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Merrimack’s Dyer set to head to Holy Cross next year

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Jan 28, 2020

Telegraph file photo by TOM KING Merrimack's Jared Dyer has committed to play his college career at Holy Cross.

NASHUA – It was love at first sight. Or basically first weekend.

Merrimack High School football standout Jared Dyer left for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Immediately after the Tomahawks’ basketball win over Concord Friday night.

When he came back late in the day on Sunday, Dyer knew where he was going to spend his college career.

“I fell in love with it,” said Dyer, who announced on Twitter on Monday that Holy Cross was indeed his choice, as he’ll sign an official letter of intent a week from Wednesday. “I think I just liked the fact they pay attention to every detail. They are about everything. They want to treat all their players well, they care about all their players because they know that’s the way you get to be good.”

Dyer, a West Conference First Teamer and one of the state’s best players in recent years, has been a standout at both defensive end and tight end; the Holy Cross staff said they are looking at him as a DE first, but knowing he can also play tight end if that’s what gets him on the field first.

“They said it depends on trying to get on the field,” he said. “Do whatever I can do to get on the field.”

The other thing that stood out to Dyer was in his mind the huge educational value. “They have incredible networking,” he said, referring to the post-college job search. “It just presents so many opportunities with the networking they have.”

The next key thing: it is close, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, so his family in the area can easily go watch him play.

“I didn’t want to go more than two or three hours away,” Dyer said, “so this checks that box off. That’s a big one.”

Dyer also likes the level of football – Division I, and he likes the fact that HC will play FBS schools from time to time, as they take on Boston College next Halloweeen.

“It’s Division I (FCS), but they’ll play FBS schools, which is pretty impressive to me,” Dyer said. “They want to better themselves and want to be a national program, which is great.”

Dyer says he will be receiving at least an 85 percent scholarship. As he put it, the package gives him scholarship money his freshman and junior-senior seasons, and he can earn sophomore money as he fits the program after his freshman season. The other unique part is he is required to enter HC undecided for a major.

“That’s the beauty of it , they make everyone go in undecided,” he said. “And then you take the time to decide if you want, say, education, criminal justice, etc.”

Those are the two majors that Dyer said he will determine if he wants to pursue.

But for now, a weekend in late January has turned into four years in Worcester.

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If you’re a local high school basketball fan, circle the night of Friday, Feb. 7 and start figuring out you’re viewing plans, as you’ll have to make the tough choice.

The Nashua High School South girls basketball team had a cancer fundraiser at its game vs. Goffstown last Friday, and it will be the Bishop Guertin boys and girls hoop teams turn, in conjunction with Merrimack, on that Friday, called Coaches vs. Cancer.

The boys will play at 5:30 p.m. while the girls will tangle at 7. All proceeds – gate, T-shirt sales, etc. – will go to the Dana Farber Institute.

While Nashua North and South are having their boys-girls doubleheader that night at North (5 and 6:30 p.m.) Merrimack and Bishop Guertin will be having the same at BG’s Colligadome.

It’s going to be a big night of basektball in the city for certain. First, there’s the North-South rivalry, which is huge to begin with. The Titan boys are off to a 5-1 start while the Panthers are 4-4, like their girls counterparts. The North girls are still finding their way at 2-5. But these games usually set the tone for the rest of the season.

Second, if you decide to go over to BG, all four teams are enjoying successful seasons to date so the matchups will be really intriguing.

The Guertin and Merrimack boys are off to 6-1 and 6-2 starts, respectively, while the BG and Merrimack girls are a combined 18-0 going into this week.

But even before that, there’s a potentially huge game Friday night at Nashua North when the Guertin and North boys square off at 6:30. If both can take care of business tonight (BG hosts 4-4 Spaulding at 7 while North is at 4-3 Dover, neither are gimmes, for sure) it will be a showdown type game.

So lots of choices, but also remember the Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser on Feb. 7.

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Congratulations to a rival hockey coach of area teams – Bedford’s Marty Myers who picked up his 200th career win as the Bulldogs coach. Problem was, it came at the expense of Nashua South-Pelham. Myers now has a mark of 200-51, with six state titles and two runnerups…

Also out of the area, no word yet as to where top girls basketball player Kelly Walsh of Goffstown will go next year. “She’s not 100 percent sure yet,” Goffstown coach Steve Largy, a former coach in the Nashua system,said. “She’s got some schools she’s looking at, locall, she wants to play close by. Mostly Division III.”

Largy feels she can play at a higher level, but that Walsh will make the right decision for her regardless.

She makes one last appearance in the area when the Grizzlies and Cards end the regular season against each other at the Colligadome on Feb. 28.

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