Yes, the Bishop Guertin High School football team has a tough road game coming up Friday — note the special 6:30 p.m. start — at Timberlane. But one other local school has a tough road TRIP.

The Alvirne Broncos are at Keene on Saturday afternoon, then have to head to the seacoast for successive games at Spaulding of Rochester on Oct. 2 and Dover on Oct. 9. Now that is one heckuva road swing.

“We have a tough stretch coming up — Keene, Spaulding and Dover, all on the road,” Broncos coach Bobby Nimblett said. “Hopefully it will help us pull together as a football team. There’s some good stuff to that and hopefully that will be the case for us. It’ll pull us together as a team, we have to travle, us against Keene, us against Spaulding, us against Dover.

“Hey, hang together before we come back home.”

That won’t be until they face Winnacunnet on Oct. 16. But first thing’s first — the Broncos (1-2, 0-1 Division II) will be seeking their first league win on Saturday.

“You have to start with your first divisional win,” Nimblett said, “and hopefully go on a run from there.”

Wherever ‘There” may be.

BISHOP GUERTIN — This is the first major Division II test of the year for the unbeaten Cardinals, and certainly they’ll be facing the best running back on their schedule so far in Timberlane’s Derek Furrey. Two-hundred yard games are the norm for this kid; he had 212 yards and six touchdowns last week vs. Merrimack.

He’s the main target, to be sure, for Guertin linebackers Nick Phillips, Walter Kell and Co.

“We just have to run him down,” Guertin coach Tony Johnson said of Furrey. “He’s definitely the best running back in our division and one of the best in the state.  We have to make sure we don’t over-pursue.”

Johnson’s team must also make the adjustment from easy games vs. Merrimack and Spaulding to a very tough opponent in the Owls.  “We’ve talked about that,” Johnson said. “I want to get back to the level of play we had with Pinkerton. It’s an adjustment the kids have to make. We (the coaches) have to make sure they make the adjustment.”

MERRIMACK — The 0-3 Tomahawks, who face Manchester Memorial on Friday, are starving for a win. “After the last three weeks, we need it, we could really use it,” head coach Joe Batista said. “We have to play a lot better defensively. It’s just a couple of small things, a couple of players that aren’t doing their assignments. And with our offensive line, we need some continuity.”

Indeed, injuries, etc. have forced Batista to shuffle players in and out up front. He’s been pleasantly surprised by the play of junior two-way linemanTyler Baulier.

“He’s been a big surprise,” Batista said. “I knew he was going to be a good player. He’s been our most consistent lineman, both ways.”

– TOM KING

Bishop Guertin is quickly becoming a mecca for cross country runners. Not only are the boys nationally ranked and a heavy favorite to repeat as Class L champions this fall, but the girls have moved up to the second spot in the state in rankings compiled the the New Hampshire Cross Country newsletter.
The BG girls [...]

Here’s a look at what’s going on with the area’s three Division II football teams as we approach Week Three:
ALVIRNE — The Broncos have an early game this week, hosting Exeter on Thursday at 7 rather than Friday out of respect for the Jewish holidays.
“It is a quick turnaround,” Alvirne coach Bobby Nimblett said, “but [...]

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Here’s what the area’s Division II football teams are up to this week, starting with Bishop Guertin and Merrimack, who square off on Friday:
 
BG-MERRIMACK
 
Friday’s Bishop Guertin - Merrimack encounter is always a rivalry situation, especially for the Tomahawks because there’s usually a high number of Merrimack residents on the Cardinals roster.
This year, there’s no exception. [...]

The Bishop Guertin boys cross country team enter the season as the top ranked team in the state, according to the New Hampshire Cross Country newsletter.
Rounding out the boys top 10, in order, are Pinkerton Academy, Hanover, Merrimack, Concord, Coe-Brown of Northwood, Nashua North, Londonderry, Winnacunnet and Belmont.
The nationally-ranked Cardinals have the top three returning [...]

It’s official, the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association will move the pitching rubber back three feet for the 2011 softball season.
The announcement was made Thursday by NHIAA Executive Director R. Patrick Corbin. The NHIAA By-Laws mandate following all rules changes adopted by the National Federation of High Schools Sports Associations, which is making the change [...]

Want a sneak peek at a number of Southern New Hampshire football teams? You can get one at a pair of jamborees this week, schedules courtesy of New Hampshire Football Report.
Souhegan will once again host the Jungle Jamboree on Thursday night, featuring four games.
Bedford and Merrimack Valley kick off at 4:30, Hollis/Brookline takes on Monadnock Regional at [...]

She graduated from Nashua High School in 1975, went on the Plymouth State, and since 1981 has been on the coaching staff at Pinkerton Academy. Denise Rioux, who became head coach in 1984, is closing in on a milestone which may be a first among New Hampshire field hockey coaches.
She had 294 career wins as [...]