CONVAL HOOP HERITAGE

Valli (Kaufhold) Hannings (CV ’80) and John Szep (CV ’84) have seen a lot of basketball at Conval over the years while serving as official timer and scorekeeper. Like more than 30 years of home games... In fact, the Cougar alums may be the most seasoned and experienced scoring table duo in the state. Both of them are soccer nuts, with Valli starring for the Cougars in the late ‘70s and then coaching girls’ soccer at Conval and the middle school. John, meanwhile, coached soccer with Valli for many years, and most recently has been the boys’ soccer assistant coach. So how did the two soccer lovers become basketball scorekeepers?  In the offseason, “I began learning from the best, Ron Crowe , in the early ‘80s,” says Val. “I also remember when the scorer’s table was on the other side of gym, and there was this gap between the bleachers.” Val says she kept one eye on Ron and the clock, and a motherly eye on the players waiting to check in, making sure they didn’t disturb her infant ...

Undefeated Class B state champs... (front, from left): Harold Clukay, Milt Fontaine, Eddie Blanchette, Robert Barry and Ken McLeod. Back row: Coach John Clark, Carl Erhler, Donald Dupree, Charles Lindsay, Donald Mulstay, Robert Clukay and George Eastman . T he winter of 1935-36 was much like our current winter—bone-chilling cold, snowy and long. But unlike today, when there are so many options, and so many different sports, and so many distractions of every kind, there was just basketball for entertainment and hometown pride. Basketball, boys and girls, helped citizens get through the long winter—if you followed the teams from December until late February or early March, and many did, you made it through the worst of it. And around these parts, you made it in style... For a tiny New Hampshire town, Peterborough was among the kings of basketball. Its boys teams just knew how to win. From 1930 to 1941, they won five state championships—including a three-peat in 1930, 1931 and 1932—and pl...

The 2024 Conval Spirit Team is more than just cheerleaders—they’re athletic gymnasts and modern dancers. … Their 1956 predecessors at Peterborough High , however, boasted of something else... “The cheerleaders got busy early in the season and rehearsed old cheers as well as produced some peppy, new cheers. The mascot, Sherry Dube, is a cute little blonde girl of three years, who cheered at all the home games. Sherry had a white corduroy, princess style uniform with white accessories. The cheerleading squad had green corduroy uniforms with white accessories, which made for a very nice appearance.” Members of the '56 squad were: Peggy Shea, Pat smith, Gloria Lammi, Jean Simonetta, Joan Simonetta, Elaine Florre, Betsy Cummings, Joan Hofer and Anne Hill. #timeschange #gocougs

The 1976-’77 Conval boys basketball team finished the season at 12-8 and were eked out of state tournament consideration by percentage points. But they began the year in early December in an unbelievable way—opening at the (old) Boston Garden against eventual state champ Exeter as a preliminary to a Boston Celtics game. The diminutive but scrappy Cougars were no match for the taller and talented Blue Hawks, bowing 63-50, but the memories of playing hoop on the same court as Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White and John Havlicek were unforgettable. Several hundred Conval fans journeyed to Boston, but the late Coach Ray Richard said, “we could hardly tell they were there—the Garden is so big.”  Team members included (left to right): Bill Watson, Ken McTague, Tom Bartlett, Phil Abbott, Jay LaRoche, Scott Slade, Jon Barnes, Kent Richard, Mike McTague, John Tempone, Craig Whitney and John Guidotti . But there was more to this story! Check out: Games We Will Remember: The Garden and the Editorial ...

F resh off their fourth state championship in six years, one of Conval’s predecessors—the Peterborough High Hilanders—geared up for a 1937 season that won’t soon be forgotten: It was the last year when a center jump didn’t take place after every basket!  Nothing like the old glory days, but we definitely like the “new” rule much better! The Hilanders were coached by the legendary John Clark (pictured far right). They won five championships from 1930 to 1941, and were state runners-up three times. Members of the ’37 team, which would fall in the first round of the invitational tournament at UNH, were the starting five (front, left to right): Charlie Lindsay, Brian Keenan, Donald Dupree, Bob Clukay and Bob Berry . Second row: Norm Davidson, Bob Dart, Gibby Carlson and Roland Myhaver. Back row: Arthur Mosher, Ervin Diamond and John Lindsay .

  In the late 1960s, the Peterborough Recreation Dept. sponsored summer league basketball featuring high school squads representing Peterborough, Antrim, Conant and Hillsborough. A mid-July 1968 contest at the Adams Playground tennis courts (before there was a separate basketball court) featured an intense battle between arch rivals Peterborough and Conant, with the home team prevailing in a physical contest, 35-29. Sophomore Dick Blood (pictured vying for a rebound with a Conant player) led Peterborough to victory with nine points. Fifty-six Julys later, Conval High is one of two D2 teams represented in the D1 Manchester Memorial High summer league, but the Cougs are holding their own against the largest division in the state. They opened with a tight 50-44 loss to Manchester Central and followed it up with a decisive 76-50 win over Merrimack. Concord, Milford, and Memorial are the other participating teams. The league runs through August 8, with games every Monday and Wednesday ...

L ast night, forward Max Cail fell hard while going for a rebound. Quickly, Conval athletic trainer Chris Lundsted ('10) took him into the locker room to be evaluated. Fortunately, Max was able to continue. But stories like this one at Spaulding High in Rochester make us grateful that Chris is seen on standby at every home game, and just about every sport, year-round. Because you never know. Not every school has this benefit. Thanks, Chris and Conval, and kudos to Spaulding High athletic trainer Jon Mousette . Prayers for complete healing to athlete Matt Gould !

L ike 2024, as the season wound down in 1951’-52, hopes for the following year were high in Conval Nation... The Peterborough Hilanders (pictured)—with players who would be elderly grandfathers today— had a rough go of it, finishing the regular season at 4-13. But these young guys would improve the following year and be among the elite in Class B in 1954 and 1955. Teaming with a one-loss JV team from 1951-’52, Peterborough High would be sparked by freshman sensation Dave Gavitt —a player remembered for giving his all and his leadership. including rallying his teammates for a shoot-around after losing the 1955 tournament game. Shown in the photo are (front, from left): Phil Bailey, John Twomey, co-captains Jack Harris and Jimmy Yakovakis, Eddie Wheeler and Dave Gavitt. Second row: Coach Dick Snow, Harry Clough, Tom Lawrence, Buddy Charest and assistant manager Tod Hofer. Back row: Bob Durkee, Don LaFontaine, Bill Taylor and manager Phil Petts . Yakovakis, Clough and Taylor were all f...

Another load of "Pete's Treats" is delivered to Avenue A in Antrim. C onval High’s basketball roots have not only had an impact on thousands of fans over the years, they’re reaching deep into our communities far beyond the basketball court. Through the efforts of the Steven W. Crowe Foundation (SCF) and former Cougar hoop star Pete Fontaine (’72), “Pete’s Treats” have benefitted the Avenue A teen and community center in Antrim with truckloads of snacks for hungry students. Tuesday night, a new shipment was delivered by the Foundation and members of the Fontaine family, all Conval alumni—wife Linda and son Chad of Newmarket, and son Kyle   (pictured below) of Peterborough. Son Casey was not able to attend. Pete Fontaine was a valued member of Conval basketball in the early ‘70s when his determination and rebounding skills helped the Cougars when they needed it most. Pete passed away last fall, but his memory lives on with his renowned giving to those in need. Avenue...

1927-28 Peterborough High School squad began a string that may never be duplicated…Front from left: Joseph Emery, Assistant Coach Philander Mann, Harold “Jim” Clinton, Lawrence Carll, Coach Gordon L. Fox, Warren Smith. Back row from left: Lester Smith, Merrill Dole, Paul Myhaver, Robert Paquet, Wallace Flood, Arthur Smith, Harry Brenner. W e’ve run this photo before, but its message is more timely than ever. Because the destiny of this Conval hoop heritage team had Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots written all over it—a legend that began 95 seasons ago, and not on an NFL football field but on small town basketball courts… On February 19, 1928, the Peterborough High boys scored what the local paper described as: “Probably the greatest victory in the history of basketball at the local school”   when it went on the road and won 18-15 over Keene High. “It was undoubtedly the best game of basketball that has been seen on the Keene floor this year, and was attended by the la...

Members of the 13-1 Hancock High squad of 1951-52 (front, from left): Bud Adams, Dick Quinn and Bob Brooks. Second row: Coach Joe Courteau, Bill Stearns and Al Prime. Back row: Lee McMahon, Ed Dow, Forrest Weston, Gale Hennessey and Bob Kierstead. (Prime and McMahon were from Stoddard .) I n 1954, tiny Milan High School in Indiana shocked the high school basketball world by defeating Muncie Central High School—a school ten times its size—for the Indiana state championship. The stunning victory was the inspiration for the legendary basketball movie “Hoosiers.”  Two years earlier, one can only wonder if tiny Hancock High School would have been the New Hampshire version of that famous movie... Finishing the 1951-52 season with a 13-1 record, and with only about 50 students in the entire school. the Blue Devils earned the third seed in the state Class C (small school) state tournament, held that year in Claremont. Hancock’s only loss was to Troy, with the two teams tied atop the Southe...

Home or away ("here" or "there"), Conval High fans live and die with their team...including Ryan Wilson at right, now a member of the CV varsity. I t was late fall in 1941, and local basketball fans could hardly wait for what might be next... That spring. legendary Peterborough High coach John Clark had led the Green and White to a pulsating state championship over Lebanon . It was the fifth and final state title for Peterborough, which under Clark and others helped make this the mecca of high school basketball in New Hampshire. But in the fall, Clark had moved on to become a teacher at Manchester West High School (he’d be back later to PHS, in a different capacity), and a four-year coach from Danielson, Conn., Earl Leach , had assumed responsibility. “Mr. Leach has had his squad out practicing since the first of the month but, like all newcomers, has had to spend considerable time getting acquainted and making the required adjustments, so he is careful not to say ...

The Peterborough High 1953-'54 squad, the first to qualify for a state tournament since 1945. Front (l-r): Bernie Cutter, Wayne Crowell, Dave Gavitt, Eddie Wheeler, Ron Bailey and Roy Vezina. Standing: Coach Dick Snow, Dick Cashion, Don Lafontaine, Tony Brown, Bob Brown, Pete Lawrence and manager Bill Andrews. D o you know what LeBron James said?… At the start of the 1954-55 season, there were 41 candidates for the Peterborough High boys’ teams—an astounding number, since there were just 41 members of the senior class! The year before, the Hilanders became the first team in nine years from the school to qualify for the state tournament. Clearly, the memories of being a juggernaut in New Hampshire high school basketball, coupled with the fact that basketball was the only game in town during winter, had stirred interest to record levels. About 70 seasons later, 30-plus boys tried out for basketball this year at Conval High, where the senior class is about five times that number. But...