FOOTBALL

Nashua Elks Crusaders

5th grade: Keene 19, Nashua Crusaders 6

Nashua dropped its second game of the season in a physical battle with Keene. Keene scored first and maintained a 7-0 lead at the half. In the second half, Keene maintained its momentum until Nashua responded in the third quarter on a touchdown run by quarterback Andrew Penkala. The touchdown was set up on several nice runs from Brendon Frost and finished with a quarterback keeper at the goal line.

Nashua received solid offensive contributions on the ground from Frost, Casey McNally, Penkala, Jake Robbins and Jaylan Pacheco. The Crusaders also had pass receptions hauled in by Gabe Perrault, Jeffrey Reza and McNally.

On defense, the Elks had plays from Pacheco, Robbins, Penkala, Braden McDonnell, Cole Desmond and Jason Messier. Also playing well for Nashua were Connor Dube, Alex Fortier, Tige McNulty, Tanner Plourde, Brandon Martin, Allan Godfrey, Nathanial Tejeda and Max Sheperd.

Nashua PAL Force

Flag: NPF Yellow 14,NPF Green 7

NPF Yellow ran its record to 2-0 beating NPF Green in a hard fought battle 14 to 7 at Artillery Field. QB Xavier Francis and RB Chris Prangley each notched a touchdown for Yellow behind the blocking of Bobby Canaway, Cam Prangley and Charley Mewkill. Keeping the score close was RB Drew Sheehan for Green scoring behind the offensive talents of Cody Morton, Nick Digesse, Tyler Girouard and John Forcier. Defensively, Green’s tandem of Jack and Luke Peters along with Toby Brown, Dmitri Moreno and Caedan Sheahan kept the pressure on all day. Yellow prevailed with Moe L’Hereureux, Michael Jigarjian and Aidan McLaughlin leading the defensive charge.

Flag: NPF Blue 28, NPF White 21

NPF Blue kept their undefeated season intact against NPF White in a shoot out 28 to 21 at Artillery Field. Blue opened the scoring behind the running of Michael Gigliotti and QBs Thomas Laurendi and QB Peter Wilson, each crossing the goal line behind big blocks from Dylan McDermott, Patrick Keegan and Charlie Bellavance. White matched Blue score for score in the first half behind the RB combination of Derek Finlay and Trent Jackson and blocking of Nathan Ruiter, Zach Proulx, Severen Johnson and Jayden Allen. Blue opened up the second half with RB Lorenzo Abreu and RB Ryan Forcier running hard and QB Patrick Costa scoring with QB Samuel Marshall punching another in for the game winner. White stormed back with QB Zaeden Crocker leading a scoring drive behind the tandem of Cody Goode and Ben Mullett. White’s Austin Spooner notched a QB sack to keep Blue off the board again.

Flag: NPF Red 28, Nor-Rock Vikings 28

NPF Red came back strong tying the Nor-Rock Vikings 28-28 away at Nor-Rock Field in Raymond, NH on Sunday. Ariyan Cora scored on the opening play of the game, followed quickly by David Simpson tackling the Vikings to force a turnover. Derek Schlupf snapped the ball aggressively for a hand off to Jack Hamblett who ran the ball down field and set up for a second touchdown by Devyn Lavoie. Luke Smiley led Red defensively in the first half to limit the Vikings to two scores, while Ariyan Cora roared into the endzone again. To open up the second half, QB Reid Lavoie added to his rushing yardage with a long carry to the 5 yard line. After an unfortunate fumble, Brady Sullivan sacked the Vikings QB to regain possession. Running back Jake O’Connor took it down the field, but the Reds were unable to complete the touchdown. John Barry at noseguard threatened the Viking QB, forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Jayce Cora to set up a touchdown by Devyn Lavoie.

3rd grade: Pelham wins

NPF travelled to face the Pelham, NH Razorbacks at Muldoon Park in Pelham.

QB Robby Long piled up the yardage with several long gainers. Finding daylight all night with some nifty running was Chris Acevedo, Zach Howard and Max Ackerman. Rounding out the rugged running game with solid play was Chris Mc Quinn and Andrew Barry. Springing open the running backs with consistent blocking was Edwin Gonzalez, Jessy Allen and Lucas Dalomba. Mattew Oliver, Alex Forbes, Shaun Marion and Neo Helin also cracked open a number of holes in the Razorback defensive line. NPF’s defense was led by Robby Long with several tackles and other solid hits were delivered by Chris Acevedo, Aiden Basher, Max Ackerman, Mathew Oliver, Christian Ayala and Isaiah Berry.

5th grade: Pelham 28 NPF 0

NPF was defeated 28-0 by a determined Pelham Razorback squad at Muldoon Park in Pelham.

Down but not out by a long shot, James Heitmiller and Nathan Nugent played offense with a spirited toughness. Jordan Bodwell, Austin Ouellette and Griffn Dane kept blocking and hitting tenaciously sending a message to the Pelham defense: plan to play four quarters today.

Stemming the Pelham offensive onslaught in the second half with hard-nosed defensive play were Tyler Gagnon and Colton Welch. Taking an inspiring stand on defense with several tackles were Ryan Sheehan and Garrett Hillard.

6th Grade: Pelham 34, NPF 0

Sebastian Castillo and Paul Smith stood out in an otherwise tough loss with solid play on offense. Brandon Jamison made his mark as a “player to watch” this season at wide receiver. Eric Poublon was a rock on the offensive line providing outstanding pass blocking. Holding their own defensively against the Pelham offense were Jacob Kostansek and Jared Sosa with several hard stops. Ellias Martin and Aaron Brown contributed on defense making many sorely needed tackles.

Middle School JV: Pelham 8, NPF 6

NPF JV played at Pelham last weekend sustaining a 8-6 loss. The two teams were well matched and it was a great game for both sides. Jared Levesque’s TD pass was received by AJ Vitali. Cameron Snyder was solid on the offensive line, and Finn Littlefield provided great blocking. On the defense, Sam Mena and Jared Levesque made several touchdown-saving tackles, Felix Ortiz made huge tackles throughout, while Izayah Villar and Finn Littlefield made tackles resulting in lost yardage for Pelham.

Middle School Varsity: Pelham 40, NPF 0

The Pelham offense put up points early on a young NPF Varsity. Force running back Dylan Salazar ground out 65 unforgiving yards. Providing the blocking on a number of well executed running plays were Indiana Messier and Trevor Lessard, who were joined by their fellow linemen Izayah Villar and Nat Green in providing clear running lanes. NPF’s defense sprung back to life in the second half with Salazar and Greg Stanton delivering aggressive tackles for losses.

Shane LeGraw put in a gutty performance with containing the quick Pelham offense.

Merrimack Cardinals

Junior Pee Wee: The Merrimack Cardinals Junior Pee Wee team improved to 2-1 on the season with a dominating performance at the Amherst Patriots (1-2). Merrimack cruised to a 31-0 victory.

Terrell Hicks kicked things off on the second play from scrimmage, rambling for a 43-yard touchdown. After a defensive stop, Jacob Myers followed with a 38-yard TD burst and Patrick Yudkin caught the extra point conversion from Ryan Devanna to post a 13-0 lead.

After a Patriots turnover, Ben Eichman secured a rushing touchdown of his own from 17 yards out. Tristan Wood made a touchdown-saving tackle after a big gain by Amherst, and the defense held late in the second quarter to preserve a 19-0 lead going into halftime.

Eichman recovered a fumble on the second-half kickoff, and the offensive line had their way with the Patriots’ defense on a sustained drive that was culminated by a 10-yard touchdown run by Brandon Myers. Yudkin later had a key lead block that sprung Jacob Myers on a 63-yard sweep for the final points of the game.

Hicks had a sack for a big loss on defense. Adam Thornton, Kyle Leighton, Bobby Bunis, Nathan Kennedy, Caden Shvanda, Devin Wood, Ryan Ivester, Robert Defelice, Brendan Parr, Hunter Mack and Brian Genet all chipped in with tackles. Tristan Wood gobbled up a late interception to ice it.

Tiny Mite Red: The Merrimack Cardinals Tiny Mite Red Team played tough against the Amherst Patriots. The offensive line, including Jameson Dillon, Hayden Linke and Ryan Sheridan, blocked well and opened holes for long runs up the middle by Jake Trahan, Connor Williams and Kyle Crampton. Trahan scored on a reverse play from Williams, while Crampton also scored for the Cardinals on a quarterback sneak.

Alex Tobin and Kevin Sheridan made hard-hitting tackles, slowing down the Amherst offense, while Ryan Turley wreaked havoc in the Amherst backfield.

Pee Wee: The Merrimack Pee Wee Cardinals suffered a tough loss on Sunday to the Amherst Patriots 27-0. The running game of the Patriots proved to be too much for the Cardinals’ defense.

The Cardinals’ offense, led by the play of Danny McKillop, Alec Bronchuk and Matt Smith fueled the Cards’ efforts to score. Their efforts fell short, as the Patriots took control of the ball and ultimately, the game. Although the Patriots maintained control of the game, defensive efforts were made by Austin Megalaitis and Cole Camberlain to regain momentum for the Cardinals.

BASKETBALL

Nashua Biddy registration time

Registration Forms for the 2011-2012 Biddy Basketball Program will be available at selected areas around Nashua beginning this. Only new players to the league or players moving up an age division need to register. Players returning to their old team do not have to register.

The Nashua Parks & Recreation Department will be accepting 2011 Biddy Basketball Registrations until Friday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. All new players and players moving up in an age division are required to fill out a registration form and tryout. All players trying out are placed on a team.

Players returning to their same team do not need to register or tryout. Registration Forms are available at the main offices of all Nashua public and private schools, Nashua Public Library, City Clerks Office at City Hall, Jeannottes and Bright Spot Convenience Stores, and the Recreation Department at Greeley Park. Forms can be downloaded from the Parks & Recreation web-site at www.gonashua.com/CityDepartments/Parks&Recreation/Basketball. Cost for the season is $20/player. Tryout dates for each division can be seen on the registration forms.

Nashua Nighthawks tryouts set for Oct. 15

The Nashua Nighthawks Travel Basketball Program is holding its 2011-12 tryouts on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Girls Inc. in Nashua. The tryouts are open to boys residing in Nashua and entering third through eighth grades.

Tryout times are: 12:30 p.m. for both third and fourth graders, 1:30 for fifth, 3 for sixth, 4:30 for seventh and 6 for eighth. There is a $20 tryout fee to cover gym rental expenses. Visit www.nashuanighthawks.com for additional information.

St. John Newmann CYO accepting players

The St. John Neumann boys CYO basketball program is seeking interested players from Our Lady of Mercy and St. John Neumann Parishes that are entering the fifth and sixth grades (Mites) and seventh and eighth grades (Cadets). The season runs from October through March. For more information, contact Brian Kennedy at 889-3328.

Brookline Basketball Club meeting on Sept. 29

The Brookline Basketball Club will hold a preseason planning meeting on Thursday. Visit www.brooklinehoops.org for more details on this meeting and information on the upcoming season. The BBC offers youth basketball programs for children in first through sixth grade.

CROSS COUNTRY

Charlotte Avenue, Infant Jesus win PAL Prelims

Charlotte Avenue School and Infant Jesus School topped the team scoring in the season’s first Nashua Police Athletic League (PAL) elementary school cross country races.

Held at North High School, the 3K and 2K races were the first of two preliminary “practice” meets leading up to the Alec’s Shoe/Nashua PAL City Elementary School Cross Country Championships at North on Oct. 15.

Charlotte Ave placed first among the boys teams, while IJ topped the girls field. 350 youth runners from eight of the city’s fourteen larger public, parochial and private elementary schools participated. The top three individual finishers in each race (not including 6th graders), were:

Boys 3K (5th Grade and under): Brendan Frost, 5th grade, Bicentennial (12:36); Ryan Santoro, 4th grade, Main Dunstable; Landon Johnson, 6th grade, Bicentennial.

Girls 3K (5th Grade and under): Caroline Fischer, 4th grade, Infant Jesus (12:14), Kendall Bush, 5th grade, Bicentennial; Cameryn Nichols, 5th grade, Infant Jesus.

Boys 2K (3rd Grade and under): Nicholas Dahl, 2nd grade, St. Christopher (8:15), Christopher Keefe, 3rd grade, Main Dunstable, Ben Stawasz, 3rd grade, St. Christopher

Girls 2K (3rd Grade and under): Amelia Piercy, 3rd grade, St. Christopher (9:27), Lily Brooks, 3rd grade, Charlotte Ave., Samantha Canto, 3rd grade, Charlotte Ave.

The next preliminary meet will be held at North High on Sept. 30.

HOCKEY

Mites

Nashua Panthers I still undefeated

The Nashua Panthers Mite I team traveled to Lawrence, Mass., on Sept. 17 and picked up a 12-2 win over Saugus. Eight different players contributed to the dominating performance – led by Dominic Carozza, with two goals and two assists. Brooke Yabroudy, Daniel Woodford and Dylan Troiano all chipped in with two goals and one assist each, while Sean Morrissey added one goal and two assists. Joe Pillsbury, Brian Chisholm and Sam Clauson each scored their first goal of the year to help the Panthers to a 3-0 start. Corey Girouard was also strong between the pipes, shutting down Saugus.

Squirts

Hollis I fights for 3-3 tie

In Valley League Youth Hockey Action the Cavaliers came from behind to tie the Winchester 3-3. The Cavs, with only eight skaters faced three full lines on a tough Winchester Team.

Austin Ciszek, Brandon Hugh, David Wang, Anil Rao, Sean Kelly, Isaac Rogers, Max Sears and TJ Vitullo played with grit and heart. A last-minute front line shake-up by Cavs coaches paid off. Rogers, Sears and Vitullo came out for the final shift. Rogers won the face off deep in the Cavs’ zone, sending the puck into the corner where Vitullo dug it out and moved it up ice to Sears on the wing. Sears took the puck around a Winchester defensemen and scored with 2.6 seconds left on the clock to tie the game. Cavs goalie Chris Sullivan was strong between the pipes, keeping the Cavs in the game.

WRESTLING

MYA holding Info Night Sept. 28

The Merrimack Youth Association Wrestling Program would like announce its first Wrestling Information Night to be held on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Merrimack Middle School gym. Come and learn about both the sport of wrestling and the MYA program. We will also feature live wrestling with some of our current and former wrestlers. This program is open to new and returning wrestlers and will serve as our first registration opportunity. Additional registrations will take place at the MYA building on the following dates: Oct. 1 (10 a.m.-1 p.m.), Oct. 5 (5:30-7:30 p.m.), Oct. 8 (10 a.m.-1 p.m.), Oct. 12 (5:30-7:30 p.m.).

The MYA Wrestling Program is open to boys and girls from (grades K-6) and is a great way to keep kids active during the winter months. Wrestling stresses respect, discipline and self confidence while helping kids build strength, flexibility and endurance. For more information, please visit www.myawrestling.com.

SOFTBALL

Milford Sliders seeks a few more players

The Milford Sliders ASA U14 Softball Program is still looking for additional players for the 2012 season. A second tryout date is being scheduled for October, the date TBD based on response level. If interested, please email milfordsliders@gmail.com to preregister and we will forward the date and time when it is available.