New Hampshire Shrine selections complete
Roger Brown
nhfootballlreport.com
Ken Sciacca, who will coach the New Hampshire team in this year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, said he selected the 36 players on this year's roster following a selection meeting held Sunday.
By rule, the original 36-player roster must include nine players from Division I, eight players from Division II, six players from Division III, six players from Division IV, four players from Division V and three players from Division VI.
"Once the invitations are returned we'll know what we have," Sciacca said. "Some kids choose not to play. The Shrine office will probably announce team team around Feb. 1.
"Picking linemen was tough. We were looking for pass rushers. That was our main concern.
"Although I haven't seen him, I hear the (Vermont) quarterback (Max Librizzi) is very good. I'm sure he is if he's going Division I (Holy Cross)."
Librizzi guided Essex High School to the Division I state championship last season. He threw 45 touchdown passes and was selected as Vermont's Gatorade Player of the Year.
Essex coach Charlie Burnett will coach the Vermont team in this year's Shrine game, which will be played Aug. 7 at Windsor (Vt.) High School.
Sciacca, who resigned as Kennett's head coach following the 2009 season, said his Shrine staff will feature five current or former high school head coaches: Brian O'Reilly (Pinkerton), Tom Sawyer (Londonderry), Tom Daubney (Portsmouth), Bob Camirand (Concord) and Jack Gati (Salem). Sawyer, Daubney and Camirand are no longer active head coaches.
This will be the eighth time Sciacca has coached in the Shrine game, and his third time as New Hampshire's head coach. He guided New Hampshire to victories in 1979 and in 2003.
"It's a great charity," he said. "It's a lot of fun and it's for a great cause."
New Hampshire extended its winning streak to nine games by beating Vermont 40-6 in last year's Shrine game.
New Hampshire leads the series 41-13-2.
