coates. “This team was comprised of 14 players who all made a commitment to play. Not one kid was cut in tryouts, and right from the onset they developed a strong concept of team play. They brought four towns together and made one Lamprey River.”

Practices, added the manager, were where the players gelled.

“They never got down on themselves, and they helped each other out quite a bit,” said Coates. “There wasn’t one superstar among them. They were a true team.”

In addition to Edin, others contributing during Lamprey River’s ride include Candia’s Garrett Bolton; Raymond’s Jeffrey Bouchard, McKenna West Coates, Dennis Cowan, Alan Towle, Matthew Layman and Tim Trefethen; and Nottingham’s Alex Sprague, Jamie Sigmund, Tyler Comte, Connor Gaffney, Carter Medeiros and Benjamin Porter.

Assisting Coates were Carl Edin and Dan Gaffney. Others helping the players during practice were Tim Layman, Rob Porter, John Sigmund and Sam Towle.