The State of Football: Week 9
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
A look at the playoff picture as we enter the regular season's final weekend in Divisions III and IV, and the home stretch in Divisions I, II, V and VI:
DIVISION I: Pinkerton Academy (6-2 overall, 6-0 Division I), Nashua South (5-3, 5-1), Manchester Central (7-1, 5-1) and Londonderry (6-2, 5-2) have all clinched playoff berths. The order has yet to be determined, however.
Two games this weekend will help solve the puzzle: Londonderry at Nashua South, and Manchester Central at Pinkerton. Victories by Pinkerton and Nashua South would give the Astros and Panthers home-field advantage for the semifinals.
DIVISION II: Exeter (7-1, 6-1), Bishop Guertin (6-2, 5-1) and Timberlane (6-2, 5-1) have secured playoff spots. Keene ((4-3, 4-2) will clinch a playoff berth if it can beat Dover on Friday. BG can finish in any of the four playoff positions.
DIVISION III: Souhegan (8-0, 7-0), Portsmouth (7-1, 6-1) and Milford (6-2, 6-1) have all extended their seasons. Souhegan has already locked up the No. 1 seed. Portsmouth will play Milford on Friday in a game that will determine the No. 2 seed (Portsmouth/Milford winner) and No. 3 seed (Portsmouth/Milford loser). The winner of Saturday's Goffstown/Con-Val game will be the fourth seed.
DIVISION IV: Plymouth (8-0, 7-0), Laconia (6-2, 6-1) and Kennett (6-2, 5-2) are safe. Friday night's Hanover/Merrimack Valley winner will complete the field.
DIVISION V: Pelham (7-0, 7-0), St. Thomas (6-1, 6-1), Trinity (6-1, 5-1) and Kearsarge (5-3, 4-3) will be your playoff teams here. Pelham can finish no lower than second, and can wrap up the No. 1 seed by beating Stevens on Friday. The winner of Sunday's St. Thomas/Trinity game will be the other home team in the semifinals.
DIVISION VI: Franklin (7-1, 7-0), Newport (7-1, 7-0) and Campbell (6-2, 6-1). have each earned a postseason invitation. Winnisquam (4-4, 4-3), Inter-Lakes (3-4, 3-4) and Newfound (3-5, 3-4) are in the hunt for the final playoff spot.
THE PICKS ...
Concord 28
Manchester Memorial 13
Memorial has given up 102 points in its last two games.
Nashua South 21
Londonderry 20
Division I playoffs are going to be very interesting.
Pinkerton 20
Manchester Central 14
Picked against the Astros last week. Not going to make the same mistake two weeks in a row.
Salem 28
Manchester West 7
West is the only Division I team without a league victory. Are the Blue Knights headed for Division II?
Bishop Guertin 35
Alvirne 6
Alvirne's playoff hopes disappear.
Keene 14
Dover 13
Two of Keene's three losses came by one point.
Exeter 21
Plymouth (Mass.) North 14
Pinkerton, Bishop Guertin and Nashua South came up empty in Massachusetts. Maybe Exeter can win one for the Granite State.
Winnacunnet 21
Merrimack 20
The Warriors will likely win three of their final four games. Expect Winnacunnet to be much improved next season.
Timberlane 30
Spaulding 13
The Owls still have their sights set on a No. 1 seed.
Lebanon 13
Bedford 6
Two touchdowns may be enough to win this one.
Con-Val 20
Goffstown 19
Might as well consider this a playoff game.
Pembroke 20
Hollis-Brookline 13
Spartans end their three-game losing streak.
Souhegan 36
John Stark 6
Sabers are one of three teams that can finish the season unbeaten. Plymouth and Pelham are the others.
Portsmouth 26
Milford 20
Milford will travel to Portsmouth next weekend.
Hanover 27
Merrimack Valley 14
Hanover wins its fourth in a row, grabs playoff spot.
Kennett 27
Kingswood 6
Kennett vs. Laconia in the Division IV semifinals? Feels like old times.
Laconia 34
Monadnock 13
Interesting to see what will happen if Laconia gets another shot at Plymouth.
Plymouth 42
Sanborn 13
Who's better: Plymouth or Souhegan?
Bishop Brady 26
Bow 6
Green Giants have been held to 22 points in their last three games.
Kearsarge 36
Epping-Newmarket 6
Kearsarge is going to make life tough for someone in the semifinals.
Pelham 35
Stevens 14
Pelham may have beaten St. Thomas last weekend, but for three-and-a half quarters the Saints bottled up the Pythons' offense. Division V title is up for grabs.
St. Thomas 14
Trinity 13
Rematch in two weeks?
Newport 26
Campbell 21
There will be plenty at stake when Newport plays Franklin next weekend.
Franklin 35
Fall Mountain 6
Sooner or later, Fall Mountain has to lose.
Inter-Lakes 28
Farmington 0
Lakers should be rooting for Newfound to beat Winnisquam.
Gilford 20
Mascoma 14
These teams have comparable offenses, but Gilford's been better on the defensive side.
Winnisquam 20
Newfound 6
Add Winnisquam to the Division VI playoff field.
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Last week: 21-6
Record to date: 158-36
Roger Brown is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. His column, The State of Football, will appear each Friday throughout the season.
