The State of Football: Week 11
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Talk about teams that have something in common.
Laconia and Portsmouth each earned the No. 2 seed for the playoffs in their respective divisions. Each will play for a state championship Saturday. Each will be facing an unbeaten team it lost to during the regular season. Each is an underdog.
Laconia will try to win back-to-back titles when it faces Plymouth in Saturday's Division IV championship game. The Bobcats have a 43-game winning streak and won nine of the last 11 Division III championships before dropping down a division after the 2007 season.
Plymouth beat Laconia, 27-14, earlier this season.
"We play our best game and they don't play their best game ... we can get them," Laconia coach Craig Kozens said. "We outscored them 14-7 in the second half (during the regular season) and the starters were in until the end, so we have something to build on.
"They're good, fast, strong. We need to make it a game in the fourth quarter. Put them in a position they've never been in.
"Hey, this is what we play for. This kind of game."
Portsmouth will be trying to win the program's first state championship since 1981 (the Clippers beat Salem for the Division I title that season) when it meets Souhegan in Saturday's Division III championship game.
The contest features two pass-happy offenses. Souhegan quarterback D.J. Petropulos has thrown 16 TD passes this season. Portsmouth quarterback Mike Fransoso has thrown for 15 TDs.
Souhegan beat Portsmouth, 28-21, during the regular season.
"They have the whole package," Portsmouth coach Bill Murphy said. "They have a running game. They have a good passing game. They're sound defensively.
"They're one of the teams that's always at the top of this division, so i would say most people look at us as the underdog. I don't think people had high expectations for us when the season started. Our kids have performed better than expected.
"Defense is the key. Both of us are pretty good offensively. Who can defend the other better will probably be the victor. I just hope that it's a well-played game by both teams."
THE PICKS ...
DIVISION VI SEMIFINALS
Franklin 20
Winnisquam 7
Franklin overcomes a stingy Winnisquam defense.
Newport 14
Campbell 13
Newport earns a second shot at Franklin.
DIVISION V SEMIFINALS
Pelham 20
Kearsarge 19
Not much separates the top four teams in this division.
Trinity 21
St. Thomas 14
Still going with Trinity to win the Division V title.
DIVISION II SEMIFINALS
Bishop Guertin 24
Keene 14
BG's speed overcomes Keene's size.
Exeter 21
Timberlane 13
Blue Hawks avoid their first three-game losing streak in Bill Ball's 16 years as the program's head coach.
DIVISION I SEMIFINALS
Pinkerton 27
Londonderry 14
Astros put themselves in position to win another title.
Nashua South 21
Manchester Central 19
South victory sets up rematch of 2007 Division I championship game.
DIVISION IV CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Plymouth 28
Laconia 14
Would Plymouth have won this year's Division III title?
DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Souhegan 27
Portsmouth 21
The Sabers complete their first unbeaten season.
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Last week: 16-6
Record to date: 194-49
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.
