Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Dustin Chickering, a Hillsborough resident, signed a letter of intent Tuesday to play football for Merrimack College, a Division II program that competes in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Chickering (pictured) is a 6-foot-5, 270-pound two-way tackle who played for the Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton RedHawks, a co-op high school program that is aiming for NHIAA varsity status in 2010. Chickering didn't play organized football until his senior year in high school. He also plays basketball and baseball for Hillsboro-Deering.

Hillsboro-Deering coach Sam Cavallaro called Chickering a leader on his his team and in the community.

"You have to realize how important of a day this is as Dustin is the first player ever to play college football from his great town," Cavallaro said. "Dustin has so much potential as his learning is on a sharp curve upward, and at Merrimack (heach coach John Perry) is a fantastic teach. We cannot wait to watch him, and I know his teammates from both Hopkinton and Hillsboro have an immense sense of pride hearing the news today."

Perry is a 1992 UNH graduate who coached at both Dartmouth and UNH before being named Merrimack's head coach in 2007.