By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
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The list of unbeaten football teams in the state shrunk by two last weekend, when St. Thomas upset Somersworth in Division IV and Portsmouth routed Souhegan in Division III.
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St. Thomas played without starting quarterback Ryan Gould, who suffered an ankle injury in last weekend's 26-0 loss to Laconia, but produced enough offense to pull out a 10-7 victory Saturday.
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"It was a great crowd for two small schools," St. Thomas coach Rod Wotton said. "You wonder if it can get any better for high school kids. Then, when you win, it does get a little bit better."
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Quarterback Chris Melanson made his first varsity start for St. Thomas and tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Matt McLaughlin for the game's first score. It was a 7-7 game at halftime, but Greg Molloy's 34-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Saints a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
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St. Thomas, Somersworth and Laconia are all 5-1 and tied for first place.
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In Portsmouth, the Clippers took advantage of nine Souhegan turnovers and won a battle of unbeatens, 42-21, Friday night.
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Portsmouth, which dropped from Division II to Division III following the 2005 season, intercepted seven passes and recovered two fumbles.
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"No excuses," Souhegan coach Mike Beliveau said. "We didn't play a good football game here tonight. We're a better football team by a lot than what we showed tonight. It's been a long time since we've been blown out like this."
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Souhegan quarterback Alex Laine suffered a concussion on his team's second offensive possession and didn't return to the game. It was a 14-14 game in the second quarter, but Portsmouth led 42-14 late in the fourth.
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"We made some great plays on the ball and I thought we played extremely hard throughout the game," Portsmouth coach Bill Murphy said. "It shows me I have a talented group of kids. We have a chance to do some things we haven't done in a long time."
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Portsmouth raised its record to 6-0 with the victory. Souhegan, which dropped to 5-1, will face another unbeaten team when it plays 6-0 Plymouth this weekend.
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Pinkerton Academy (6-0 in Division I), Exeter (6-0 in Division II), Bishop Guertin (6-0 in Division II), Bishop Brady (5-0 in Division V) and Franklin (5-0 in Division V) are the only other teams still undefeated.
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One of those teams will suffer its first loss when Exeter tangles with BG in Nashua on Friday night. BG owns a 30-game winning streak and beat Exeter in last year's Division II championship game.
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"What they've done over the past two or three years is well documented," Exeter coach Bill Ball said. "It's a great challenge going over there on Friday night."
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Golf: State Champions Crowned
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Team and individual champions in the state's three golf divisions were determined last week.
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Class L: Concord's 394 total handed the Crimson Tide a one-stroke victory over both Timberlane and Manchester West at Canterbury Woods Country Club. Manchester Memorial's Pat Gocklin won the individual title with a two-day total of 145.
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Class I: Hanover completed an unbeaten season and won its third straight state championship by shooting a 393 at Concord's Beaver Meadow Golf Course. Hanover's total gave the Marauders a one-shot victory over Lebanon. Hanover's Paul Licari shot 71-71 to win the individual title.
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Class M/S: Newport won the school's first team championship since 1995 (football) by posting a 416 total at Pheasant Ridge Country Club. Newport finished two shots ahead of Inter-Lakes. Spencer Rothluebber of White Mountains shot a 143 and finished first in the individual competition.
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Boys Basketball: Nashua North Set to Name Coach
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Nashua North is expected to select a boys varsity basketball coach when the Board of Education meets Tuesday night. The job became vacant when Mike Fitzpatrick resigned earlier this year to pursue other coaching opportunities.
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According to the Nashua Telegraph, John Connolly and Andrew Otocka are the finalists for the position. Connolly also applied for the job when it was given to Fitzpatrick in 2004. Otocka was the junior varsity coach at Nashua North for the past two seasons.