By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
ÿ
Bishop Guertin football coach Tony Johnson had mixed feelings after his team opened the regular season against Winnacunnet Friday.
ÿ
Johnson was disappointed with his team's performance, but thrilled with the result that performance produced.
ÿ
The Cardinals overcame six turnovers to defeat Winnacunnet, 21-14, in the Division II opener for each school.
ÿ
"We played a terrible game in terms of execution," Johnson said. "We have to clean up a tremendous amount of errors. I'm proud of my team because you know what? We're resilient."
ÿ
The Cardinals, who have won the last two Division II state titles, stretched their winning streak to 25 games with the victory. Several media outlets have tabbed Guertin the best team in the state, regardless of division.
ÿ
"If that's the best (team), we're not too far behind them," Winnacunnet coach Ron Auffant said. "I think we brought them down to earth."
ÿ
The game's key play came with just under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Trailing by seven, Winnacunnet had a first down at the BG three-yard line, but the Cardinals forced a fumble and took possession on their own six-yard line with 3:36 remaining.
ÿ
Winnacunnet got another chance when BG fumbled the ball away at its own 33 with 1:23 to play, but the Warriors failed to pick up a first down and turned the ball over on downs.
ÿ
"We gotta win games ugly," Johnson said. "This was an ugly victory."
ÿ
Other highlights from the regular season's first weekend included Portsmouth's 20-7 victory over Kennett in its Division III debut, and Somersworth's 24-8 triumph over Hanover.
ÿ
Portsmouth competed in Division II from 1994 until 2005, but dropped to Division III this season because of a lower enrollment. Somersworth's victory came against a Hanover team seeking its third straight Division IV championship.
ÿ
Girls Soccer: Winning Returns to West
ÿ
Michelle Winning is in her first season as the girls soccer coach at Manchester West, and the expectations couldn't be higher.
Jack Amero, who coached West from 1977 to 2005, built the program into a powerhouse, winning 415 matches and 15 Class L championships during that span.
ÿ
Amero guided West to a 62-match winning streak from 1989 to 1993. That streak was the longest in the nation at the time, and remains the longest winning streak in state history.
ÿ
Winning played for Amero and coached West's junior varsity team for the past two seasons. She also served as Concord's varsity coach for two seasons.
ÿ
West tied Pinkerton Academy, 2-2, in its Class L opener.
ÿ
Field Hockey: Salem at the Head of its Class
ÿ
Salem posted a 15-1-1 record en route to the Class L championship last season, and the Blue Devils may be even better this year.
ÿ
Salem returned seven starters from a team that beat Goffstown 2-1 in last year's championship game. The returnees include Carolyn Malloy, the team's leading scorer in each of the past two seasons; senior Cammie Abel, who is in her third season as the team's starting goaltender; and Amy Dolce, who scored the game-winning goal against Goffstown.
ÿ
The Blue Devils completed the regular season's first week with a 2-0 record and were one of five teams tied for first place in the Class L standings.