Patriots come up a game short

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Amherst Patriots players, from left to right: Jason Mansinon, 12, of Hollis; Kyle Archambault, 11, of Amherst; and Palmer Belowski, 11, of Amherst, react to their team's loss in the Pop Warner New England Regional Final. The team fell, 25-6, to another Pop Warner team from Mount Hope, R.I. Photo courtesy of Amherst Patriots.

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Amherst Patriots players Joey Delany, No. 43, (#43 Hollis, age 11) and Clem Sherwood, No. 72, tackle the opposing running back from Mount Hope, R.I., while No. 41 Anderson Geffrard also moves in on the play. The Patriots lost the Pop Warner New England Regional Final game, 25-6, against Mount Hope Saturday, Nov. 26. Photo courtesy of Amherst Patriots.

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Amherst Patriots player Joey Delaney, No. 43, is tackled during the team's 25-6 loss to Mount Hope, R.I., on Saturday, Nov. 26, in the Pop Warner New England Regional Final. Photo courtesy of Amherst Patriots.

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Amherst Patriots players, from left to right: Jason Mansinon, 12, of Hollis; Kyle Archambault, 11, of Amherst; and Palmer Belowski, 11, of Amherst, react to their team's loss in the Pop Warner New England Regional Final. The team fell, 25-6, to another Pop Warner team from Mount Hope, R.I. Photo courtesy of Amherst Patriots.

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AMHERST – The Amherst Patriots youth football team came up just short of advancing to Florida for the National Pop Warner Championship last weekend, as it lost, 25-6, to Mount Hope, R.I., and ended its season.

The Patriots were undefeated and had won 11 straight games before they lost to Mount Hope on Nov. 26.

The team won the New Hampshire state title and beat a team from Billerica, Mass., 7-6 with a last-minute touchdown in the New England Pop Warner Regional Semifinals.

The Patriots’ 2011 season was “unprecedented” in the team’s 40-year history in Amherst, said Travis Warren, the program’s public relations coordinator.

Amherst has won state championships before, he said, but the team has often bowed out in the first round of the Pop Warner New England Regional Tournament against more talented teams from Massachusetts or Connecticut.

The last time New Hampshire sent a Pop Warner team to Florida for the national tournament was Plymouth in 1997.

“It’s not common for New Hampshire to make it that far,” Warren said. “We’re very proud of them.”

The team is made up of kids aged 10-12 from Amherst, Hollis, Brookline, and Mont Vernon. Head Coach Sean Smith is from Hollis.

The Patriots also boast several players recognized as “Little Scholars” for averaging grades of 96 or higher in school, Warren said. Academics are another huge part of the Pop Warner program, Warren said.

Cameron Kittle can be reached at 594-6523 or ckittle@nashuatelegraph.com. Also check out Kittle (@Telegraph_CamK) on Twitter.