Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

The pieces began to fall into place for the Division III playoffs Friday night, when Portsmouth locked up the No. 2 seed by beating Milford, 43-15, in Milford.

Portsmouth (8-1 overall, 7-1 in Division III) will play third-seeded Milford (6-3, 6-2) in the semifinals next Saturday (1 p.m. in Portsmouth). Top-seeded Souhegan (9-0, 8-0) will face the winner of Saturday's matchup between Con-Val (5-3, 4-3) and Goffstown (4-4, 4-3) in next Saturday's other semifinal.

Milford committed six turnovers in Friday's loss. Portsmouth turned those turnovers into five touchdowns.

"We couldn't beat the Chelsea School of Upholstery if we play like that," Milford coach Keith Jones said. "They have a good team with explosive athletes. They're tough enough to stop as it is, never mind when you keep giving them the ball."

The Portsmouth/Milford contest will be Portsmouth's first home playoff game since 1996, when the Clippers were upset by Exeter in the Division II semifinals.

"We don't have to take the long bus ride," Portsmouth coach Bill Murphy said. "You're in your place, you have your own crowd."

Portsmouth quarterback Mike Fransoso threw for two touchdowns and ran for another against Milford. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 158 yards. Fransoso also rushed for 88 yards on five carries.

Portsmouth also received two second-half touchdowns from senior tailback Gallagher Hogan, who ran for 115 yards on 13 carries. It was the fifth time Hogan has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season.

Milford's Jeff Agnew played in the game, but was used sparingly at quarterback. Agnew, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, was used primarily as a defensive back and wingback. Agnew, a senior, has been Milford's starting quarterback since his sophomore season.

'I'm sure he'll be closer to 100 percent next week," Murphy said. "I was surprised by the score. I've seen them too many times to think this is going to happen again." 

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Hanover's 28-27 triumph over Merrimack Valley on Friday finalized the Division IV playoff pairings. Fourth-seeded Hanover will play at top-seeded Plymouth, and third-seeded Kennett will play at second-seeded Laconia. Both games will be played next Saturday at 1 p.m.

Plymouth beat Hanover, 47-13, in Plymouth during the regular season. Laconia posted a 41-12 victory over Kennett in Laconia when those teams met in the regular season.