PENACOOK, N.H. - Hanover football's season came to an end under the lights on Friday night. Third-seeded Merrimack Valley beat the sixth-seeded Bears 28-14 in the quarterfinals, sending the Pride on to the semifinals and closing the book on Hanover's fall.
The game was originally set for Saturday afternoon, but it was moved up to a 6:30 p.m. Friday kickoff at Merrimack Valley High School. That made it the first quarterfinal of the weekend in its bracket, and the Bears drew a tough assignment for it.
Merrimack Valley came in at 8-1 after the best regular season in program history. The two teams did not meet during the regular season, but the common opponents told part of the story. The Pride beat Milford 13-7 and Kingswood 28-13. Hanover was shut out 7-0 at Milford and edged Kingswood 9-6.
Hanover put 14 points on the board against one of the best teams in its division, but the Pride scored twice that many and moved on to 9-1.
The Bears finish 5-5. Their season had real highs. After an 0-2 start, with an 18-11 loss to Plymouth and a 7-0 loss at Milford, Hanover answered with back-to-back wins, 12-7 over Pelham at home and 34-22 at ConVal. After an 18-13 loss to Souhegan, the Bears went on the road and handled John Stark 20-3.
Then came the best stretch of the fall: a 9-6 grinder at Kingswood followed by a 42-8 rout of Hollis Brookline, the Bears' biggest scoring night of the season. That made it three straight wins, four in five games, and a 5-3 record heading into the final week.
The two close losses stand out now. Hanover lost to Plymouth by seven and to Souhegan by five. Those two teams finished the regular season unbeaten and earned the top two seeds in the bracket. A 20-7 loss at Manchester West closed the regular season, and Friday's loss made it two straight to finish.
Across 10 games, Hanover scored 162 points and allowed 137.
Merrimack Valley moves on to the semifinals on Saturday, November 14, at 1 p.m. It will face the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between John Stark and second-seeded Souhegan, two teams Hanover saw this fall. The championship is set for Saturday, November 21, at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.
Hanover's fall still has one more stop. Bears cross country runs at the Meet of Champions in Hopkinton on Saturday afternoon.
That wraps up the day for Hanover High School sports. We’ll see you next time!