Rejoice! The New England Patriots are in the Super Bowl. Since September, many of our Sunday afternoons, evenings, and Monday nights have been filled with dramatic, emotional, and exciting gridiron action. The culmination of the grueling five month season will be on February 5th when New England gets a rematch against the New York Giants, a foe that beat the Pats in the big game four years ago. Check out these five local spots where you can find the gear that you'll be wearing on game day. Shirts, hats, and jerseys: they’re all here. 1. Kohl’s Also located on 114, Kohl’s may have the largest …

In a holiday weekend matinee game, the Andover High School Warriors and Scarlet Knights of North Andover played an dramatic game at Merrimack College that went down to the wire.  The North Andover High hockey team started off the season 6-0-1 but after a 4-4 tie against Andover yesterday, they haven’t found the win column in their last three games. The Knights and Warriors tied 4-4 in a game full of momentum and emotional swings. North Andover was up 2-1 at the end of the first 20 minutes of play before Andover tied things up in the second. Tied at two going into the third, each team potted a…

The NAHS winter teams are approaching mid-season and that means they are busy, busy, busy. Today the boys ski team will be in action at Bradford Ski Hill, but watch out because six North Andover teams are in action Wednesday. Girls Skiing At Bradford Ski Hill, the girls ski team will have its second meet of the season against Haverhill High School. The meet begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday and the forecast calls for a perfect skiing temperature of about 35 degrees. Boys and Girls Indoor Track Both squads will take on Andover Wednesday. The meet gets underway tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. The Golden …

The North Andover High gymnastics team is 1-0 this year after winning its first meet of the season on Friday against Salem. The Knights won 131-119 against the Salem Witches. Jessica Whitehead and freshman Chrysla Gui starred in an exciting Knights win.  Freshman Chrysla Gui had an amazing debut by winning the all-around competition with 33.25 points. Her teammate Jessica Whitehead was right behind her with 33 points. Gui won the bars competition with a score of 8.2. She also took first in the floor competition with an 8.7. The strong debut will leave the Knights very optimistic about her …

North Andover High School has won the Larry Ames Award for excellence in Division 2 sports for the 2011 school year. The Larry Ames Award is presented by the Boston Globe and honors an athletic program for overall excellence.  The school has been honored three years in a row for its excellence in sports. NAHS earned the Dalton Award in 2010 and the Ames Award in 2009. The Knights have been honored five times in the last seven years. The Knights athletic program has had the fortune of seeing every one of their varsity teams qualify for their respective tournaments in the last three years with …

Boys Basketball Zach Karalis led all scorers with 22 points as the Scarlet Knights won their season opener 66-44 over the Cheiftans of Masconomet. Isaiah Nelsen added 18 points of his own. Nelsen and Karalis combined for seven three-pointers on the night. The Knights played a stifling second quarter. They outscored the Cheiftans 16-5 in the second frame to give North Andover a 37-20 advantage at halftime. That allowed the Knights to cruise to a win after outscoring Masco by five points in the second half. North Andover (1-0) plays Salem in the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament on Friday …

Boys Hockey Jake Silk provided all the offense that North Andover needed on Saturday night at Merrimack College when the Knights faced North Reading. North Andover won its second straight game to open up the 2011-12 season by beating the Hornets 2-0. Prior to that it was a 5-1 triumph at Pentucket that got the season underway. Saturday night saw Rick O’Connor, Mike Cusack, Jack Carroll, and Ryan Sweeney all record assists. Joey Daccord made 21 saves in his first shutout of the season. North Andover takes the ice next tomorrow night at home against Whittier. Girls Basketball The Knights fell …

Boys Basketball Last year’s season was a strong one for the Knights. Mike McVeigh’s squad when 17-5 and finally fell in the Division 2 North Quarterfinals at the end of the season. McVeigh is in his 30th year coaching the squad. North Andover has most of its starting lineup returning. Senior guard Zach Karalis will return to lead the Knights. Bringing the ball up will be Colby Smith, also a senior. Sharpshooting Derek Collins is also back as a junior. He is recovering from back surgery and should be healthy enough to start the season. Mike Moroney is a senior captain. At 6-5 he is expected to…

Girls Hockey A dedicated group of North Andover High School girls is gearing up for another winter of hockey. The girls may not have their own have their own team, but thanks to permission from the MIAA, they are in a cooperative program with four other schools. Georgetown, Hamilton-Wenham, Masconomet, and Newburyport girls all team up to form the cooperative team. Putting aside their rivalry with Masconomet, as they did last season, was a willing commitemtnt the girls made to be able to competitively play the game that they love. The girls will open up their season in the Pingree School …

Welcome to the third and final part of our series that looks back on the 2011 North Andover High School fall athletic season. Today we look at the football team. Yesterday we featured the field hockey and volleyball teams, and on Monday we featured the soccer teams. Football Grade: B- Comments: Calling this team average would be a crime, considering the amount of talent they have and the amount of games they won. But one thing is for sure, this team did not live up to expectations in 2011. With one of the best quarterback/running back tandems in the state, the Knights fell short of a playoff …

Welcome to the second part of a three part series that looks back on the 2011 North Andover High School fall athletic season. Today we look at the field hockey and volleyball teams. Yesterday we featured the soccer teams, and tomorrow we’ll assess the football team. Field Hockey Grade: A- Comments: The field hockey team had an immensely successful 2011 campaign. With key contributions coming from both the offense and defense, the Knights were able to advance all the way to the MIAA Division 1 quarterfinals. The Knights had one of their best regular seasons of all time. North Andover went 12-1…

Welcome to the first part of a three part series that looks back on the 2011 North Andover High School fall athletic season. Today we look at the soccer teams. Tomorrow we’ll feature the field hockey and volleyball teams, and on Wednesday, we’ll assess the football team. Girls Soccer Grade: A- Comments: This year’s edition of the girls soccer team hit its stride at the perfect point, and that is why they are given such a high assessment. A regular season record of 9-4-4 was on par with the amount of talent that the Knights had, and few were complaining about a berth in the MIAA Division 1 …

This year, the North Andover Knights travel to Masco for their annual Thanksgiving Day showdown. Head over to Masco prepared with football knowledge by checking out these five things you need to know about the game. 1. Date/Time/Location The game gets underway on Thursday morning at 10am. Masconomet Regional Junior-Senior High School is located at 20 Endicott Road in Topsfield.  2. Last Year The Knights hoisted the Turkey Day trophy with a 20-7 win at home last year. It was North Andover's tenth straight win at the time. It was North Andover's first Thanksgiving Day win since 2006. 3. Records…

Today, North Andover boasts the best college hockey team in the entire nation. Merrimack College may be the smallest Division 1 hockey school, but it is also the only undefeated team in the nation. The Warriors are 8-0-1 this year. They earned 27 first place votes in the USCHO National Poll and 20 first place votes in the USA Today poll. Merrimack won only three games in the 2006-07 season; now they are tops in the country, an improvement that few were able to foresee. Last year, the Warriors soared as high as #4 in the nation, winning a school record 25 games and advancing to its first ever …

Boys Soccer The Knights began the MIAA Division 2 North playoffs as the fifth seed in the tournament.  After beating Dracut in the first round, the Knights hit the wall against 20th ranked Wayland. The Knights fell in overtime 1-0 on Wednesday.  Field Hockey The field hockey nights also came into the playoffs as the fifth ranked team. The Knights beat Lowell 3-0 in the first round to move on into the quarterfinals.  Against fourth ranked Chelmsford, the Knights fell 2-1 to end their season last Sunday.  Girls Soccer North Andover had an amazing run in the MIAA Division 1 North playoffs that …

Girls Soccer The North Andover girls pulled off one of the most unexpected upsets you will ever see last night. The 14th ranked Knights beat the 3rd ranked Andover Warriors last night 1-0 in overtime. Andover had previously been undefeated after finishing the regular season 14-0-3. North Andover advances into a matchup against 11th ranked Medford in the quarterfinals. Medford is 13-4-1. That game is tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. Boys Soccer Former Athlete of the Week Mike Skarbelis potted a pair of second half goals to give fifth ranked North Andover a 2-1 win over Dracut in the first round of …

Boys Soccer The boys team beat Rockport 4-1 yesterday to clinch at least a tie for the Cape Ann League title. The team still has a chance to win the title outright.  Yesterday's win improved the team's record to 11-2-3. Mike Skarbelis scored a pair of goals to lead the Knights. He also picked up one assist. Alex Morin and Tim Chiang scored North Andover's other goals. Eric Riedel also had an assist.  Mike Maroney made five saves in net to anchor the Knights defense. The Knights travel to Masco next for a chance to win the Cape Ann League outright. The match starts at 3:45.  Girls Soccer The …

Boys Soccer The Knights beat Triton at home yesterday by the score of 2-0. Tonry Gabriello and Evan Dudney each scored for North Andover. Mike Maroney and Marc Patnaude combined for a six save shutout. North Andover won its fifth game in a row and hols a 5-1-2 record. The Knights host Manchester Essex tomorrow afternoon.  Field Hockey The Lady Knights edged out Lynnfield yesterday with a 2-1 road victory yesterday. Emily Boyle and Meg Jalbert each scored first half goals for North Andover. The win improves North Andover's record to 5-1-2. The Knights play next tomorrow evening when they host …

Field Hockey The Knights edged out Georgetown with a 2-1 win yesterday on the road. Angela Minot and Meg Daley tallied goals for North Andover, and Meg Foster made 6 saves.  The team is now 3-0-2 this season with their next game coming up on Tuesday against Triton.  Boys Golf The golf team beat Rockport yesterday 148-131 yesterday. Chris Tierney led his team wtih 29 points for the North Andover cause. Alec Brown scored 28 and Cam Carito added 26. The win evened the Knights' record at 2-2 with another matchup coming today against Manchester Essex.  Boys Cross Country Alex Sullivan came in …

Boys Soccer The North Andover High boys soccer team picked up a 1-1 draw against Masconomet yesterday evening. At North Andover High, Eric Riedel scored the only Knights goal. Charles Sherman picked up the goal for Masco. Both goals came in the first half. Mike Moroney made 9 stops in net for the Knights. North Andover is still looking for its first win at 0-1-2. Girls Soccer The Lady Knights fell 3-1 to Masco yesterday. Liv Boudreau was the only Knight to get on the board, getting an assist from Alex Medlock.  Megan Collins made 9 saves in net as the Knights fell to 3-2 on the season.  Field…