New Hampshire

When: Saturday at noon, Cowell Stadium, Durham, N.H. Radio: ESPN-AM (950). Records: Villanova, 1-4 overall, 0-2 Colonial Athletic Association; New Hampshire, 3-1, 1-0. Coaches: Villanova, Andy Talley (27th season, 189-111-1); New Hampshire, Sean McDonnell (13th season, 91-56). Series: Villanova leads series, 11-10. In 2009, the Wildcats routed New Hampshire, 46-7, in a Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal at Villanova Stadium. WHAT TO WATCH How will the young Wildcats respond defensively to New Hampshire's multifaceted, hurry-up offense?

Drexel tried and tried, but the Dragons couldn't make it all the way back yesterday and dropped a 75-72 decision to New Hampshire. After winning its first-ever North Atlantic Conference game on Monday over Maine, Drexel (4-9 overall, 1-1 league) came out of the blocks slowly against New Hampshire (4-9, 3-1). "Coming in, we knew it was going to be difficult," Drexel coach Bill Herrion said. "We knew we would have to play very well to win. I was a little disappointed with the way we started.

Five fumble recoveries and a big day for Delaware all-America safety Warren McIntire helped the Blue Hens roll over New Hampshire, 44-22, yesterday in a Yankee Conference game. The fumble recoveries were a big part of Delaware's 28-0 first-half lead, which helped erase the sting of last week's 21-20 non-conference loss to West Chester. Defensively, McIntire recovered two fumbles, forced another, and broke up a pass. "We played much better (than last week) in every way," said Hens coach Tubby Raymond, whose club improved to 3-1 (3-0)

Now that the permafrost portion of the presidential primary season has ended, a few observations: Yes, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has earned the title of Democratic "front-runner. " His wins in New Hampshire and Iowa demonstrate an ability to hang tough, especially considering his campaign staff was in shambles only recently. And no, the race isn't over. Several candidates have earned further consideration by voters in larger, more diverse states. (The closest our region will come to having a meaningful say in the contest is when Delaware holds its primary Tuesday.

NASHUA, N.H. - They came into New Hampshire with the most to lose, two candidates swamped in Iowa by a wave of political change. They had little time for course corrections. So Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney worked hard this weekend to be seen as "change agents," a challenging task since both are candidates of the political establishment. And they sought to call into question the change credentials of their principal opponents in tomorrow's first-in-the-nation primary.

Norman Richardson scored a season-high 23 points and Hofstra, despite blowing a 23-point lead in the second half, beat New Hampshire, 75-70, last night in Hempstead, N.Y. The Pride won their fifth straight overall and eighth in a row over the Wildcats. The Pride (13-4, 6-2 America East) shot 75 percent (18 for 24) in the first half in taking a 49-30 lead. They extended the lead to 56-33 with 17 minutes, 3 seconds left on a three-point play by Danny Walker, but they made only two more field goals the rest of the game.

Sixth-seeded Drexel's "3M" attack led the Dragons to a 69-59 upset of third-seeded New Hampshire yesterday in a quarterfinal of the America East women's basketball tournament in Burlington, Vt. It's the first time since 1995 that a sixth seed has advanced. That feat was also accomplished by Drexel with a victory over New Hampshire. The Dragons will meet Northeastern tonight in a semifinal game. Maureen Michaels led the Dragons (12-15) with 20 points, including nine in the last 3 minutes, 24 seconds of the game.

Republicans, unified and disciplined on Capitol Hill, are about to break into open warfare over the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Despite some high-profile withdrawals in recent weeks, the prospect of facing a damaged and vulnerable President Clinton is drawing a swarm of Republicans interested in challenging him in 1996. When New Hampshire Republicans gather this evening for a dinner to start the year leading to their primary, the first in the nation, nine potential candidates for the 1996 presidential nomination will line up to court their favor.

A haze started to build over Villanova Stadium at the start of the third quarter last night. It could have been caused by the offensive fireworks of both teams in the first half. Villanova and New Hampshire went at each other in an Atlantic Ten Conference game, New Hampshire with its shotgun, no-huddle offense, Villanova with its suddenly high-powered attack led by confident quarterback Marvin Burroughs. After the smoke had cleared, New Hampshire had outgunned the Wildcats, 51-40.

When Robert J. Twitchell took his wife and their four young children to their vacation home in New Hampshire in the 1960s, he didn't forget Sunday worship. He just did it himself, clergy-free. "We would go outside and with his prayer book he would conduct a service there, just the six of us," daughter Becky Roller recalled in an interview. He considered it "direct communication" with the Almighty, Roller said, "because we were outside in all that beauty. " On Thursday, May 2, Mr. Twitchell, 90, of Haddonfield, retired owner of a recycling equipment sales firm in Cherry Hill, died at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

READING - Jesse Biddle's 16 strikeouts over seven one-hit innings last month in a game at Harrisburg went viral. His 10 strikeouts in six one-hit innings the next time out at home against New Hampshire made the masses wonder whether the 21-year-old from Germantown Friends was close to being big-league ready. A reality check followed for the gregarious double-A Reading lefthander, who is clearly on the right track but still a distance away from being prepared for games in the big South Philly ballpark where the Phillies play.

WARREN, N.H. - The contentious fight over gun control moved into the White Mountains of New Hampshire on Tuesday as gun-control activists began to focus on Sen. Kelly Ayotte as a prime target in their effort to revive their push for stricter gun laws. Ayotte (R., N.H.) was a high-profile vote against the plan to expand the national gun background-check program, which failed in the Senate two weeks ago despite overwhelming public support. The failure was widely seen as a triumph for the National Rifle Association.

By Raymond Scalettar The Centers for Disease Control has weighed in very publicly in the debate surrounding the privatization of state liquor stores in Pennsylvania, suggesting that privatization would harm public health. The studies CDC cites as evidence, however, do not support that claim. Robert Brewer, who leads the alcohol program in the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, has repeatedly pointed to a review by CDC's Community Task Force.

How could such a decision, decades in the making, so carefully considered, come down to this? A sharp twinge of regret, a photograph not taken, an entire spare bedroom of tiny watch parts, a lifetime at the watchmaker's bench, sold and trucked off to New Hampshire? And no photo! That's the way it went for Ed Weintraut, and that's the way it goes. At his age - a week shy of 85 - life cannot always be lived with the precision the watchmaker has prided himself on for 69 years. And though the man whose name has graced the sign - Ed (horizontal)

Imhotep Charter's Najee Goode, a speedy cornerback and kick returner, has committed to play at the University of Maine. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior took an official visit to the school last weekend. "I really had a good relationship with the coaching staff," he said. "I like the location. I'll be away from the city and able to just focus on football and academics. " Goode, who lives near 24th and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, also received interest from Ball State, Buffalo, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, and Towson.

DURHAM, N.H. - Guinea pig. That's what Marty Scarano, the animated New Hampshire athletic director, still calls Ricky Santos. Before he arrived, everyone here thought a fleet-footed quarterback was needed for Chip Kelly's offense to work. By the time Santos finished his career in 2007 - a Walter Payton Award tucked under his arm - everyone there was convinced of what Kelly has been telling Philadelphia since his hire. It's less about the feet than it is about the brain. It's less about the speed of a particular play than it is the speed with which several plays are executed.

SO WHAT did Villanova coach Andy Talley think when his Wildcats had to go up against Chip Kelly's up-tempo, spread attack at New Hampshire? "You pretty much took the attitude that we have to outscore these guys, because you can't stop them," Talley recalled. "That's what it ended up being, shootouts. "I think that's the attitude everybody takes when you play them. " Under longtime coach Bill Bowes, New Hampshire used an I-formation, run-based offense. When Sean McDonnell succeeded him in 1999, he elevated Kelly from the offensive-line assistant to coordinator.

Sean McDonnell texted Chip Kelly a congratulatory message on Wednesday. "How's your day going?" Kelly responded to McDonnell, the New Hampshire coach and Kelly's best friend. They texted back and forth about chicken cheesesteaks they ate when they met with the Penn coaches one time, back when Kelly was an assistant to McDonnell at New Hampshire. There are "thousands" of other stories McDonnell can share about times when the friends are relaxing, away from the field where they are just two alums from New Hampshire enjoying each other's company.

His team was playing for the first time in eight days, so Penn State coach Patrick Chambers set one goal Sunday: Play harder than New Hampshire. "I think we did that," Chambers said after the Penn State men limited New Hampshire to 22.6 percent shooting during a 72-45 win in State College, Pa., that preceded the women's rout of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Jermaine Marshall scored 15 points and Sasa Borovnjak 11 for Penn State (7-4), which used a 32-5 first-half run to open a commanding, 34-8 lead against the Wildcats (4-7)