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 ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYDonald Pare has video evidence that baseball is indeed a game of inches. Pare’s 11- and 12-year-old Hooksett Little League team was eliminated from District 1 play after consecutive losses, including a 5-4 setback to Salem National on July 1. Hooksett was tied 4-4 in the top of the sixth and final frame, but a Salem batter ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYGreg Shaw didn’t have to worry about ensuring all 26 players on his roster saw action on the field. During an undefeated season and Class M girls soccer championship, his Cawley Middle School team cruised to victories and gave him the chance to secure playing time for the majority of his squad. On Oct. 20, the team ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORConsider this: Team A and Team B enter the final game of the regular season. Team A is in first place, and team B is out of contention. At some point in the game a player from Team A goes for the ball and trips a Team B foe in the process. A yellow card is drawn. Team A wins the game and locks up the top playoff spot, yet ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORShe played under one coach and with another. Now their peer, Kris Komisarek rolled out the welcome mat for the second straight year for her former mentors. You see, Komisarek played under local legend Peter Lally, who has spent the last 36 years maintaining a perennial girls soccer powerhouse at Manchester Central. Last ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR Despite a disappointing season for the Concord American Legion baseball team, Post 21 manager Averill Cate wanted to conclude the summer on a positive note. In fact, he said he wants to end every Legion season like he’s done this year. On Thursday, Aug. 14, Concord Post 21 and the Forty-and- Eight Club ...

BY RYAN O’CONNORDespite a disappointing season for the Concord American Legion baseball team, Post 21 manager Averill Cate wanted to conclude the summer on a positive note. In fact, he said he wants to end every Legion season like he’s done this year. On Thursday, Aug. 14, Concord Post 21 and the Forty-and- Eight Club congratulated ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR They saved their best for last. After several successful years at the junior level, Ken Mckiernan and the Granite State Falcons decided they were ready for a greater challenge. The team moved up to the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), and after taking some lumps early, garnered ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR Last year, Auburn’s Joey Dudek rode his arm and leg to Gillette Stadium – and very nearly the Super Bowl. Dudek, who won the 10- and 11-year-old division of the local Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition last August, also triumphed at the sectional competition in Bristol, R.I., and then the regional ...

BY JERRY LIPTAKThrough five innings on July 9, Salem American proved a most inhospitable District- 1 Little League host, keeping Hooksett’s 11- and 12-yearold all-stars from threatening its house. Strong pitching, flawless fielding and timely hitting gave the home team a 4-0 edge. Prior to the top of the sixth and final inning, Hooksett ...