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’CONNORDivision III football has a different look in 2008. While perennial beast Souhegan of Amherst remains the favorite, and always-solid Milford and Portsmouth are still around as well, Plymouth, winner of seven of the last 10 D-III titles, moves down a division. “From year to year, the teams change so much it’s ...

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. ...

I'm not much of a football fan, but the Patriots have me tuning in at odd hours of the night just to see the point spread.  I'm wondering if they might possibly hold on to their "undefeated" moniker for the entire season.  And that possibility really makes me want to tune in to all the antics on the field ...

By Ryan O’connor Post-game emotion on the two sidelines was quite different, but the feeling was the same: this was no ordinary exhibition. The annual Queen City Turkey Bowl, featuring Manchester’s top two teams, saw West and Central pass the stuffing back and forth for three-plus quarters before Blue Knights running back Nick ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR The playoffs started a week early for the Manchester West and Salem high school football teams. The Blue Devils rolled into the contest on Friday, Nov. 2, with a four-game winning streak against state foes and a 5-2 record. The Blue Knights, on the other hand, clawed to 4-3 after consecutive mid-season setbacks to Nashua ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR The Grizzlies had the Division II playoffs in sight, but on one rain-soaked Saturday afternoon they allowed the postseason to evade their grasp.  Though many local football and soccer games were postponed Nov. 3 due to inclement weather, Howard Sobolov, Goffstown High School athletics director, and Rob Cathcart, GHS ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY With two undefeated teams going head to head, there was plenty of electricity in the crowd Friday, Nov. 2, as Gilford and Pelham squared off at Pelham High School to close out the regular season. Strangely, in the first quarter, the only thing missing from the game was electricity. The Pythons worked around a 19-minute power ...

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. ...