Plymouth's Boyle hoping to remain healthy
By Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Mike Boyle and injuries go together like a Whopper and fries. At least that was the case last season, when an uncooperative hamstring and an ankle sprain forced him to miss all of six games and parts of six others.
Boyle, a wide receiver entering his junior season at the University of New Hampshire, rarely left the field in high school. Plymouth Regional had a 44-0 record with Boyle as a starter. He scored 27 touchdowns in 2003, when Plymouth beat Souhegan, 34-0, for its fourth consecutive Division III championship.
"Last preseason camp I pulled my hamstring and I kept coming back a day or two too early," Boyle said. "Last fall I kept re-aggravating it. It took me out of games until we played (James Madison). I was on a limited play count during that game.
"My first full game was Northeastern the next week, and then shortly after that I sprained my ankle, so I was out for another couple weeks. The Hampton game in the playoffs I ended up hurting my hamstring again, so it was a long season."
Boyle showed what he could do when he was on the field, though. He caught 14 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown during a 36-35 loss to Northeastern. He completed the season with 16 receptions for 191 yards in seven games.
"He's the type of kid we just need to get on the field anywhere possible and he'll definitely help our offense," UNH quarterback Ricky Santos said.
Boyle led the Atlantic-10 in punt returns during his freshman season at UNH, when he averaged 15.2 yards per return. He returned two punts for touchdowns that season, including one against Colgate in the Division I-AA playoffs.
"He's a great punt returner," UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. "He didn't play a lot last year, but the one game he plays he had 14 catches for 178 yards. It's important to have him there."
Although he never attended a UNH game while he was in high school, Boyle said he wasn't interested in playing college football anywhere else. He said he didn't even apply to any other schools.
Boyle was healthy enough to play in the UNH spring game, but recently suffered another hamstring injury. He said the injury is not significant.
"Last year was frustrating," Boyle said. "It's tough to sit back and feel sorry for yourself when the team is doing so well, but obviously I was itching to get in there. I'm looking forward to this year. It's a new season and hopefully good things will happen."
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Boyle is one of 14 New Hampshire residents on the UNH roster. The others are running back Sean Jellison (Amherst), defensive back Andre Garron (Bedford), defensive back Shawn MacNevin (Strattford), running back Rod Walker (Portsmouth), defensive back Bryan Mayhew (Plymouth), punter Ryan Glasgow (Bedford), center Nick Couturier (Dover), offensive lineman Will Moher (Bedford), defensive lineman Mike Donahoe (Goffstown), defensive tackle Steve Young (Rochester), defensive end Lance Mailloux (Bedford), punter Corey Marceau (Stratham) and place-kicker Adam Phaneuf (Northwood).
