Over 10,000 spectators packed the stands for the 50th Annual Maple Sugar Shrine Bowl on Saturday at Memorial Field. The sun came out and the clouds took a break from the constant rain to make for a beautiful day. Also, after not seeing football for almost six months, it was nice for the fans to see the pigskin tossed around again.
The Maple Sugar Shrine Bowl is one of forty-six high school football Shrine games played nationwide. The forty-six games raise money for the Shriner hospitals for children. In the last half century, over four million dollars has been raised from the Maple Sugar Shrine Bowl alone.
This game, played in Hanover annually, pits high school football all-stars from New Hampshire against the Green Mountaineer all-stars of Vermont. The all-stars are graduating seniors with many rising to play collegiate football in the coming fall.
In the forty-nine previous Maple Sugar Shrine games, New Hampshire has perennially dominated with thirty-four wins to Vermont's thirteen wins, with the teams tying twice. New Hampshire dominanated again with a 37-7 victory, the Granite State's third in a row.
Defenses dominated the first half of the game, leaving New Hampshire up 3 - 0 at the half. New Hampshire made a number of adjustments at halftime and opened the game up early in the third. The home state's offense began clicking, and the defense created two quick interceptions. Two touchdowns left Vermont down 17 - 0 and the game already out of reach.
New Hampshire continued with two more touchdowns in the fourth making the game 30 - 0. Vermont tallied its first and only score with 5:22 left but New Hampshire responded again late in the fourth, making the final score 37 - 7.
The rivalry between the Granite State of New Hampshire and the Green Mountain State of Vermont has sprouted out of its original all-star football game into many other sports. Now, games in boys and girls lacrosse, basketball, hockey, soccer, baseball, softball, and field hockey are played with New Hampshire leading eight of the twelve sport series. Next year, all twelve games will be played again between New Hampshire and Vermont and the football game will delight thousands of fans in Hanover the first Saturday of August.
