ESPN

It's a head-scratcher of the highest order.

Tony Johnson, among the Granite State's most successful head football coaches, will not return for his 18th season at powerhouse Bishop Guertin High, the three-time defending Division II champion.

Also the Nashua school's athletics director for the past four years, Johnson announced his stunning decision on May 6. He first broke the news to his assistant coaches and student-athletes.

Word spread quickly.

Pinkerton Academy head football coach Brian O'Reilly – whose Division I champion Astros play yet another much-anticipated season-opening crossover contest with BG this fall – said his reaction was complete disbelief.

“Tony has obviously done an exceptional job at Bishop Guertin,” said O'Reilly, entering his 34th season at the helm in Derry. “When I think of Bishop Guertin football, I immediately think of Tony Johnson.”

O'Reilly, whose program is a 10-time Division I king, isn't alone.

On this topic, easily obtainable answers exist to four of journalism's five W's: Who?, What?, When?, and Where? The fifth question is much tougher to explain.

Why?

“My passion is coaching,” said Johnson, who will remain BG's athletics director. “But really, (BG officials) wanted me to focus on being AD.”

Four years earlier, Johnson became AD in addition to coaching football. He said his performance in both roles has been reviewed annually.

Johnson, a Guertin graduate (1977), simply said the powers-that-be wanted him to focus more attention on all sports programs.

Minus any details, which haven't emerged from behind Guertin's doors, this move is baffling. Guertin fields championship-caliber teams in a variety of fall, winter and spring sports.

Let's see how much longer Guertin football remains a force. Johnson and his loyal assistants are a big reason for BG's stranglehold on Division II.

Johnson took over in 1994, fresh off a winless campaign. BG reached the final in 1997, the first of 10 title-game trips under Johnson's tutelage.

The Cardinals finally finished No. 1 in 2004, securing their first crown since Johnson starred for the school's 1975 title team as a junior.

Johnson's juggernaut has won six of the seven state championships since 2004. All that separates the Cards from seven straight titles is, quite possibly, a controversial pass interference penalty late in the 2007 final against Exeter High. The infraction gave Exeter life, and led to a 14-13 comeback decision.

“It will not be the same,” O'Reilly said. “Whoever follows (Johnson) is behind the 8-ball.”

That's because the successor will work in a giant shadow cast by the former coach, still serving as AD.

“We'll open this thing up. We're going to do an open search,” Johnson said. “I owe it to my kids to find the best coach I can.”

JOHNSON'S PREPARED STATEMENT
BG's former head coach read this statement to select media members after informing the football team of his decision to leave the sideline:

“My heartfelt thanks goes to the thousands of young men I have had the honor of coaching and teaching over the past 17 years. I want to thank my loyal coaches, thousands of great parents, alumni and friends of BG for their contributions in achieving an unparalleled record of winning football games, developing outstanding scholar-athletes, and to their dedication of the highest principles of good sportsmanship and citizenship.”

CLIPPERS CLOSE TO RECORD
Portsmouth High's baseball team (10-0) is close to tying the national record for consecutive wins.

The three-time defending Division II champion won its 73rd consecutive game on May 11. The Clippers beat Amherst's Souhegan High, 9-3.

But it was Portsmouth's 70th straight win that stands out. It certainly qualified as nail-biter baseball. The Clippers clinched a 4-3 comeback win against Dover's St. Thomas Aquinas High on May 2.

Pitching ace Keegan Taylor was tagged for a first-inning home run that placed the Clippers in a 2-0 hole. Jordan Bean, STA's top hurler and Taylor's teammate on the celebrated Portsmouth Little League squad that reached the national semifinals of the 60th World Series in 2006, belted Taylor's third toss of the game.

Portsmouth's third-inning four-spot erased the deficit.

Bill Hartman cracked an RBI double. Matt Feeney ripped a two-run single. Taylor tripled to plate Feeney with the game-winning run.

Taylor threw a four-hitter on 100 pitches. Northeastern's recruit recorded 10 strikeouts and walked one.

The current win streak record-holder is Michigan's Homer High, which beat 75 teams in a row, according to the National Federation of State High Schools Association.

If the Clippers defeat Durham's Oyster River High on May 13, they'll play for a share of the record on May 16 at Kingston's Sanborn Regional.

The potential record-breaker game is May 18 at Pembroke Academy.

LANCERS LOCKED IN
Londonderry High survived a fierce five-game stretch from April 30 to May 11, which kept its state-best girls' lacrosse win streak alive. The streak reached 48 straight games with a 14-4 Division I win over arch-rival Pinkerton on May 11.

It was Londonderry's lone lopsided win in the 12-day span.

The Lancers (11-0) edged the Bay State's Duxbury High, 12-11, on April 30. They worked a 10-8 comeback win at Pinkerton on May 3.

Three days later, Londonderry beat Concord High, 8-6. The Lancers kept the Crimson Tide off the scoreboard for the final 22 minutes, and erased a 6-2 second-half deficit.

They again faced Concord on May 10, and topped the Tide, 12-9.

From front to back, the Lancers displayed their balance. Attackers Leah Walter and Julia Wasserman, midfielders Jenny Thompson and Alexa Bedell, defenders Amy Johnson and Lindsay Conroy, and goalkeeper Crystalle Parent all made critical contributions.

“All the stuff we've been trying to teach throughout the year is just starting to come into place,” Londonderry coach Bob Slater said. “This is when we wanted it. This is when we needed it.”

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES HONORED
Twenty-nine seniors from schools throughout the state were the honored guests at the 24th annual Joe Yukica New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame scholar-athlete dinner on May 4.

The number of standouts – celebrated by 200-plus members of the state's football community at the Executive Court in Manchester – tied the record set last year. At least one school from each of the six New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) football divisions was represented.

A five-man selection committee from the Yukica foundation chose from nearly 50 candidates nominated by their coaches. Prerequisites for consideration included football talent, good grades and high character.

This year's winners included:

• Chris Almeida, Souhegan (Amherst)
• Jared Barczak, Trinity (Manchester)
• Nick Kepka-Calvetti, Souhegan
• Matthew Cannone, Salem
• Sam Carney, Hanover
• Tim Croteau, Nashua North
• Stephen Cuipa II, Bishop Guertin
• Joseph DiPalma, Salem
• Keith Farkas, Nashua South
• Benjamin Fee, Winnacunnet (Hampton)
• Dan Folger, Bishop Guertin
• Nick Hession, Souhegan
• Jake Holmes, Laconia
• Max Jacques, Salem
• Brandon Karkhanis, Nashua North
• Jim Kemos, Bishop Guertin
• Kevin Kosiorek, Mascoma (Canaan)
• Doran Logsdon, Laconia
• Anton Marinchik, Nashua North
• Sam McClain, Bedford
• James Murphy, Nashua North
• Cody Patch, Lebanon
• Jack Pearl, St. Thomas Aquinas (Dover)
• Jonathan Roth, Lebanon
• Michael Seaman, Epping
• Luke Somers, Pinkerton
• Matthew Sullivan, Winnacunnet
• Michael Sullivan, Winnacunnet
• Nicholas Sullivan, Newport

STARS TO SHINE
The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) recently announced plans for New Hampshire's first East-West high school football all-star game. The inaugural contest is June 23, 2012, at the University of New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium.

The game will benefit CHaD and the Kristen's Gift fund for pediatric oncology.

Each team's roster will include 36 players based on nominations made by their head coaches. Players must compete for schools recognized by the NHIAA.

Every division will be represented by, at minimum, one athlete. A maximum four players may be chosen from a single team.

Route 3 and Interstate-93 are the dividing lines that create the “East vs. West” matchup.

“The team of organizers that we’ve assembled will do a masterful job in premiering the state's only all-star football game,” event founder Nick Vailas said in a written statement. “New Hampshire football will be elevated by this platform, and players should aspire to make the teams' rosters in order to showcase their skills in an event that will raise awareness and funding for CHaD and Kristen’s Gift.”

GRANITE STATE GREATS

• Bedford High goalkeeper Austin Lauzier made at least 20 saves in consecutive Division II boys' lacrosse contests on May 7 and 9. He stopped 21 shots in a 17-10 loss at Souhegan on May 7. He made 20 saves in an 11-8 win over Portsmouth two days later.
• Jack Dowst, a midfielder at Manchester's Derryfield School, totaled seven goals and three assists on May 9. His 10-point effort paced the defending Division III boys' lacrosse champion in a 13-10 win over Lebanon High.
• Pinkerton's Ryan Feney was a double threat on the baseball diamond May 9 at Rochester's Spaulding High. He struck out nine batters and hit a two-run homer in his team's 5-3 Division I win.
• Mickenzie Larivee and Meggie Whitney each recorded five goals and an assist in Souhegan's 19-3 Division I girls' lacrosse win over Manchester Central High on May 10.
• Julia Nolan led Litchfield's Campbell High to a 1-0 Division III softball win over Conant High of Jaffrey on May 11. She fanned 14 batters and celebrated her 100th strikeout of the season.
• Oyster River girls' basketball star Danielle Walczak, a scholarship recruit for the University of Maine, secured a spot on Parade Magazine's 35th annual All-America high school team. The 6-foot 1-inch center will be profiled in the publication's May 15 issue.

Marc Thaler is a staff writer for the New Hampshire Union Leader & Sunday News. He can be reached at marc.thaler@gmail.com. You can read his blog, "New Hampshire GameDay" and follow him on Twitter @marc_thaler.

The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Nicole Boudreau of Andover High School as its 2010-11 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Boudreau is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Andover High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Boudreau as Massachusetts’s best high school girls basketball player. She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March.

The 5-foot-8 junior guard led the Warriors to a 23-1 record entering the Division 1 North Sectional semifinals against Central Catholic High, scheduled for March 9. At the time of her selection, Boudreau was averaging 22.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.0 steals, 4.8 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. The 2011 Merrimack Valley Conference Player of the Year, she had connected on 85 three-pointers at the time of her selection and had scored 1,511 career points.

Boudreau has maintained a 4.0 weighted GPA in the classroom. An elite teen golfer who is the junior champion at Andover Country Club, she has volunteered locally as a youth basketball coach and tutor.

Boudreau has verbally committed to play basketball on scholarship at Boston College beginning in the fall of 2012.

Boudreau joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Players of the Year Lauren Battista (2009-10, Oliver Ames), Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir (2008-09, New Leadership Charter School), and Felicia Barron (2007-08, Springfield Central) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Below are the winners from the five other New England states:

CONNECTICUT: KATIE MAHONEY, BACON ACADEMY

The 5-foot-10 senior guard has led the Bobcats to a 25-0 record and a berth in the semifinals of the Class L state tournament against Hillhouse, scheduled for March 11. At the time of her selection, Mahoney was averaging 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals per game. An All-State selection in 2010, she’s also a three-time All-Eastern Connecticut Conference choice.

Mahoney has maintained an A-plus average in the classroom and represents one of the state’s top academic candidates in meeting the Gatorade Award’s broad criteria. She has volunteered locally on behalf of the American Red Cross, and has raised funds to benefit cancer research and Haitian relief organizations.

Mahoney remains undecided regarding a collegiate destination.

Mahoney joins recent Gatorade Connecticut Girls Basketball Players of the Year Kastine Evans (2009-10, Norwich Free Academy), Symone Roberts (2008-09, New Britain), and Heather Buck (2007-08, Stonington) among the state’s list of former award winners.

RHODE ISLAND: KELLY MANNIX, BARRINGTON

The 5-foot-10 senior guard and forward averaged 15.4 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game this past season, leading the Eagles (23-2) to the Division I state semifinals. A 2010 First Team All-State selection and the 2009 Division II Player of the Year, Mannix connected on 47.7 percent of her field goals including 14-of-22 shots from 3-point range. She concluded her prep basketball career with 1,395 points and 1,007 rebounds.

Mannix has maintained a 4.02-unweighted GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally as part of fundraising campaigns to benefit Barrington High athletics in addition to serving as a youth basketball coach and counselor.

Mannix has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Adelphi University in New York this fall.

Mannix joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Girls Basketball Players of the Year Allie Jones (2009-10, South Kingstown), Torey Jones (2008-09, La Salle Academy), and Brittany Wilson (2007-08, St. Mary Academy-Bay View) among the state’s list of former award winners.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: DANIELLE WALCZAK, OYSTER RIVER

The 6-foot-1 senior center averaged 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.5 blocks and 3.3 steals per game this past season, leading the Bobcats (14-6) to the Division II state quarterfinals. The two-time returning Class I Player of the Year as named by the New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization, Walczak recorded a 72.0 field-goal percentage. She produced 16.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest as a junior in addition to leading Oyster River to the 2009 Class I state title as a sophomore. Walczak captured 2009 and 2010 Class I First team All-State honors.

Walczak has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom and ranks No. 6 in her graduating class. An active member of her church community, she has donated her time as a youth basketball instructor, as part of a youth literacy-outreach program and on behalf of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Walczak has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Maine this fall.

Walczak joins recent Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Basketball Player of the Year, three-time winner Tiffany Ruffin (2007-08, 2008-09 & 2009-10, Winnacunnet) among the state’s list of former award winners.

MAINE: NIKI TAYLOR, YORK

The 6-foot senior center and forward averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds, three steals and 2.1 assists per game this past season while shooting 60 percent from the floor and leading the Wildcats to the Class B regional final. The state’s returning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Taylor became York High’s career scoring leader, finishing with 1,442 points, breaking the previous mark of 1,413, set by Lani Boardman from 1997 to 2001.

Taylor has maintained a 92.1-percent average in the classroom. She has volunteered locally on behalf of her town’s parks and recreation department in addition to donating her time as an elementary school tutor and youth basketball coach

“Niki Taylor’s stats and awards speak for themselves, but they do not do justice to the work ethic and leadership she has supplied to our program,” said York High Head Coach Rick Clark. “She works hard every chance she gets to make herself a better player.”

Taylor has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Vermont this fall.

Two time winner Taylor joins recent Gatorade Maine Girls Basketball Players of the Year Morgan Frame (2008-09, Waterville) and Rachael Mack (2007-08, Cony) among the state’s list of former award winners.

VERMONT: KYLIE ATWOOD, LAKE REGION UNION

The 5-foot-4 junior guard has led the Rangers to a 20-1 record and a berth in the Division 3 semifinals against Oxbow, scheduled for March 10. Atwood averaged 19.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game before a knee injury ended her season prior to the state playoffs. She is a two-time Vermont Basketball Coaches Association Dream Dozen selection, a two-time First Team All-Mountain Division choice and was a Third Team Burlington Free Press All-State pick as a sophomore in 2010.

Atwood has maintained a B average in the classroom. She has volunteered locally on behalf of youth basketball programs.

Atwood has verbally committed to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Vermont and will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

Atwood joins recent Gatorade Vermont Girls Basketball Players of the Year Allison Gannon (2009-10, Champlain Valley Union), Tiffany Johnson (2008-09, Bellows Free Academy), and Alyssa Herrington (2007-08, Mt. Anthony Union) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Coaches in Divisions I and II boys' hockey can't complain about the state tournament formats for their leagues.

But coaches in Division III have a beef. It's hard to argue otherwise.

“I certainly think it was an oversight,” Marc Noel said of the issue. “Do something about it. Make it good.”

Noel coaches co-operative team Pembroke-Campbell, which competes in 16-team Division III, the largest of the NHIAA's three leagues for boys' hockey. Yet based on the percentage of clubs that qualify for the postseason in each tier, Division III is the lowest.

And it's not even close.

Division I features 15 teams. The top 12 squads (80 percent) compete in the tournament, which rewards the first- through fourth-place clubs with a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.

Division I features 12 teams. The top eight teams (67 percent) punch tournament tickets.

As for 16-team Division III, its top eight teams compete for a championship.

Just 50 percent of the field plays on.

Jim Daley, the NHIAA ice hockey committee chair, said in an e-mail that Division III was the smallest league when by-laws for this season were set. The addition of several co-operative teams (Pembroke-Campbell is one of six) and North Sutton's Kearsarge Regional, where Daley is principal, added greatly to the division's depth.

Noel's frustration is fueled by the lack of consistency across all divisions. He wants the NHIAA to adopt the Division I format. Simply add four teams to his league's tourney.

(Read full post)

Concord High caught a few teams by surprise during its postseason run to the Division I boys' hockey championship a year ago.

"We certainly got hot in the tournament," said Concord coach Duncan Walsh, recalling his team's run to the title as the No. 4 seed. "I don't think anyone thought Concord was going to win it."

The Crimson Tide's rink rivals won't be fooled this time around. The Tide is the preseason team to beat.

"You've got to start with Concord. They've got a lot of guys back," said Pinkerton Academy of Derry coach Casey Kesselring, whose Astros, as defending champs last season, were ousted in a wide open semifinal round that also featured Nashua's Bishop Guertin and Exeter. "They lost a key piece in (Division I Player of the Year) Kevin Marceau. But they have the Lacasse brothers back."

Pat Lacasse is Concord's top returning playmaker. Nick Lacasse leads a veteran defensive group. The twin brothers are among 16 of 20 returning players from the program's first title team since 1999.

"Goals are going to come harder than last year," Walsh said. "Last year, we had a dominant first line. There weren’t many games they didn’t get two or three goals. I don’t think we’ll get four or five goals (per game), but we might get two or three."

Concord's first line projects to be Pat Lacasse, the lone returning first-liner from last season, and Chris Acres and Pat Cannon. It's on the other end of the ice where the Tide has fewer question marks.

Nick Lacasse, Taylor Lebell and Dustin Walsh earned the bulk of ice time along the blue line during the 2009-10 campaign. Goaltender Brendan Garrett is also back from the surprise squad that ousted top-seeded BG, 4-3, in the semifinals and blanked No. 3 seed Exeter, 1-0, in the final.

"In my opinion, it's Concord, Hanover, Pinkerton and Bishop Guertin. Those are the usual suspects," Exeter coach Jim Tufts said. "But Concord is the defending champ. Their starting goalie is back, and those twins are really good."

(Read full post)