BY MATT SCHOOLEY Tom Babaian isn’t looking for his team to replicate what it accomplished last season, but he does hope it ends with his football team holding a championship plaque for a second consecutive year. Babaian’s Pelham Pythons completed their undefeated 2007 campaign with a state title, and the team returns some ...

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 RYAN O’CONNORPrior to the losers bracket quarterfinals against Manchester Westside, the Goffstown 11- and 12-year-old Little League allstar team maintained a 1.24 ERA and a .333 batting average. Following a 10-0 mercy-rule win on Monday, July 14, it’s safe to say the boys improved those already sterling numbers. “We’ve ...

BY JERRY LIPTAKThree up, three down. That’s not describing the end of an inning for the Lamprey River 11- and 12-year-old all-star softball team. It’s an accurate account of the team’s state tournament games to date. Most recently, the locals mercy- ruled host Pelham, 10-0, on Monday, July 14, behind the nohit pitching of Kim ...

BY JERRY LIPTAK Coming off an exciting 10- 8 win over Bow in the 11- and 12-year-old Little League state softball tournament, Pelham entered the winners bracket final with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Lamprey River’s starting pitcher – at least for one game – morphed that into wide-eyed wonder. Pelham couldn’t catch ...

BY JERRY LIPTAK The Pelham High School boys tennis team tweaked the old argument – the end justifies the means – in 2008. This was a team that proved sometimes the end just defies the means. Yes, unbeaten state champ Hanover concluded the Pythons’ season with a quick 9-0 defeat in the Class I state semifinals on ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR By regular-season standards, the implications of a win or a loss were far greater than a typical boys tennis contest. Matched up on Saturday, May 17, were 9-3 Pelham and 11- 2 Coe-Brown. The winner was likely to host a first-round playoff duel between the two five days later. “It was huge,” said ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY Holding onto the 16th and final playoff spot in their inaugural season, the Bedford High School softball team hoped to roll into Pelham and roll out with a win. The 1-13 Pythons had other plans. Pelham jumped to a 7-0 lead and held on for its second win of the season, an 8-7 home victory on Monday, May 19. With the ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR Matt Regan coached the Pelham boys lacrosse team two of the program’s first four years, but missed last season because of time constraints. This season, he is back at the helm and ready to reap the benefits of his initial investment. “The group I had two years ago, when they were all freshmen, I now ...

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. ...