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WINDSOR, Vt. — Next week, 72 of the finest high school football players from New Hampshire and Vermont will begin practice for the 57th Annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl. As always, it will be a week when strong legs run so that some day weak legs may walk. The summer classic will be played on Saturday, Aug. 7, on Windsor High School's MacLeay-Royce Field.
Local participants include Ryan Simpson and Ben Proulx of Pinkerton Academy, and Jake Finnegan of Londonderry High School. Other area players on the Granite State squad are Josh Luciano of Pelham High School, Derek Furey of Timberlane Regional High School and Darren Brown of Salem High School.
Starting next Thursday, double sessions will be the order of the day for both teams and head coaches Ken Sciacca from Kennett High School and Charlie Burnett from Essex High School have stressed the importance to their players of reporting in good physical condition. The two teams will be headquartered at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden for nine days of practice.
On Sunday, Aug. 1, the two teams will travel to Springfield, Mass., to visit the Shrine Hospital for Children and learn the real meaning of Shrine football. On Monday, Aug. 2, the players will be back on the practice fields.
On Saturday, Aug. 7, the scene will shift here for the annual summer classic. First, there will be a parade down Main Street, starting at noon. The parade will feature units from nine Shrine Centers from throughout New England and eastern Canada, as well an all-star high school band including more than 100 musicians from high schools in both states. Kickoff for the Shrine Bowl itself is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Windsor town officials have stressed that there is ample parking for everyone, especially in the old Cone and Goodyear Parking lots just off Main Street. For the second year in a row, extra bleachers have been brought in for the game from Dartmouth College.
The Bowl Game is sponsored by the three Shrine Centers in New Hampshire and Vermont, Bektash of Concord; Mount Sinai of Montpelier, Vt.; and Cairo of Rutland, Vt.
General admission tickets for the Bowl Game are on sale at more than 80 outlets throughout New Hampshire and Vermont for $8.
On Game Day, tickets will be priced at $10. Reserve seats at $20 are available through the Shrine Football Office, P.O. Box 820, Lebanon, 03766 or by calling 448-1042.
