By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
The Class I boys basketball season has passed the regular season's midpoint, but no team has established itself as the clear-cut favorite to win this year's state championship.
No Class I school is unbeaten, and 10 teams in the 24-team league entered the week with no more than three losses. Plymouth (9-1) is alone in first place, followed by Kearsarge (8-2), Oyster River (8-2) and Hollis-Brookline (7-2). Then there are six teams with three losses.
St. Thomas coach Dan Parr said he thinks there are at least 10 teams capable of winning this year's tournament.
"Most of the time you have two or three, maybe the top four, in that position," Parr said. "This year is very strange."
Many thought Portsmouth, a team that moved from Class L to Class I after the 2005-06 season, would run away from the Class I competition, but the Clippers (7-3) have found life in their new league anything but easy.
"It's way better than I expected," Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey said. "There's 10 to 12 teams that on any night can beat anybody else. They may not be a Central or Bishop Guertin, but these teams could all play in (Class L).
"The top eight teams get to open the tournament at home, but I was talking to the Kearsarge coach (Marty Brown) and he told me, `I guarantee you only four of those teams get to UNH.' There are going to be upsets all over the place when the tournament starts."
Pelham and Bow were a cut above the rest of the league last season, when the Pythons beat the Falcons in the Class I championship game. The league's depth should make this year's tournament much more competitive, especially in the early rounds. Teams could be facing semifinal-type competition in the quarterfinal round.
"Anyone who follows Class I knows how competitive it is," Oyster River coach Don Maynard said. "Last year was an exception, because Pelham and Bow were heads and shoulders above everybody else. It's going to come down to what team can get a little better each day or each week until the end of February.
"Having so many good teams- that's what's unique about this year. I haven't seen this before. On the boys side of Class I there are so few nights off. I guess the only surprise (in the tournament) would be if there are no surprises."
Girls Basketball: Fagula Nears Milestone
Londonderry coach John Fagula picked up career victory No. 492 when Londonderry beat Manchester Memorial, 89-51, Friday night.
Fagula, a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, is in his 24th season as a high school head coach. He guided Nashua High School to 11 Class L championships in his 20 seasons with that program, and is now in his fourth season at Londonderry.
Girls Hockey: NHIAA Adds Sport
Girls ice hockey will be sponsored by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association next season.
Hanover, which has had a club team since 1988, is one of nine schools that could be in the NHIAA's original league. Berlin, Bishop Guertin, Concord, Exeter, Lebanon, Oyster River, Souhegan and St. Thomas are the others.
Since Hanover began funding girls hockey the Marauders have played a schedule that includes games against Vermont teams, prep schools and other New Hampshire club teams.
