Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

If you're a media member, obtaining a program at a playoff football game without shelling out five bucks can be like trying to wrestle a chicken leg away from a crocodile. Other than that, the NHIAA and the host school usually do a fine job of putting on a top-notch event.
However, someone once said that if you're not moving forward people are gaining on you. With that thought in mind, how can we improve our state championship football games here in New Hampshire?

Here are two ways:

•Reduce the number of state championships from six to three. This proposal has been put forth here before. Keep the six-division format (sort the teams by enrollment, location or even strength of program) and award six league championships. Then play three state championship games the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
You may have to eliminate a bye week or a non-league game to make the schedule work, but do we really need to see games like Concord vs. Spaulding and Portsmouth vs. Kingswood?

The divisions would be renamed: IA (Division I), IB (Division II), 2A (Division III), 2B (Division IV), 3A (Division V) and 3B (Division VI). Two Division I teams would meet for a state title, as would two teams from Division 2 and two from Division 3.

This would enhance the experience for the athletes and put more meaning into each state championship. New Hampshire isn't big enough for six state champions.

It would also eliminate all the yapping about the need for Plymouth, Souhegan, Exeter and BG to move up a division.

•Play each of the three state championship games at one site.

Finding a suitable location is currently a problem, since you wouldn't want a third-seeded Nashua team playing a top-seeded Pinkerton team for a title in Nashua. Nor would you want a top-seeded Bishop Guertin team traveling to Eustis Field to play a second-seeded Exeter team. Similar situations could arise in other divisions as well. The NHIAA football committee ran into this problem last season.

The solution is to play the championship games at the University of New Hampshire once (if?) Cowell Stadium is upgraded and lights are added. The day we have three state championship games in Durham is the day New Hampshire high school football takes a huge step forward.

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