Football

Gilford-Belmont 27, Merrimack Valley 7

Key players: Gilford-Belmont – Noah Harder (2 rush TD), Anakin Underhill (rush TD), Emmett Hughes (fumble recovery TD), Logan Grant (interception), Ashton Taylor (interception); MV – Michael Heine (TD) 

Highlights:  The Eagles picked up a big win on the road in Penacook to snap a two-game losing streak and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Records: Gilford-Belmont 3-4; MV 2-5

Bedford 46, Concord 7

Key players: Concord – Jackson Borkush (TD run), Colby Nyhan (PAT)

Highlights: The defending champion Bulldogs led 19-0 at the end of the first quarter and 40-0 at halftime before Borkush scored a 4 yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Records: Bedford 7-0; Concord 1-5

Laconia 21, Pembroke 14

Key players: Laconia – Alex Richardson (143 yards and 2 TD on 18 carries), Rowan Jones (112 yards on 20 carries); Pembroke – Luke Hanson (84 yards and 2 TD on 18 carries, 2 PAT), Joe Fitzgerald (13-for-23, 145 passing yards, INT, 32 rush yards on 8 carries), Treyvon Cannon (68 yards on 6 receptions; interception), Johnny Holler (50 yards on 3 receptions)

Highlights:  Hanson scored a touchdown on Pembroke’s opening drive, but the Sachems took advantage of a strong run game to take a 14-7 lead at halftime and a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Hanson scored his second TD with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Records: Laconia 3-3; Pembroke 1-6

St. Thomas 18, Bow 9

Key players: St. Thomas – Trent Salyards (TD catch; interception), Declan Healy (TD catch); Bow – Josiah Funches (TD run), Jared Dolder (32 yard FG)

Highlights: The Saints scored a touchdown in the second quarter to take a 12-3 lead into halftime. St. Thomas led 18-3 when Funches scored on a 3 yard TD to cut Bow’s deficit. Salyards had an interception late in the fourth quarter to secure the victory for the Saints.

Coach’s quote:  “A tough loss after a hard-fought gridiron battle. I was pleased by the determination shown. Hopefully we can regroup for next week.” – Bow’s Paul Cohen

Records: St. Thomas 5-2; Bow 3-4

Somersworth 41, Bishop Brady 6   

Highlights:  The Giants fell on the road to the defending Division IV champions.

Records: Somersworth 4-1; Bishop Brady 2-4

Field Hockey 

Bow 2, Hollis-Brookline 1, OT

Key players: Bow – Ella Gray (goal, assist), Shire Kelley (goal), Josie Johnson (assist), Kayla Croscut (16 saves)

Highlights: The Falcons concluded the regular season with an overtime victory thanks to Gray’s game-winning goal off a Johnson assist. Kelley gave Bow a 1-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first half before the Cavaliers tied the game five minutes into the third quarter. The Falcons will host their preliminary round game on Thursday and finished the regular season with the program’s best record in seven years.

Records: Bow 10-4; Hollis-Brookline 10-4

Mascenic 5, Kearsarge 1

Highlights: The Cougars finished the season with a tough loss on the road, but Kearsarge still advances to the Division III tournament.

Coach’s quote:  “We’ve felt the absence of Ava Valle (out with an injury) in the midfield big time the last two games. Mascenic showed up ready to play today. Coach Shaw tends to coach a strong offense and that was certainly true today.” – Kearsarge’s Chelsea Williams

Records: Mascenic 4-8-1; Kearsarge 7-7-0

Winnisquam 5, Franklin 1

Highlights: The Bears and Tornadoes ended their seasons following Friday’s contest at Franklin. After two winless seasons where they didn’t score a goal, the Tornadoes showed significant improvement in 2023.

Records: Winnisquam 5-9; Franklin 2-10

John Stark 3, Kingswood 0

Key players: John Stark – Maggie McGinty (2 goals), Olivia Worthen (goal), Hannah Corey (assist), Lauryn Guevin (assist), Caylin Worthen (assist), Edie Fischer (3 saves), Hailey Brisson (midfield), Sophia Lundeen (defense)

Highlights:  The Generals clinched the No. 1 seed in the Division II tournament with a victory on Senior Night on Tuesday. Seniors McGinty, Corey, Brisson, Fischer and Lundeen all played well in their final regular-season game in a Stark uniform. The Generals now have a break until the D-II quarterfinals on Oct. 22.

Records: John Stark 13-1; Kingswood 4-9-1

Bishop Brady 3, White Mountains 0

Key players: Bishop Brady – Camdyn Despres (goal), Kylee Potter (goal), Kimble Rose (goal), Laura Yap (2 assists), Payton Bryson (assist);  White Mtns. – Avery Harris (13 saves)

Highlights:  The Giants defeated the Spartans on Thursday night. Brady had an 11-0 advantage in corners and didn’t allow a shot on goal.

Records: Bishop Brady 10-3; White Mtns. 5-8

Boys’ Soccer

Concord 2, Merrimack 1

Key players: Concord – Nicholas D’Agostino (goal), Bronson Becker (goal), Benjamin Hughes (assist) , Matthew Jenness (10 saves), Jonah Gaby (midfield), Nicholas Reynolds (defense)

Highlights:  D’Agostino scored the first goal of the match after winning the ball and firing a shot from 30 yards out to the far post in the second half. Merrimack tied the game 10 minutes later, but Becker took a feed from Hughes and dribbled through three players to score the game-winning goal.

Records: Concord 4-9; Merrimack 3-11

Bow 4, Hollis-Brookline 2

Key players: Bow – Colby Smith (2 goals), Carter Weiss (goal, assist), Anthony Ray (goal)

Highlights: Playing their toughest opponent in a couple of weeks, the Falcons went up 2-0 in the first 17 minutes of the match, before Bow’s defense slipped and gave up a penalty kick in the 29th and 35th minutes, allowing the Cavaliers to the game 2-2. Smith scored on a penalty kick just before halftime to give Bow a 3-2 lead and Ray scored off a Weiss assist seven minutes into the second half. Smith got things rolling early for the Falcons by converting on a free kick and Weiss made it 2-0 when he collected a rebound off an Elijah Modzeleski strike.

Records: Bow 12-1-1; Hollis-Brookline 10-4-0

Coe-Brown 1, ConVal 1

Key players: Coe-Brown – Nick Ball (goal)

Coach’s quote:  “We started the match with the intention to move the ball around quickly and find our way through the defense. Two things unsettled that. One, ConVal went up 1-0 on a set play nearly identical to one we gave up in our last game. Two, the field made it really challenging to string together clean passes. Because of that, we had to shift our desire to play from the back through our midfield to playing more direct. While it’s not pretty, it was what the game and the moment demanded. From that shift on, we were putting pressure on their defense. We leveled the score and had numerous close chances. Credit to their goalkeeper for some big saves. All in all it was a very scrappy game with little rhythm. It’s good to experience that kind of match, and the players responded well after going down a goal early on. We are looking to end our regular season next week playing our best team soccer.” – Coe-Brown’s Christian Gompert

Records: Coe-Brown 7-6-1; ConVal 7-5-1

Hopkinton 3, Manchester West 0

Key players: Hopkinton – Avery Condon (2 goals), Owen Wuellenweber (assist), Colby Boissy (3 saves)

Highlights: Condon scored in the fourth minute off a corner kick and an own goal by West off a long throw in made it 2-0 in the 24th. Condon had an unassisted goal in the 71st minute, confidently finishing off a long run.

Records: Hopkinton 13-2; West 3-11

Girls’ Soccer

Coe-Brown 4, ConVal 2

Key players: Coe-Brown – Bella Lapierre (2 goals, assist), Somer Loto (goal, 2 assists), Jennifer Noni (goal), Maggie Esabi (assist), Cam Buchanan, Kylie Prusia, Abbey Frank

Highlights: Noni opened the scoring in the fourth minute on an assist from Loto, who scored a goal of her own three minutes later off a through ball from Lapierre. ConVal tied the game 2-2 by halftime, but Lapierre scored twice in the second half to lift the Bears to the win.

Coach’s quote:  “We needed to get this win to keep pace with the other teams fighting for a first-round bye in the tournament. The girls could have folded under the ConVal pressure and physicality. We held our composure and executed when we needed to. There is still room for improvement as we finish out the regular season next week.” – Coe-Brown’s Josh Hils

Records: Coe-Brown 11-2-1; ConVal 5-5-3

John Stark 2, Lebanon 0

Key players: John Stark – Makayla Pellerin (goal, assist), Melody Couturier (goal), Lexi Boudreau (save)

Coach’s quote:  “The girls played another solid match leading into the final week of the regular season. I am proud of everyone’s efforts.” – John Stark’s Eddie Marceau

Records: John Stark 11-2-1; Lebanon 6-7-1

Merrimack Valley 1, Kingswood 0, OT

Key players: MV – Lila Gray (goal), Sydney Bailey (assist), Hannah Verville (3 saves), Colby Magoon, Calli Gray, Jada Lucas, Ellie Andrews, Sierra Mercer

Highlights:  Valley was a little disorganized for the first 10 minutes of the match, but settled down and started completing more passes in the attacking third. After 80 minutes of physical, but scoreless, soccer, Gray had the game-winning strike two minutes into overtime.

Coach’s quote:  “This was a battle from start to finish. Although we did not play as much possession as I had hoped for, I am very proud of my team for the fight and heart that they displayed throughout the game. Kingswood was a physical and frustrating team to play. They did a good job disrupting our passing game. Our golden goal was a beautiful pass across the goal from Sydney Bailey and finished off a gritty run into the box by Lila Gray.” – MV’s Kylee Yam

Records: MV 11-2-1; Kingswood 6-6-2