The long, winding road full of twists and turns was the otherwise known as the Local Sports Year of 2021.

We had COVID pauses, then a return to some normalcy, then, as the year ended, steps back.

We had high school championships galore, some under the NHIAA’s regional tourney format and others in the fall under the traditional format.

We had history – Rivier’s inaugural hockey season beginning, an incredible night of soccer with incredible crowds at Stellos Stadium.

We suffered losses, including an iconic baseball figure plus a popular longtime basketball coach.

We had entertainment and disappointment all in one at Silver Knights games at Holman Stadium.

But, in a year when nothing could be counted on, we still had sports.

So here’s one writer’s personal choice for the Top 10 local events/stories that took place in the Nashua area in 2021.

Certainly there are some that mght have been overlooked, or some that in others’ minds should be rated higher.

Either way, another sports year is in the books. Here we go:

NO. 1 NASHUA SOUTH

WINS FIRST EVER

BOYS SOCCER CROWN

The Panthers finished the season unbeaten, with one tie, but who can forget the memorable tournament nights that filled Stellos Stadium, especially the incredible semifinal with Nashua North, who should be one of the favorites going into 2022. It was just an amazing week, from Friday to Friday, ending in the bitter cold at a mobbed Stellos at around 11 p.m. with the 11th penalty kick round goal by Santiao Somorrostro, one that Panthers coach Tom Bellen admittedly couldn’t bear to watch. The week would be remembered for a show of support by the entire Nashua soccer community. Well done for a team that also was ranked in the top 10 nationally and No. 1 in New England.

NO. 2 BISHOP GUERTIN GIRLS SOCCER

CHAMPIONSHIP

Guertin girls soccer had a season to remember, so many highlights; one lowlight, the regular season loss to Pinkerton, which they avenged with a dominant 4-1 semifinals win. But who will ever forget the Cards’ two games with Bedford: A scoreless regular season tie and then the 1-0 championship win on Emily Neily’s only goal of the season in the second half. Drama at the end as the Cards held off the Bulldogs during a furious Bedford rush. The memorable gathering on the Bill Ball Stadium field in Exeter of friends, family, etc., to celebrate the school’s second soccer title, first in Division I.

NO. 3 THE COVID

CHRONICLES

The ups and downs of the pandemic, with the year starting with a two-week pause for Nashua High School North and South – the South girls didn’t open until early February – and then the relaxing of some rules in the spring as vaccinations became more prominent and events moved outdoors. Fast forward to that continuing in the fall, but with the arrival of the variants rules stiffened – Nashua implemented masks for indoor events for fans and the benches, and now it’s for everyone with a fan limit back in full force. And this past week the Commonwealth Motors holiday tournament that the BG boys hoop team was going to compete in was cancelled, and you wonder how many more things would be impacted.

NO. 4 BG BOYS HOOP TITLE

It had been awhile for the Cardinals – 10 years – but coach John Fisher’s crew, lead by Telegraph Player of the Year Dylan Santosuosso and former Titan Nate Kane, found their way just in time heading into the tournament, topping locals Nashua North and Alvirne in key tourney wins and then besting Winnacunnet in the finals at Oyster River High School. A memorable finish, and a two-championship day for Cardinal athletics, as you will see just below.

NO. 5 NASHUA NORTH’S

HISTORIC TRACK

TITLES 24 HOURS APART

It started on a Thursday night with the Titan girls capturing the Division I crown at Winnacunnet, and then followed 24 hours later with the boys winning the championship. What made these victories even more special was the fact that there was no real indoor track season last winter due to the pandemic, so these teams had to basically use a shorter time to get into track mode. Just a great spring accomplishment for Nashua sports, with a ton of athletes contributing.

NO. 6 BG UNBEATEN GIRLS TEAM CROWNS

We have one from the winter, of major historic nature, and another from the spring, and they were both similar. Both the Bishop Guertin girls ice hockey and girls lacrosse teams enjoyed undefeated seasons but each had memorable semifinal games. In hockey, the Cards won in sudden death overtime over Hanover at Concord’s Everett Arena, the Marauders just missing a game-winning goal by inches before BG’s Kate Simpson potted the winner just a couple of minutes later. In lacrosse, BG trailed Bedford in the Division I semis at Bulldog Stadium, 7-5 at halftime, before getting an 11-9 win to cap off arguable the biggest local sports day of the year with quarterfinals and semifinals in multiple sports. Both BG teams cruised in their respective finals.

NO. 7 NASHUA

SILVER KNIGHTS

They’ll always be one of the top 10 stories because no one puts people in the Holman Stadium seats like they do, dominating the summer. Of course they were way up there a year ago with a championship in 2020, but 2021 was a disappointment on the field, one general manager Cam Cook and field skipper Kyle Jackson are determined to reverse. But this summer the team wasn’t limited by the pandemic, the Futures League was more or less made whole with a full season, no cancellations. Good stuff.

NO. 8 RIVIER HOCKEY

DEBUTS

History. The Raider men’s and women’s teams had their first official practices on Columbus Day and then kicked off their seasons on the Friday of Halloween Weekend with the largest crowd these eyes have seen at Conway Arena. It was one of the most memorable nights of the year in Nashua sports because just down the street Nashua North and South played in very close quarterfinals – South won in OT – to set up a semifinal meeting. About a half hour after South’s win the Raiders brought the house down with a 5-4 triumph over Southern New Hampshire University. You can’t beat it.

NO. 9 SPRING’S

CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY

The area gave us two winners – Campbell softball, which finished undefeated and poured on the offense against Hopkinton (18-6) in the Division II finals, and Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse, which also went through an undefeated season,edging Exeter 9-7 in the finals but we missed the rivalry with Pinkerton, which was going through not quite a rebuild but a remake, still making it to the Final Four. But Chris Camreon’s team was one of the more dominant high school programs of 2021, for certain.

Also on that day – equal to the winter with three local teams in title games – the Milford girls softball team came up short vs. Oyster River.

10. MILFORD FOOTBALL’S RUN TO THE DIVISION II FINALS

This was one of the major stories of the fall because we all weren’t quite sure what would happen with Keith Jones’ crew. This was the ultimate Jones team, and although the Spartans bowed in the Division II finals to Timberlane 13-10, they provided a memorable moment the week before with an upset semifinal win in a monsoon at Lebanon.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Oh you can be sure we’ll forget a few, but the BG boys cross country team captured the Division I title led by Nate Fondakowski; Guertin wrestling won a dramatic Division II dual meet championship over Hollis Brookline in a team-playoff type tournament orchestrated in the wake of the pandemic rather than the huge Divisional meets; Nashua’s James Pleat won his second straight State Amateur Golf Championship, an incredible repeat after his dramatic win at Nashua Country Club in 2020; Souhegan cross country standout Chloe Trudel was the NH Runner of the Year; Hollis Brookline girls lacrosse and the Hollis Brookline-Derryfield boys hockey team had runs to the finals. So many things to mention, as the year was packed with events and accomplishments.

THOSE WE LOST

Two come to mind foremost in local sports. First, in February Milford High School boys basketball coach Dan Murray, who had been ill but still coaching with Don Gutterson (who now coaches the Spartans), passed away. Murray was incredibly popular in Milford and it’s not the same without him. Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago the area lost a baseball coaching icon in Bill Twomey with his sudden passing. We’ll think of him every time we’re on a ballfield.