Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Portsmouth High School's Reed Spiller, Pinkerton Academy's Josh Lane and Nashua South's Billy Ferriter (pictured) have been named the New Hampshire captains for this year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl.

Each of the 36 players on the New Hampshire roster was allowed to vote for two captains, and New Hampshire coach Craig Kozens announced the results to his team Sunday.

Spiller, a three-year starter for Portsmouth as an offensive lineman, suffered through an injury-plagued senior season after he separated his shoulder in a preseason scrimmage against Marshwood High School of South Berwick, Maine. Spiller, who also played defensive line and fullback in high school, helped Portsmouth reach the Division III championship game in his junior season. He'll play on the offensive line in Saturday's game against Vermont, and will then continue his football career at Yale.

"Coach Kozens did the math and there are about 2,500 high school football players in New Hampshire," Spiller said. "We're the captains, the leaders of those 2,500. It's a great honor."

Lane is an offensive lineman who helped Pinkerton Academy win the Division I championship in each of the past three seasons. He accepted a scholarship offer from the University of New Hampshire, and said he will play either guard or center for the Wildcats. His brother, Jason, was a captain on the New Hampshire Shrine team that beat Vermont, 23-20, last season. Jason currently plays for Northeastern.

"I knew that if UNH offered me that's where I was going," Josh Lane said. "A lot of it was about the convenience of staying in state. You only need one hunting and fishing license when you're in-state.

"This (being on the Shrine team) is one of the best football experiences I've had. I have friends who played in this game who told me it was going to be an awesome time. Being named a captain was a big deal. It definitely meant a lot to me."

Ferriter, who will likely take most of the snaps at quarterback Saturday, was named New Hampshire's Gatorade Player of the Year after leading Nashua South to a first-place finish in Division I. The Purple Panthers were upset by second-seeded Pinkerton in the Division I championship game.

Ferriter ran for 1,269 yards and 21 touchdowns during his senior season. He also completed 99 of 159 pass attempts for 1,012 yards. He'll play baseball for the University of Connecticut.

"I never got an offer for football," Ferriter said. "If I had it would have been a tough decision (choosing between the two sports).

"This looks like a great team. It's nice to have 275-pound linemen in front of you. Both the defense and the offense look very good."

Kozens said Monday's third workout was crisp and may have been his team's best practice since camp began.

"We'll review and polish things (on Tuesday)," Kozens said. "We're in game-mode now."

Kozens said Greg Molloy, who played at St. Thomas Aquinas, will handle the punting and place-kicking duties for New Hampshire. New Hampshire Football Report will announce the rest of the New Hampshire starters following Tuesday's final practice.