FOOTBALL

Nashua Elks

5th Grade: Crusaders 34,
Nashua PAL Force 7

The Crusaders first two scores of the game came when Joey Buturla stripped the ball from the Force and ran it for a 97-yard touchdown behind the blocking of Mike Robbins, Ben Levine and Brad Deitrich and later he had a quarterback sack for a safety.

Robbins rushed for over 100 yards and had three touchdowns, including a 65-yard kickoff return. Jordan Bodwell also contributed big to the running game with a 29-yard rushing touchdown. Zach Hureau and Ben Levine converted extra points.

The defense was intense behind the efforts of Yassine Jakib, Nate Zalzal, Zach Gauthier, Robbins, Joey Buturla and a touchdown-saving tackle by Matt Beaudette. Adam Akel also put a stop to the scoring effort with an interception.

This week’s game captains for the Force included Gavin Belesca, Tyler Desrochers, Donovan Labate and Max Ackerman. Nashua’s Logan Mathewson ran for a touchdown and Robby Long threw a pass to Belesca for the PAT.

Offensive standouts for the Force were Long, who completed several nice passes to Belesca and had a number of nice runs himself. Andy Deutschlander, Belesca and Mathewson also had nice runs. Ackerman, Tyler Desrochers, Donovan Labate, Kyle Krolikowski, Matt Hallahan, Dom Gentry, Jacob Sansoucie and Christian Ayala were solid on the line opening some nice holes.

Force defensive standouts included Neo Helin, Sam McElliot, Chris Acevedo, Deutschlander, Long, Adam Little, Mathewson and Labate.

Flag: Crusaders Blue 4,
NorRock Vikings 2

Nashua’s offense scored four touchdowns, consistently staying on top of the NorRock Vikings. The Crusaders’ unbeatable blocking helped Jevon Anson break off a 20-yard run for his first touchdown of the season. Broden Landsteiner also had a 20-yard run, which led to a touchdown by Anthony Tappan. Aaralyn Lopez had a 15-yard run that led to Bradie Paladino’s first touchdown of the season. And Travis Spencer ran for 30-yards, which allowed Maurice L’Heureuex to plow through the defense at the 1-yard line for the final touchdown.

The Crusaders’ defense was in perfect form with Bailey Landsteiner and Zachary Proulx pulling flag after flag, effectively shutting down NorRock’s offense.

4th Grade: Salem Rams 27, Crusaders 0

The Nashua Crusaders suffered a tough 27-0 loss to the Salem Rams. Nashua’s offense had some strong runs by Curtis Harris, Alex Ortiz, John Sullivan and Chris Keefe but they could not get the ball in the end zone past Salem’s defensive line. The Crusaders’ defense made some hard-hitting tackles but it was not enough against the fast-running Rams. The defense was led by Harris, who had 11 solo tackles, followed by Ortiz, with eight tackles, and Ben Wiehl, with four. Other contributing players to the Crusaders’ defense were Keefe, Sullivan, Brandon Metivier and Michael Rutstein.

6th grade: Crusaders 26,
Salem Rams 0

The Crusaders improved to 6-0 following a 26-0 victory over Salem. Casey McNally was instrumental in the Crusaders’ ground attack all afternoon and recorded several positive runs and first downs.

Nashua’s offense scored first when quarterback Andrew Penkala found McNally open in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown completion. Nashua’s second touchdown came on the ground, as Penkala called his own number and scampered 15 yards to paydirt.

Nashua’s final two touchdowns came in the second half when Gabe Perrault utilized his speed to get behind the Salem defense and hauled in two long passes from Penkala. Josh McElligott capped the final scoring drive with a well-executed extra point kick. In addition to McNally, the Crusader running backs had great days and received tremendous efforts from Brendon Frost, Jake Robbins, and Jaylan Pacheco. Pacheco’s day was highlighted by a milestone, as his relentless ground game resulted in reaching over 1,000 yards for the season. Assisting in this accomplishment was the Nashua offensive line. The team continues to receive exceptional blocking from Brandon Martin, Braden McDonnell, Justin Arnesen and Zach O’Neil.

The Nashua defense continues to play extremely hard, and despite several close scoring attempts by Salem, the Crusaders refused to break and recorded their third shutout of the season. The Crusaders received big defensive plays from Alex Fortier (interception), Jeffrey Allen (pass defense), Martin (sack), and Penkala (sack). The team also received multiple tackle games from Cole Desmond,Perrault, Frost, Pacheco, Robbins, and McDonnell, as well as big stops from Mark Lagasse, Nathanael Tejeda and O’Neil.

Nashua PAL

6th Grade: Nashua PAL 39,
NorRock Vikings 0

Nashua came back stronger than ever this week after last week’s loss. Highlights in the first quarter were Justin Cardullo recovering the ball on a NorRock fumble and running it 20 yards down the field. J.J. Fiore passed the ball to James Mackenzie for 25 yards and a much-needed first down. Fiore ran the ball another 20 yards leaving great field position for Justin Cardullo to run the ball in for a Nashua touchdown. Nashua could not pull off the extra point so the score was 6-0.

In the second quarter, Kevin Maldonado stripped the ball out of the hands of the NorRock quarterback and ran for 48 yards into the end zone for his first touchdown in his career. Fiore then kept the Force drive going by passing the ball to James Mackenzie for the extra point. In the next drive Austin Ouellette ran the ball 25 yards into the end zone for another Nashua touchdown. The extra point was no good leaving Nashua at 19-0. James Mackenzie managed to intercept the NorRocks pass play and gave Nashua’s offensive line the ball back. Aidan Gillis took the opportunity of great field position and drove the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. Fiore then ran the ball in for the extra point and a 26-0 Nashua lead.

Harley Ciardi was able to recover the ball on a NorRock fumble and leave Nashua with good field position. Fiore then sent the pigskin soaring a whopping 45 yards to his receiver Nate Nugent who took off into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was good and Nashua was ahead 33-0.

Fiore led the drive in the second half with 85 yards worth of passing plays to James Mackenzie, his intended receiver, who ran the ball into the end zone for a 39-0 Nashua lead.

Noticeable plays included Rylan Brito clearing the way for the offense and Nick Scalera running the ball down the field for some much needed yards; Aidan Gillis with a fumble recovery attempt in the end zone; and Andre Laplante with his fancy footwork and running skills. On defense, Garrett Hillard, Griffin Dane and Vinny Priore all played well in the win. Once again thanks to Rocco for volunteering his water technician skills.

JV: Manchester 48, Force 12

Nashua PAL came up short in a loss to Manchester over in Derry. Force captains Johnny Michelin, R.J. Jenkins and Alex White. Jenkins had one touchdown with 85 yards rushing. Bobby Brown had three receptions for a total of 50 yards, while Matt Levitt passed for 55 yards and one touchdown. Johnny Michelin, who threw for 130 yards with two touchdowns. Nashua PAL’s defense recovered two fumbles during the game.

Varsity: Force 14,
Derry Demons 8

Nashua PAL had a hard time getting the offense going and fumbled the ball with Derry recovering in the end zone for the only touchdown and extra point they would get. PAL finished off the half holding strong with the defense consisting of Aj Vitali making several tackles in the backfield along with Max Fay and Enrique Alvarez. There was great outside containment again by Josh Roy and Jose Melendez, Sam Mena and Pat Barromeo. Barromeo made his seasons first interception in the 3rd quarter. The defensive line made up of Trey Legraw, Mason Dane, Joey Allen, Matt Esquavel, Austin Rancourt, Dakeem Campbell and Devin Brazil held strong throughout the game.

Nashua received the ball in the 3rd quarter and marched the ball down field with a line consisting of Trey LeGraw, Matt Esquavel, Joey Allen, Austin Rancourt, Finn Littlefield and Mason Dane opening several holes for carries by Max Fay, Aj Vitali and Josh Roy resulting in a TD by Josh Roy and the extra point by Max Fay for the tie. Nashua defense continued to hold strong to give the offense another chance to move the ball which resulted in a TD by Max Fay and Derry held strong by denying Nashua the extra point making the score 14-8. Justin Anderson then came out making his QB debut and led his team from Nashua’s 30 yard line down to Derry’s 35 with runs from Fay and Roy and ended the game by taking a knee to run out the clock.

Hollis Brookline

Varsity: Junior Cavaliers 56, Gilford 12

Using a 50-50 pass to run ratio, the Junior Cavs won their fourth straight game, topping Gilford 56-12.

The ball was spread around the field with five different players scoring touchdowns. Tailback Brian Delaney started off the scoring with a 40-yard run on his way to four touchdowns and over 200 yards of total offense. Quarterback Michael Allanach scored the second touchdown on a 15-yard run and then on the next drive threw a 50-yard pass to Stephen Giaconia. Jack Byrne and Clement Sherwood also scored rushing touchdowns.

The Cavs also had three 2-point conversion passes thrown by Ryan Carr to Brian Repp, Jack Spaulding and Colin Loftus.

Defense lineman Alex McElvery recorded an interception in a strong all-around game, while Ryan Clark recovered a fumble for the Cavs. Kevin Bergeron and Daniel Smith also had solid defensive games.

Merrimack

Mitey Mites: Cardinals square off with Amherst Patriots

On the first position, along with a flock of Cardinals, Caden Dudash stuffed the Amherst offensive line on fourth down. With great running by Jacob Schiltz and blocking by the offensive line. Later Amherst was on the Cardinals own 26-yard line. When Amherst tried to run the football they met up with Nathan Fleming and Reimello Hyde for no gain.

In the second quarter, Dudash stopped a possible score, ending the first half with Amherst up by a touchdown.

Zander Guay opened the second half with a long kickoff return, while Cody Keefe followed that up with some more key yardage to set up Schiltz to reach a first down in Amherst territory only to have the Patriots keep the Cards from scoring.

Kyle Crampton and Jake Trahan made some key tackles to slow the Patriots down. Despite big tackles by Evan Fissette and great defense on the goal line by Brett Michalewicz and Matthew Todd, it just wasn’t enough to stop Amherst from scoring again.

With 3:43 left in the game, the heart of all Merrimack Mitey Mite players was shown by Mello Hyde’s quarterback sack for a 5 yard loss to end the game.

HOCKEY

Valley League

Squirt 1: SNH Cavaliers 4, Reading (Mass.) AA 4

The Cavaliers were on the scoreboard early with a goal by Anthony Viola assisted by Torin White and a second quick goal by Viola. Reading responded by putting up two goals of their own. Jackson Gates put the Cavs up 3-2 in the second period with a strong break to the net. Reading then put up two quick goals in the third to take the lead 4-3. Towards the end of the third period, Ryan McGuiness tied the game 4-4.

Squirt 1: Newton (Mass.) AA 7,
SNH Cavaliers 4

Anthony Viola put a goal up early for the Cavaliers and was the only bright spot in the first period as Newton put up six goals in the opening frame. Starting the second period, the defensive parings of Dylan LeLiberte, Josh Salzman, Thomas Kelly and Nik Direnzo stopped the offense of Newton. The Cavs goalie Collin McDonald was on top of his game stopping a barrage of shots from Newton’s offensive lines. The Cavs responded when Jackson Gates assisted by Cole Giersch put the team back on the board. Paul Vachon of the Cavs then added to the score and Gates put up a second goal but Newton responded by putting up one additional goal to end the game with a loss 7-4.

PeeWee: Cavaliers I goes 1-1

The Cavaliers could not generate enough offense in a 7-4 loss to the Lynn (Mass.) Comets. The Comets prevented the Cavs’ offense from moving the puck most of the game. Isaac Rogers netted all four of the Cavs’ goals with Nic Miller and Maddy Pitre each getting an assist.

In their second contest of the weekend, the Cavs found their magic. The forwards; Rogers (three goals), Max Sears (goal, assist) T.J. Vitullo (goal), Austin Ciszek (assist) and Miller moved the puck well controlling play in the offensive and neutral zones. The Cavs’ defense was led by Ben Goolsby’s performance between the pipes, while defensemen Max Porter (goal) Sean Kelly, Alec MacEachen and Joe Roth won the puck battles in the corners.

BASKETBALL

Coaches

NHBCO fall clinic in November

The New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization Fall Coaches Clinic will be held at Exeter High School on Saturday, Nov. 3. Two clinics are offered. One for High School coaches, featuring Dartmouth mens coach Paul Cormier from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and one geared for grades K-8 youth coaches from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Discounts available for coaching staffs and youth organizations. For more information contact Jeff Holmes at 531-0466 jholmes@sau16.org.

Hollis

Recreation registration now open

Registration for Hollis Recreation Basketball (K-12) will take place on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 9-11 a.m. in the Community Room of Hollis Town Hall. For further information go to the new recreation website, sportsmanager.us/HollisNHRec.htm or send email inquiries to
recreation@hollisnh.org.

CYO

Registration for Saint John Neumann boys team is open

Registration for the Saint John Neumann Boys Basketball Teams are now in process. Boys entering the fifth and sixth grades (Mites) or seventh and eighth grades (Cadets) are eligible. For more information contact coach Brian Kennedy at 320-4467 or 889-3328.

Nashua Biddy League

Boys, girls registration underway

Nashua Boys and Girls Biddy Basketball registration forms are now available online at www.gonashua.com, City Hall, all public schools, Nashua Public Library, Bright Spots, Jeannotte’s Market or the Park and Recreation Department office at Greeley Park.

All Players, whether new to the program or returning to a team, must fill out the form. There is a $20 registration fee. Your child’s age will determine which form to fill out.

Girls and Boys Junior Biddy: must be 7 by 8/1/12 and cannot be 10 until after 8/1/12 (registration deadline is Oct. 19).

Girls and Boys Biddy: must be 10 by 8/1/12 and cannot be 13 until after 8/1/12 (registration deadline is Oct. 12).

Girls Senior Biddy: must be 13 by 8/1/12 and cannot be 18 until after 8/1/12 (registration deadline is Nov. 2).

Boys Bantam: must be 13 by 8/1/12 and cannot be 16 until after 8/1/12 (registration deadline is Nov. 2).

Mail in forms and checks made out to “City of Nashua” to 100 Concord St., or drop them off. Keep the bottom half of the registration form that lists the tryout dates and times. Call 589-3370 with any questions.

SOFTBALL

Diamond Gems
still have openings

The New England Diamond Gems fastpitch softball organization is looking for a few elite players to round out some open positions we have on some designated teams. New England’s premiere fastpitch softball organization is look for the following: three U10 players, three U14 players, two U16 players and three U18 players. All interested players and families can contact coach Jimmy Rines at diamondgemsfastpitch@juno.com. All inquiries are held with strict confidence.

BASEBALL

Nashua Academy
scheduling tryouts

The Nashua Baseball Academy is scheduling tryouts for 2013 baseball teams. Tryouts are by appointment and will be held at the Hollis training facility at 265 Proctor Hill Rd. The NH Diamond Devils have openings for the 10U, 11U and 12U Cooperstown teams. The NH Knights have openings for the 13U and Senior Knights (ages 15-17) levels. Athletes must be able to play two different positions and have all star experience. Ages are determined on May 1, 2013. Athletes will play a spring and summer baseball schedule, train over the winter and participate in a travel tournament. The Diamond Devils play their home games in Nashua and the Knights play their home games at Academy Field in Hollis. Services include a strength and conditioning coach, video analysis for skill evaluation and improvement and team managers that are neutral without offsprings on the team – no “daddy ball.” To schedule an appointment email nashuabaseballacademy@comcast.net or call coach Loftus at 233-5587.