Some Early Season Thoughts

By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
Are more local rivalries on the horizon?

For the life of me, I just cannot understand why the travel for our local teams just can’t be closer. This isn’t a blame game, but I wish the Vermont Principals Association (VPA) and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) could sit at a table and figure out a way for local schools to play local schools more often. Sending Stevens to Berlin makes sense because the Cardinals are playing a Division 3 opponent and those wins and losses will determine playoff seedings, but there should be a better way.

Everyone knows that I wish the Connecticut Valley League (CVL) would return in some form, but it seems that things are starting to move just a little. The whiff of change in the air started with Doug Beaupre at Stevens adding games with Brattleboro and Green Mountain, Vermont to the Men’s Soccer schedule for the Cardinals, and Jeff Miller has his Tigers Football team heading to the Green Mountain State to take on Mill River. There are more signs of movement as Rutland High in Vermont is scheduled to play Concord in football this season, so there may be hope after all. Pinkerton Academy will play Brockton, Massachusetts to add fuel to the local fire.

Wouldn’t it be great if Fall Mountain swapped games with Manchester West and added Bellows Falls instead? Sunapee has games at Pittsfield and Newmarket while the Yellow Jackets, Cosmos, and Terriers are there for the taking. What would the crowds be like if Stevens added Springfield instead of heading off to Berlin or how about some Newport, Windsor, and Sunapee matchups? I bet the crowds would be fantastic. Less travel, bigger crowds, and lots more excitement all add up to a winning recipe.

Once we get schools like Lebanon and Hanover starting to schedule matchups with Hartford, and Keene and Brattleboro bring back that huge rivalry, maybe just maybe we will be headed in the right direction. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Hot starts for a couple of teams

New Hampshire schools have jumped off early in the sports season and a few teams have opened some eyes. The Newport Tigers Field Hockey team is off to a roaring start and stands at 3-0. New Head Coach Shannon Martin has a group of young and very athletic stickers who opened up with a pasting of Hopkinton. They followed that up blanking a Cardinals team that they had lost to twice in a row in the playoffs. Their third win came at the hands of St. Thomas, and they will take a break until Tuesday when they head off to an always tough Kearsarge team.

In Women’s Soccer, Tim St. Pierre’s Cardinals team has been impressive with lopsided wins against Berlin and Kearsarge. “I’m not sure if we are rebuilding or just reloading, either way, this team is very coach-able and full of potential,” said St. Pierre. Attackers Maddy Minkler, Tori Dalke and Kiley Bundy are good, plus with midfielders like Stella Lavertue and Alyssa Paquette, this team will score some goals. Four-time Division 3 state champions Hopkinton might have their hands full with this Cardinal team.