By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
Not everyone approved when declining enrollment led the Portsmouth High School administration to drop many of the school's athletic programs from Class L to Class I this season, but you may have a hard time finding someone willing to speak out against the move now.
Portsmouth's boys basketball and football programs each enjoyed their most successful season in more than a decade this season, and the Clippers are dominating Class I competition this spring.
Entering the week, Portsmouth's boys tennis team was 5-0 and alone atop the Class I standings, the baseball and softball teams were each 2-0 and the girls tennis team was 2-1.
In addition, the boys and girls lacrosse teams were each 4-0 in Division III, a league that includes primarily Class I schools.
"And the track teams are doing very well," added Portsmouth athletic director Russ Wilson. "We knew all the spring teams would be strong. There are no real surprises. I know the coaches and the kids are happy.
"(Being in Class I) certainly makes a little difference, but all the teams would be doing well in Class L."
The Portsmouth softball team's victory over Souhegan last week was the first time the Clippers had opened the season with a win since 2002.
Portsmouth's boys basketball team reached the Class I championship game last winter - Hanover beat Portsmouth 40-38 to win the title - and the Portsmouth football team finished 9-3 following a 35-20 loss to Plymouth in the Division III championship game.
Division III is a 10-team league filled entirely with Class I schools. The Clippers competed in Division II from 1994 to 2005.
It was the football team's first winning season since 1996 and the first time it had reached a championship game since it lost to Nashua in the 1984 Division I championship game.
"A lot of it is momentum generated from the fall and winter," Wilson said. "I hear all the teams talking about winning that first (Class I) championship. We're where we belong."
Softball: Gilford Makes its Pitch
Who's the toughest pitcher to hit in the state of New Hampshire? Apparently it's anyone wearing a Gilford High School softball uniform.
Gilford is off to a 5-0 start and has limited its opponents to four hits and one run in those five contests. Gilford pitchers have already thrown three no-hitters this season, including Felicia Bua's perfect game in a 7-0 victory over Belmont.
Bua, a senior, also tossed a perfect game against Littleton two years ago. Alyssa Crowell, Bua's cousin, threw the first perfect game in the program's history two years ago against Winnisquam.
Bua opened this season by throwing a no-hitter against Littleton, and Gilford's Lindsay Carr didn't allow a hit during a 5-0 triumph over Prospect Mountain one day earlier.
Baseball: Winnacunnet Bounces Back
After the first week of the Class L baseball season Winnacunnet coach Mike Daboul said he was sure of one thing: His team wasn't as bad as it looked in its first three games.
The Warriors opened the season with losses against Bishop Guertin, Pinkerton Academy and Goffstown.
"I was thinking that this team is too good to continue down this path," Daboul said. "We had an extra long practice the Saturday after our Goffstown loss. We had a lot of things to iron out."
Winnacunnet responded with three victories, including a 1-0 triumph over arch-rival Exeter last Thursday. Senior Tim Varney pitched a complete game and held Exeter to three hits.
"The team's confidence level is way up," Varney said. "There's not a lot of teams like us that have three pitchers (Varney, Aaron Arsenault and Brad Monroe) who are able to get wins. If we can get the bats going with the way we're pitching we're going to go a long way."
