BY MATT SCHOOLEYIt 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 ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYWhen the next fall sports season arrives, expect a change in the landscape of New Hampshire athletics. Beginning with the 2010- 11 fall schedule, all sports will use the divisional format, including the possibility of petitioning up or down. The change, according to athletics directors, provides more choice for schools. Some ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYConnor 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 ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYFor Bedford High School girls soccer, it was an all-too-familiar scene. Same opponent, same score and same hollow feeling as the final whistle blew. For a second consecutive season the Bulldogs were eliminated by Hollis- Brookline, 1-0, in the Class I semifinals, this time falling to the Cavaliers on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Exeter ...

Athlete of the Month Sponsored by Indian Head Athletics BY MATT SCHOOLEYJake Nutter was about five feet tall and not much more than 100 pounds at the time, but his mental makeup was already developing. At the time, the summer before his freshman year at Bedford, Nutter played a round with Manchester Country Club pro Joel St. Laurent, who was ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYPutting shots on net wasn’t the problem for the Bedford boys soccer team during the preliminary round of the Class I playoffs. While the ninth-seeded Bulldogs controlled play against No. 8 Merrimack Valley, the locals were knocked out by a heartbreaking late goal on Thursday, Oct. 29, in a 1-0 loss. Despite playing on a ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYMichelle Winning questioned how her team would respond after allowing a goal during its quarterfinal match of the Class I girls soccer tournament. Her team supplied a swift answer. After Bedford allowed its first goal of the game, pulling John Stark within 3-1 with 14:17 remaining in the second half, Sarah Kelly notched her second ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYThe question awaiting answer during the Class L field hockey preliminary round was who would win – Bishop Guertin, Londonderry or impending darkness. After more than two hours, a pair of sudden death overtime sessions and nine rounds of corner hits, Londonderry edged both foes, 3-2, on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Despite the loss, ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYKurt Hines, Bedford High School’s head football coach, has led the Bulldogs to two wins and some close losses in the program’s second year, and one opposing coach in particular has taken notice. “This team has come leaps and bounds, and it’s because they’re so well coached,” said ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYIn the case of the Bedford girls soccer team, the grass is never greener on the other side. That’s why the speedy Bulldogs are trying to keep sod out of the equation. Following a 1-0 win against Hollis-Brookline on Monday, Oct. 19, Bedford improved to 12-2-0 on the year and put itself in prime position to play the postseason ...