10 For 10

10 For 10: The top boys athletes

This week, it’s time to talk about the top athletes, the best all-around boys that I’ve had the opportunity to cover since starting this website 10 years ago.

Joe Marchilena

— 5 min read
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10 For 10: The top boys athletes
Goffstown’s Connor Bourque tries to avoid a tackle.

The last few weeks, I’ve taken a look at athletes in specific sports and picked the ones who stood out the most in my mind over the last decade of high school sports.

This week, it’s time to talk about the top athletes, the best all-around boys that I’ve had the opportunity to cover since starting this website 10 years ago. One criteria that I used was that they had to excel at more than just one sport. The definition of an athlete is someone who is proficient in sports, so I had to go with ones who played multiple sports.

The following are 10 stellar multi-sport athletes, the top male athletes that I’ve covered for this website over the last 10 years, with players listed in alphabetical order.

Top Athletes

  • Connor Bourque, Goffstown (2012-16): Bourque did a lot of winning during his four years at Goffstown. A three-sport athlete, he finished his career with a team championship in football and boys lacrosse, and won a Division II title in all four years of wrestling. Bourque twice earned all-state honors in lacrosse, including when the Grizzlies won the D2 title in 2015. He was also the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in football as a senior, helping Goffstown to the program’s first title. In wrestling, starting his freshman year in 2013, when he won the 126-pound title, he moved up a weight class every year and finished the season as a D2 champ. Bourque continued playing lacrosse at Norwich University.
  • Connor Donahue, Bishop Guertin (2010-14): A two-sport athlete for the Cardinals, Donahue was a varsity player for the boys ice hockey and boys lacrosse teams for four years. In hockey, Donahue was Division I first-team as both a junior and a senior. The Cardinals won D1 lacrosse titles in all four of Donahue’s years. As a junior and senior, he was named first-team all-state and earned All-American honors both years, scoring 119 points in his final season. Donahue continued playing lacrosse at the University of Denver.
  • Tyler Ford, Souhegan (2009-13): Ford participated in four sports during his four years at Souhegan, but the one he stood out the most in was football. A wide receiver coming up in the Sabers system, he switched to quarterback his senior year and threw for over 2,000 yards, ran for over 1,000 yards and had a combined 40 touchdowns while also playing defensive back and punting and kicking. Ford was also a starter for the boys basketball team, which reached the Division II final his senior year, and the baseball team, and as a junior, he qualified for the D2 outdoor championship meet in the javelin. Ford continued playing football at Bentley University, where he was a D2 All-American punter.
  • Sean Holland, Nashua South (2014-18): Holland was a three-sport standout for the Panthers, including spending three years as the starting quarterback for the football team. The Panthers went 15-7 during Holland’s junior and senior year, and he racked up over 8,500 yards of offense and 91 total touchdowns. He was also an all-state performer in lacrosse, scoring over 100 goals during his career. Holland also was a starter for the basketball team as a senior. Holland continued playing football at Fordham University.
  • Jason Hughes, Timberlane (2012-16): Hughes capped off his high school career by earning honors as the Division I Player of the Year in baseball, and it probably wasn’t even his best sport. A three-sport athlete for Timberlane, Hughes was an all-state performer in all three of his sports – football, basketball and baseball – his senior year. That fall, he helped lead the Owls football team to its only playoff appearance in D1. Hughes continued playing football at the University of New Hampshire, where he has served as the Wildcats kicker the last two seasons.
  • Trevor Knight, Nashua South (2010-14): Like Holland, Knight was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers, leading South to the playoffs each year. As a senior, he had a combined 38 touchdowns while piling up over 3,300 yards of offense and was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Knight was also a starter for the boys basketball team as a senior, and as a junior, scored points in the Division I and Meet of Champions outdoor track meets in the 100-meter dash. Knight continued playing football at the University of New Hampshire, where he was the starting quarterback for three years.
  • Gennaro Marra, Pinkerton (2015-19): Marra was a starter for the football team, helping Pinkerton reach back-to-back Division I championship games, and he was a first-team all-state defenseman in hockey as a senior. But his biggest impact was in lacrosse, where he made himself into one of the most dominant faceoff guys in the state as a junior and senior. He was a two-time first-team all-state FOS, and as a senior, he won 68.3 percent of faceoffs and had 35 points. In the D1 championship game in 2019, Marra won 20 of 30 faceoffs and had two goals. Marra continued playing lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire University.
  • Cody Morissette, Exeter (2014-18): Morissette was a star three-sport athlete almost from the moment he started high school, playing four years of varsity in basketball and baseball while he was on Exeter’s varsity football team for three seasons, including as the team’s quarterback as a senior. He finished his basketball career with over 1,300 points and helped lead the Blue Hawks to the final four as a senior. Morissette led the baseball team to back-to-back Division I titles his junior and senior year, hitting .434 in his final season. For his career, had a 19-1 record with a 1.21 ERA as a pitcher for Exeter. Morissette continued playing baseball at Boston College.
  • Mike Vailas, Bedford (2011-15): Vailas was a star in two sports for the Bulldogs, helping the boys lacrosse team to three-straight Division II championships and getting the football team to the Division I final as a senior. That year, Vailas made the move from receiver and defensive back to quarterback and earned D1 first-team honors that season. In lacrosse, he was a two-time first-team performer, and as a senior, Vailas was the D1 Defensive Player of the Year and was named an All-American. He continued playing lacrosse at Bryant University before transferring to the University of New Hampshire to play football.
  • Harrison Urda, Milford (2010-14): Urda was a three-sport athlete for the Spartans, and was a standout in both football and lacrosse. In the later, Urda was a four-time all-state honoree, including a spot on the Division III first-team as a senior, when he helped lead Milford to the postseason. Urda was able to do that despite missing the end of football and all of basketball season that year after a devastating leg injury. He was a three-year varsity starter for the Milford football team, including two years at quarterback, and as a senior, he earned D2 first-team all-state and all-conference honors on defense. Urda continued playing lacrosse at Eastern Connecticut State.

Did any of these players or teams make your list as well? Comment on here, or on Facebook or Twitter, to share your top athletes from the last decade. Next week, I’ll have a list of the top girls teams from the 2010s.

Did you miss any of our previous lists? Check them out below.

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