BY JERRY LIPTAKManchester Central’s football team, rolling along since mid-October, finished flat against Nashua North. The third-seeded Little Green played well on offense and defense against the Titans, but the second-seeded hosts overcame a 12-3 deficit, scored late following a sequence of fumbles and reached the Division I finals with a ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYWhether gaining closure or preparing for a gridiron future, the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl was a success for Neighborhood athletes. On Saturday, Aug. 1, high school players from across New Hampshire knocked off their Vermont counterparts for the 41st time in 56 contests, easing past their neighbors in Windsor, Vt., 40-6. Hooksett ...

The Hooksett Hurricanes football and cheer program, part of New Hampshire Pop Warner, offers a discount for anyone signing up through May 1. Early sign-ups are offered Tuesday, April 7, and Wednesday, April 22, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the Hooksett Town Library. One child costs $100, two children cost $175, and three or more children cost $200. ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORHis team’s 24-9 semifinal loss to Nashua South two weeks earlier was tough to swallow, but Ryan Ray and the Central Little Green had little trouble feasting on Memorial this Thanksgiving. CHS served up a 47-6 stuffing in the most recent edition of the Manchester Turkey Bowl on Thursday, Nov. 27. After the contest, Ray ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORIt’s not likely either coach was doing back flips when the Division I playoff matchups were announced. Nashua South, which finished the regular season 7-1 and needed a botched late-game punt to beat Manchester Central by a point on Sept. 26, was forced to meet the same foe in the first round of the playoffs. The ...

BY JERRY LIPTAKWhen fierce city rivals Central and West meet on the gridiron, you can, as the old saying goes, throw out the records. By postgame, that’s exactly what the Blue Knights’ mentor, Travis Cote, wanted to do. Following Central’s 28-7 win during West’s homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 4, Cote’s group fell to ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORSitting at a youth hockey conference, watching what was likely to be another boring prerecorded training video, Kermit Brunelle sighed. On the screen, Don Lucia, coach of the national champion University of Minnesota ice hockey team, was giving a speech. “A lot of people think I have the best job in hockey, and I tell ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORIt’s uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation both parties know must take place. As practice begins, Bill Walton, the John Stark wrestling coach, pulls Morgan Belanger aside. “You know if anything inappropriate happens, you have to tell me,” he says. Belanger nods. She’s had this talk before. ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORFor Hooksett-area teams and individual athletes, 2007 was a year in which the surprising became the norm, particularly at the high school level. Though squads such as the Central girls tennis team finished tops in Class L and Cawley Middle School collected multiple titles, other perennial contenders bowed out of the ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY The Central High School football team couldn’t stop Salem High School’s running game, and, in turn, the Little Green’s Division I postseason hopes faded on the Gill Stadium turf Friday, Oct. 26, in a 27-14 setback. Central trailed 14-0 before putting forth one final attempt to salvage its playoff chances. ...