FINALS FESTIVAL: Six local teams vying for state titles today
Bishop Guertin softball ;players celebrate their stunning Divison I semifinal win over No. 2 Winnacunnet Tuesday in Plymouth. (Photo by Nick Perenick)
Sharpen those No. 2 pencils, put the cell phones in the bin provided, and get ready for testing mode:
It’s Finals Day.
There are an incredible five championship games today involving six local teams, one of them an all-local event.
The day starts early – perhaps as before you even read this – at 10 a.m.at Manchester’s Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, when the No. 3 Souhegan High School Sabers (14-3) take on No. 4 Bow (15-5) in the Division II baseball title game. The Sabers and Falcons, oddly enough, did not meet this season. Souhegan is seeking its first title since 2016, while Bow last won it in 2019.
Next, at 5 p.m., you have your choice if you’re a boys lacrosse fan. You can head to Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium to see what should be a dynamite matchup between No. 1 Bedford (18-1) vs. No. 2 Bishop Guertin (17-3). We say dynamite because the two teams played an intense overtime game back in late April with Guertin winning, 13-2. The Cards will be seeking their fourth straight Division I title, and Bedford its first. However, the Bulldogs won three straight in Division II from 2012-14.
Or, fitting for the season, you can head up to Laconia in the Lakes Region for the 5 p.m. Division III final between No. 2 Campbell (16-3) and No. 5 Bow (12-4). The Cougars will be seeking their first title in boys lacrosse; the Falcons will be going for their fourth but first in Division III. They, too, won three straight in Division II from 2008-10. Campbell is the favorite; the Cougars beat the Falcons 7-3 just a couple of weeks ago.
If the Campbell game ends fairly quickly, then sneak out and head up to Plymouth State University. That’s where one of the surprise teams of the tournament season, No. 11 Bishop Guertin (13-8) takes on No. 1 Londonderry (18-2). The Cardinals upset No. 6 Timberlane in the first round, then took care of Portsmouth at home in the quarters and then stunned No. 2 Winnacunnet 7-2 in the semifinals on Wednesday.
If you’re not in travel mode, then you can stay right in the area and see what should be a fantastic boys volleyball final at Nashua South’s Belanger Gym between No. 2 Souhegan (16-2) and No. 5 Hollis Brookline (14-4). The Cavaliers will be seeking their third straight title and the Sabers their first.
They played a great five set match won by Souhegan back on April 12, and that appeared to be the Sabers’ signature win.
“It was a really close one,”Souhegan coach Carla Boyer said of the 3-2 Saber win back on April 12. “It’s going to be a fight. We’re going to push it, we’re going to fight. I know we beat them before, we just have to figure out how come back out and do it again.”
Souhegan’s Chase McBride and HB’s Kyle Sanborn are good friends in hockey, and they’ll see each other again.
“I went over to him after that match and I said, ‘We’re meeting back in the ship’, and here we are,” McBride said.


