Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Two days of practice remain before this year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, and New Hampshire coach Craig Kozens said he still isn't sure what those who attend this year's game are going to see from his team's offense.

"It could be 80 percent spread and 20 percent I, or it could be 20 percent spread and 80 percent I," Kozens said. "I just don't know right now. We'll have to see how they react to both sets. We are deep at running back."

Vermont coach Mike Law said stopping New Hampshire's running game will be the key for his team. "If I had those running backs and that line I think I'd run the ball and see what happens," Law said. "We know if we can't stop the run we're going to get a heavy dose of that. We've told our front seven that."

New Hampshire had a simulated game Wednesday and Kozens said his team looked game-ready.

"We covered every situation and the coaching staff was very pleased," Kozens said. " We looked very polished. I think we're readay."

Perhaps the New Hampshire player who stood out the most Wednesday was St. Thomas place-kicker Greg Molloy, a Newarket resident who made field goals from 47 and 52 yards under game conditions. Molloy is expected to handle the place-kicking and punting duties for Saturday's game, which will be played at Dartmouth College's Memorial Field (2:30 p.m.).

"His name was 'kicker' the first couple of days," Kozens said. "Now he has a real name. One thing I'm glad I did was pick specialists -- a kicker, a guy who can snap. It's nice to know that you can make a kick to win a game if you find youself in that situation."

The players traded helmet decals Tuesday night. The New Hampshire team got its first look at Memorial Field after it went out for ice cream Wednesday.

Kozens, the head coach at Laconia, said there were only two players who wanted to wear the same number Saturday -- Concord's Marshall Gleason and Laconia's John Sands. Sands got the number he wanted by winning a coin flip.

"I know Sands is a Laconia guy, but it was fair," Kozens said. "I flipped it and everyone was there to see."