Recalling some of the most memorable local sports moments from 2023 through the words that appeared on these pages:
“This game is so important to these kids, these seniors, to be able to go out with that trophy. It’s been 10 years since our school won it. We only ever won it once. So with that group, with everything they’ve gone through, with COVID and all that stuff over these years, to be able to end their careers with that ... I don’t have words for it.”
— Memorial High School football coach Rob Sturgis after the Crusaders beat Central 15-0 on Thanksgiving.
“I knew going into this year that this was the last year on my contract. I’ve been in this business long enough to understand what that means. Then when you have change at the top (Allison Rich replaced Marty Scarano as UNH’s athletic director in 2022) there’s not a lot of security.”
— Former UNH men’s basketball coach Bill Herrion after learning that his contract would not be renewed following the 2022-23 season.
“We want to be successful, we want to win championships. That’s why you compete. That’s going to be our goal year in and year out, to put a team on the floor that you can be proud of for how hard they play, how well they play together — and also, hopefully, hang some banners.”
— Nathan Davis, who succeeded Herrion as UNH’s men’s basketball coach.
“Dream come true, for sure. I had a blast with these boys. This is my senior year and it ended pretty well.”
— White Mountains Regional High School pitcher Karter Deming, who tossed a two-hitter and struck out 16 to help White Mountains defeat Monadnock in the NHIAA Division III baseball championship game. The loss ended Monadnock’s 43-game winning streak.
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“Most of them (the seniors) were here from the very beginning, so they’ve seen it all. The senior leadership (stood out). The kids who needed to step up today really stepped up. I thought we played a pretty good game.”
— Pelham High School football coach Tom Babaian after his team extended the program’s winning streak to 41 games by beating Plymouth 35-6 in the NHIAA Division II championship game.
“They’re just the toughest group of kids you ever want to coach, and I think they showed that in the fourth quarter.”
— Bishop Guertin High School girls basketball coach Brad Kreick after the Cardinals outscored Bedford 23-7 in the fourth quarter en route to a 51-45 triumph in the NHIAA Division I final.
“I knew when the game was over it was going to be a high rushing-yard game for me, but I had no idea it was going to be as high as it was. The next morning I got a text from Coach (Robin) Bowkett and I was kind of in shock.”
— Souhegan running back J.J. Bright, who ran for 457 yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries in a 41-22 victory over Hanover.
“Buddy had a good formula for that place (Dartmouth). He knew it inside and out, and he could really recruit. Look at all the success he had at Dartmouth compared to the other places he was a head coach at. He really was ingrained in that culture, ingrained in that college from top to bottom. He was a Dartmouth man.”
— Former UNH football coach Sean McDonnell on former Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens, who died in October at age 66.
“I’m kind of speechless at the moment. Honestly, I was just trying to get past the Round of 32 this year. I was in uncharted territory after that match Thursday morning. I just kept going, playing my game.”
— Plaistow’s Jack Pepin, after he beat Rob Henley on the first playoff hole to win the State Amateur golf championship at Manchester Country Club.
“I wasn’t thinking about the portal until after the season ended. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew that I wanted to win football games for UNH, so that was my No. 1 goal.
“I went back and forth for a few days on it. I had a dream of playing Big Ten football and somehow I got the opportunity to do that. I’m blessed for the opportunity. It was back and forth. I wanted to see what I had in the portal and make an educated decision from there.”
— Former UNH quarterback Max Brosmer, who entered the transfer portal in November and transferred to the University of Minnesota.
“The school is about bringing in kids who are going to build as a team. Kids don’t jump out of that school. They stay there. Their kids don’t go into the portal (NCAA transfer portal).”
— Bedford’s Aidan O’Connell, on why he chose to continue his baseball career at Vanderbilt.
“I just kind of bent over and started breathing slowly — calm it down, trying to block out all the noise of everyone screaming, and I just saw an open lane to the net. I got focused, went in slow and put it in the net.
“I’ve dreamt about that my whole life — scoring the overtime winner in a championship game.”
— Bishop Guertin High School’s Logan Vogel, who scored on a penalty shot to give the Cardinals a 4-3 victory over Bedford in the NHIAA Division I ice hockey final.
“When I was about two steps down the line I realized that I got the job done. It was kind of all a blur after that. It was a solid feeling. On top of the world.”
— Londonderry High School’s Jett Jones, who singled home Zach Mantegari to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning and give the Lancers a 4-3 victory over Pinkerton in the NHIAA Division I baseball championship game.
