Around the Granite State: Friday's Roundup (video)

Toby Brown, Jr., and the Nashua High School North football team put on a defensive show Friday night, opening the season with a 19-7 win over Bedford at Stellos Stadium.

Brown, Jr., had 2 1/2 of North's seven sacks, and on the final play of the first half, returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown to give the Titans (1-0) a 19-0 lead going into the break.

Jack Peters added two sacks and forced a fumble while Jordyn Raisanen-Andino also had two sacks and Zachary Samarel had half a sack. Jonthan Torres had an interception for North as well.

Amaury Almonte had the offense's lone touchdown, as he took a short pass from Derek Finlay and turned it into a 16-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Almonte finished with 26 yards on the ground and caught two passes for 19 yards.

Finlay was 8 of 13 passing for 88 yards and the score while also rushing for 43 yards with a lost fumble. That came in the final moments of the first half and Bedford was able to move down the field to the Titans' 8-yard line with the clock running.

But with the Bulldogs tryin to hurry up, Peters got into the backfield and wrapped up Bedford quarterback Danny Black. The ball came out as Black appeared to try to throw it forward, but officials let the play go and Brown scooped it up, returning it for the score. After a brief meeting, it was ruled a fumble and a touchdown.

Black finished 12 of 19 for 129 yards but the sack yardage put him at minus-53 yards on the ground and Bedford finished with just 87 yards on offense. Ledger Russell had 23 yards rushing for Bedford (0-1) and caught five passes for another 23 yards.

Field Hockey

Man. Central-West 1, Nashua South 0

Harriet Barber scored off an assist from Alyssa Bonia to give Central-West (1-2) its first win of the season.

Chloe Gilroy made seven saves in goal while Armani Holmes and Catie Fenchel played well defensively.

South (0-3) had chances in the fourth quarter to tie it, but couldn't break through. Kaitlyn Tello had 13 saves for the Panthers and Brady Murray had a save along the goal line.

Maddie Berthiaume, Karina O'Donnell, Lizzie DeRusha and Erin Flaherty played well for the Panthers.

No. 3 Bedford 4, Keene 3

The Bulldogs (3-0, No. 3 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) scored with five minutes left to win a back-and-forth game with the Blackbirds (2-1).

Regan O'Brien, Sabrina Tipping and Anna Putney each scored for Bedford in the win.

Cece Walier gave Keene the lead in the first quarter and Tessa Pearson added a goal in the third to make it 2-1 Blackbirds. Bedford came back to tie it and went ahead on Putney's goal in the fourth quarter, but Katie Harrington tied it at 3 moments later.

Kaylyn Trubiano, McKenna Nelson and Harper Zalaski each had an assist for Keene while Bella Venezia made 15 saves.

Lebanon 1, Goffstown 0

Mikayla Thorton scored off a penalty corner with three minutes left to give the Raiders (2-0) the win.

Meg Cheevers made 15 saves for Lebanon.

Goffstown (0-1) had 10 corners and 15 shots on goal, but couldn't get one through, while goalie Molly Braica made six saves.

Milford 0, Pembroke 0

The Spartans and the Spartans battled to a scoreless tie. Milford goalie Chloe Marchand made 11 saves as her team went to 1-1-1 on the season.

The Milford junior varsity won 1-0, with Addy Pare scoring the lone goal. Violet Renda made four saves.

No. 9 John Stark 2, Kennett 0

The Generals (3-0) picked up their third win of the week by blanking the Eagles (1-1).

Aubrey Fishcer and Jillian Fredette each had a goal for John Stark while Courtney Cranshaw and Kaitlin Dennis had an assist apiece.

Addy Pelletier had three saves and Jackie O'Donnell and Lauryn Guevin played well for the Generals.

Girls Volleyball

Hollis Brookline 3, Goffstown 1

The Cavaliers opened the season with a road win over the Grizzlies. Scores were 25-16, 22-25, 25-17 and 25-8.

Annette Schlunk had 12 kills and five aces and Cheyenne Colbert added six kills and two blocks. Kate Berrigan had three blocks.

Sophie Jordan recorded eight aces and 27 assists and Maia Schneider had 16 digs.

The HB JVB team lost to Goffstown 2-1 (25-10, 15-25, 15-13). Anastasia Bilous and Molly Morrisey served well while Lexy Faucherand was solid defensively and Arielle Tasto played a good all-around game.

The HB JVA team also fell 2-1, coming back before falling 18-16 in the third game. Gaby Spear was solid on defense, Carina Carlson was aggressive at the net and Charlotte Petrella had a good all-around effort.

Portsmouth Christian 3, Farmington 2

The Eagles opened their season by battling back to beat Farmington. Scores were 11-25, 26-24, 13-25, 26-24 and 15-11.

Liahna Messier led the way with eight kills, five aces and 11 digs while Emily Esters had four kills, two aces and 30 digs.

Heidi Geyer added four kills and Kailey Holt had 17 assists and five aces. Emma Eisner recorded six digs and Madelyn Hard had two blocks.