Haverhill

PHOTOS: HHS Dedicates Saturday’s Football Game to Late Hillie Jordan Rankin

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Members of the Haverhill High School cheerleading squad came together to pay tribute to their friend and fellow athlete Jordan Rankin as the Hillies faced off against Chelmsford Saturday at Trinity Stadium, with the girls wearing red ribbons in their hair and offering cheers of “We love Jordan” in memory of the 17-year-old ahead of the first anniversary of her death Sept. 25. Hillies past and present packed the stands for the afternoon game wearing red, a favorite color of the teen’s, as a way to remember the lacrosse and field hockey standout who tragically lost her life in a car accident minutes from her home last fall at the intersection of Liberty and Crystal Streets in Haverhill. Jordan’s parents, John and Cindy Rankin, along with her neighbor Christina Firek, attended the game, sitting near the students. In a conversation with WHAV after the game, Firek called the show of support for her childhood best friend “humbling.”

“It’s amazing, because I’ve known Jordan her whole life, but everyone in high school knew her a different way.

Haverhill

Hillies Taking on Chelmsford Saturday: Hear the Football Game Live on 97.9 WHAV FM

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Coach Tim O’Connor’s Hillies hope to bounce back from last week’s 34-14 loss against St. John’s Prep this weekend with a Saturday afternoon game against the Chelmsford Lions at home, and WHAV is broadcasting all the action live only on 97.9 FM. “Voice of the Hillies” Paul Ryan and color commentator Tommy Morgan kick off coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. before the players take the field at 3 p.m. In addition to interviews and play-by-plays, the pair will also host a post-game show from Trinity Stadium. Haverhill High School football on WHAV is sponsored by Andy DiPietro’s Climate Zone, Brian S. Dempsey Insurance Agency, Duffy’s Diner, Attorney Gerard LaFlamme, NRT Bus, Simmons Plumbing and Heating, Smith Motor Sales of Haverhill and Wingate Residences at Haverhill. Can’t catch the game on the radio?

Haverhill

Haverhill High Unified Sports Basketball, Track and Field Sign Ups Now Open

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Haverhill High School’s unified sports program seeks athletes to take part in their basketball and track and field fall teams ahead of the first practices on Oct. 1, organizers tell WHAV. Sign-ups are done online and once a roster is created, a welcome email and schedule will be sent to all athletes and their families. Sanctioned by the Special Olympics, Unified Sports is an inclusive sports program that brings together students with intellectual disabilities and partners without disabilities to team up together for training and competition. More information on Haverhill High’s program is available by calling Matt at 978-420-1936.

Haverhill

WHAV to Broadcast Haverhill Hillies Football Home Opener Saturday: How to Listen Live

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Get ready for some football, Haverhill! Once again, 97.9 WHAV FM is the city’s home for live Hillies football broadcasts, home and away, beginning Saturday with Paul Ryan and Tommy Morgan. They’ll be bringing play-by-play action each week from kickoff to the final whistle. Both Ryan and Morgan bring a wealth of pigskin personality to the airwaves, as Ryan is a three-sport star athlete from Haverhill’s class of 1971. Color commentator Morgan quarterbacked Haverhill High’s team during his tenure, graduating in 2013.

Haverhill

Former Hillie Feran Joins Haverhill High Athletics Staff as Girls’ Varsity Swim Coach

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A former Hillie comes home. After 30 years and more than 325 career wins leading the brown and gold girls’ varsity swim team, Coach Rick Battistini is passing the torch to his former swim athlete Meghan Feran as she assumes the top coaching position in his stead. Director of Athletics Tom O’Brien made the announcement late last month, bringing Feran on board three years after she coached athletes during the Olympic Trials. The owner of SOLO Aquatics, Feran swam competitively at Springfield College, where she was a four-time NEWMAC All-Academic selection, O’Brien said. During her time at Haverhill High, she swam four years, was captain of the team and named to the MVC All-Conference Team her senior year.

Haverhill

Junior Hillies Football Practices Kick Off This Week: What to Expect from the HHS Sports Feeder Program

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Listen to the full interview below. With the start of Haverhill’s new school year two weeks away, the city’s youngest gridiron greats are already hard at work honing their skills through the Haverhill High School new football feeder program known as the Junior Hillies, HHS football coach Tim O’Connor tells WHAV. Joining WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” last week, O’Connor, who also teaches at Haverhill High, said the program for seventh and eighth graders was a long-held hope of his, as it fosters the sense culture of team and academic responsibility necessary at the high school level. O’Connor, who sits on the board of directors, did recognize the challenges associated with a team of middle school students, saying, “It’s very fluid, the emotions, on a daily basis.”

Practices currently take place at the Haverhill High School fields on Monument Street and will transition to Riverside Park after Labor Day, O’Connor said. For its first year, Junior Hillies has 55 students signed up. The team is a member of the 18-team Northeast Junior Football League, planning to play eight games: Four home games in Haverhill and four away games in other communities.

Haverhill

Pentucket, Salem, N.H., High to Use Haverhill’s Trinity Stadium for Fall Home Football Games

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Two area high schools, Salem, N.H., High and Pentucket Regional High School, plan to use Haverhill’s Trinity Stadium for home football games in the fall, WHAV has learned exclusively. Haverhill High School Athletic Director Tom O’Brien confirmed the news to WHAV, stating the city was pleased to be of assistance. “We’re happy to help,” O’Brien said, “We would hope another school would do the same for us in this situation.” O’Brien also emphasized how busy the Lincoln Avenue stadium may be in coming months, saying, “There could be a weekend with three home games this fall.”

The Salem High School superintendent’s office told WHAV the Salem Blue Devils are expected to play five games at Trinity Stadium, due to construction at the school’s Grant Field during the football season. Pentucket Regional did not return multiple requests for comment about their reason for relocating to Trinity. Salem’s first home game is scheduled against Londonderry, N.H. on Saturday, Sept.

Haverhill

Legion Post 4’s O’Brien Calls Players ‘Best in Years’ as Team Wraps Up Championship Play

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Hear the interview below. If you ask American Legion Post 4 baseball coach Larry O’Brien, the 2019 team that just wrapped their regular season run 15-2 is one of the best he’s seen in his career on the diamond. In an interview with 97.9 WHAV FM this week, O’Brien—who works alongside co-manager and pitching coach John Trask—told morning show host Win Damon the 16 boys on the team gelled exceptionally well on and off the field. “We had probably one of the best teams we’ve had in years and one of the best I’ve coached. The boys wanted to play baseball.