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MILFORD, N.H. — A failed 2-point conversion pass on the final play of the overtime was the difference as Milford held off upset-minded Pelham, 14-13. In the extra session, Sean Hanrahan scored on a 1-yard run and the kick made it 14-7 Milford. Pelham's Colby Travis grabbed a 10-yard pass from Ian Hoey. But the 2-point pass was incomplete.

DRACUT — For the second week in a row the Lawrence football team showed its tremendous heart, but for the second week in a row ultimately fell in heartbreaking fashion.

The Lancers trailed Dracut 28-6 at halftime, but clawed all the way back to make it a 28-26 game in the fourth quarter. But the game-tying two-point conversion run was stuffed, and the Middies were able to pick up a couple of first downs and run out the clock to earn the 28-26 win.

DANVERS — So far this season, when Whittier puts the ball in AJ Espinal's hands good things happen.

The senior running back carried the rock 21 times for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as the Wildcats blanked Essex Tech 21-0 Friday night.

MANCHESTER – One week before its showdown with border-rival and undefeated Londonderry, Pinkerton ran itself above the .500 mark with a convincing performance Friday night at Gill Stadium.

LOWELL — It will be difficult if not impossible to duplicate what Jake McElroy did as the North Andover quarterback last year when the Knights were the undefeated Division 2 state champions.

Surprising Methuen improved to 3-0-3 with a 1-1 tie against North Andover. Natalia Fiato scored for the Rangers while Isabel Putnam was credited with a whopping 25 saves. Kaia Hollingsworth had a big defensive save. Molly Willis scored for the Knights (2-0-2).

Lauren McCloskey hit 500 kills and Kacie Blanchet reached 1,000 assists in Salem's sweep of Memorial. The Blue Devils are now 5-0.

LONDONDERRY — The tough start to the season for the Timberlane football team continued Friday night.

Londonderry, the No. 1 ranked team in Division 1 by the Union Leader, took it the Owls at home to the tune of a 56-7 throttling. The Owls (0-3) scored their lone touchdown when Cameron Lovett returned a kickoff 85 yards to the house to make it a 7-7 game in the first quarter.

Mari Shea's first-half penalty stroke stood up as Pinkerton (6-0) beat Windham (now 4-1) in a battle of unbeatens. Pinkerton's Khaliyah Ellis stopped seven shots in the 1-0 shutout while Lily Auger and Kate Bennett shined on defense.

MANCHESTER — First-year Windham coach Jack Byrne is going to remember this one for a while.

But it's not just because he picked up his first win as a head coach, as his Jags took down Manchester Memorial 35-7. It's mainly because of who he was surrounded by.

SALEM — After a tough loss in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown last week against Londonderry, Salem showed its mettle in a 23-0 shutout win over Concord.

The 2-1 Blue Devils boasted a pair of 100-yard rushers in seniors Josh Maroun (17-124, TD) and Riley Mulvey (14-117, TD). Jake Brady hauled in a TD pass from Kaleb Bates and booted a 34-yard field goal. Blue Devils coach Rob Pike said, "We responded well after last week (42-26 loss) when we gave up a lot of big plays. It was just really solid defense all-around." The Tide never even got into the red zone as Salem posted its second shutout of the young season. There was plenty to praise on the defense, which was highlighted by Andrew Sullivan (fumble recovery), inside linebacker Brady who was "all over the field," defensive back Brandon Wall and lineman Josh Ozoria.  Salem is at Timberlane Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The Haverhill and Lawrence volleyball teams were both undefeated heading into Friday night's game, but it was the Hillies that kept their record perfect with a 3-1 win. Jada Burdier had 20 kills and 6 aces and sister Kya added 28 assists for the Hillies, while Yemayma Molina led the Lancers with 11 kills and 3 blocks.

The Bedford boys soccer team is the defending Division 1 state champion and returned plenty of talent this year. The Bulldogs came into Friday's game undefeated, but Windham showed how far its come in its second D1 season by earning a 1-1 tie. Owen Larouco put the Jags (4-0-2) ahead early in the second, but Bedford was able to net an equalizer.

It wasn't easy, but the Pinkerton volleyball team earned a nice sweep of Bedford (27-25, 25-23, 32-30), which was the Division 1 state runner-up last year. The Astros were led by Ella Dandrade (8 kills, 22 digs) and Ella Koelb (28 assists, 4 aces).

Things looked dire for the Timberlane girls soccer team, trailing 2-1 with just under five minutes to play. But the Owls got some heroics, first when Monica Bajgrowicz skated around the goalie and scored to tie the game. Then, a minute later, Alida Bates got free and hammered a 25-yard shot with her left foot that found the opposite corner of the net to give the Owls a dramatic 3-2 win over Dover.