Shrine Camp: Day 1

The New Hampshire Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl team reported for practice and had two workouts Sunday. There was one late addition to the roster, as Merrimack High School offensive lineman Jason Theriault replaced former teammate Ian Roberts.

It was feared that Nashua North quarterback Jeff Baldassari would miss the game because of a knee injury, but New Hampshire head coach Rob Cathcart said Baldassaro was cleared to practice.

“This is literally his first week back from the injury,” Cathcart said. “We also have (Bishop Brady’s) Joe Bernard at quarterback. I hope to have everything installed by Wednesday, then it will be fine-tuning it. The best thing about these kids is you can talk in shorthand and they get it. Stuff it would take 20 minutes to do with a regular high school team … you can tell these guys in five minutes and they get it.”

New Hampshire is scheduled to meet Vermont on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) at Castleton (Vt.) University. Vermont ended a 15-game losing streak when it beat New Hampshire 50-2 in last year’s game. It was the largest margin of victory in the game’s history.

Cathcart said he will run a multiple offense that will be a mix of spread formations and two-back looks. He said the only rule added for the game is there can be no blitzing from the second level.

Merrimack DB/WR Justin Weiser, Trinity TE/OLB Jack McCahill and Bishop Guertin DB/WR Dylan Fagan will be among the kids who will play on both sides of the ball, according to Cathcart.

“We picked Weiser as a cover corner, but he’s such a offensive threat that we have to use him on that side of the ball,” he said.

New Hampshire is scheduled to have two on-field workouts and one classroom session today.

“I’m feeling pretty good about the whole roster,” Cathcart said. “We have kids who want to compete. We might be a little undersized compared to Vermont, but I think the kids desire to compete will make up for that.”

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Tickets for Saturday’s game are $12 if purchased in advance, and $15 on game day. Tickets are available through the Shrine football office by calling (603) 448-1042, and online at www.shrinemaplesugarbowl.com.

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