Athletics
The community of North Andover is sandwiched in between the rural towns of northern Essex County: (Boxford, Middleton, Topsfield, West Newbury and Georgetown) and the small cities of the Merrimack Valley and Middlesex County: (Haverhill, Lawrence, Andover, Lowell, Chelmsford), and so could justifiably be in one of two athletic conferences, the Merrimack Valley Conference (MVC) or the Cape Ann League (CAL). North Andover chooses to compete in the Cape Ann League which has mostly smaller (Division 3 and 4) schools as opposed to the MVC, which houses some of the state's athletic powerhouses (Central Catholic, Chelmsford, Andover, Lawrence among others.) However, North Andover will move to the Merrimack Valley Conference following the 2011-2012 school year. Because of total enrollment, NAHS is qualified in Division 2 by the MIAA (Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association) and plays many games against non-league opponents with similar school size.
One sport NAHS can be considered a powerhouse in is wrestling, where from 2005-2006 the wrestling team won 77 consecutive dual meets and won the Division 2 States in 2005 and 2006.They have also brought home the state trophy more recently in the 2011-2012 season. This is the second longest dual meet streak only to the record of 106 held by the 79-80 wrestling teams. The wrestling team's continued success is directly related to the strong history involved with the program, a top-tier youth program and the fact that North Andover has only had two head wrestling coaches. Howard Crozier (whom the field house is named after) and Dave Castricone. Crozier is a North Andover athletic pioneer while Castricone is 3rd in the Nation in wins all time. Castricone is also New England's leader in wins. The wrestling team also holds more league titles then all the other athletic programs at NAHS. Another NAHS powerhouse is the high school basketball team, which currently has the longest streak for consecutive state tournament appearances in the state of Massachusetts. The last time the school failed to make the basketball state tournament was in the early 60s. The basketball team reached the Division 2 North Finals in 2007 for the first time in 20 years. Lacrosse commands a great following and is the premier spring sport, with the team usually going deep into the. playoffs. Soccer is widely played in-town and has a strong youth league. Football has shown signs of improvement during the past few years led by head coach John Rafferty. The team reached the division 2A playoffs in 2005 for the first time since 1996. During the 2005-2006 season, North Andover teams won league championships and/or qualified for the state tournament in football, men's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, field hockey, men's ice hockey,men's basketball, coed swimming, wrestling, men's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and men's and women's tennis. NAHS was awarded the prestigious Dalton Award in 2005 for the school with the best overall record in MIAA Division 3, the next season the school was bumped up to Division 2 where it continues to excel. In 2009, the Scarlet Knights once again earned the prestigious Dalton Award, this time for MIAA Division 2.
The school's main league rival is nearby Masconomet Regional High School (the 'Chieftains') and the competition between the two schools is intense. Historically North Andover had always considered neighboring Andover (the 'Warriors') its official rival; however major differences in enrollment between the two schools made the rivalry a rather one-sided affair. For the sake of tradition NAHS still plays Andover in football, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and a few other sports.
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