Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Souhegan coach Mike Beliveau scouted the three-team scrimmage between Exeter, Manchester West and Milford on Friday, in part because Souhegan will be playing West in next Friday's Queen City Jamboree.

Beliveau may want to tuck his West notes away for safe keeping, because there could be many more meetings between West and Souhegan -- last year's Division III state champion --in the near future.

According to West coach Travis Cote, the West program will drop from Division I to either Division II or Division III next year.

"We have about 1,300 (students), so we'll be dropping down," Cote said. "We'll either be one of the biggest schools in Division III or one of the smallest in Division II."

West began losing students -- and athletes -- when a new high school was built in Bedford. West opened preseason practice with 59 players. The school has already cancelled the program's junior varsity schedule this season.

West was placed in Division I before the 2008 season based on its enrollment at that time (1,809 students). Even then, West had the smallest enrollment of any Division I school.

Excluding Bishop Guertin, Winnacunnet had the smallest enrollment of any Division II school (1,324) when teams were classified in 2008. BG's enrollment was 885 at that time, but the school petitioned the state to play in a higher division.  

West still has to deal with the Division I schedule this season, however. West's first six league games are against Nashua North (2,054), Pinkerton Academy (3,331), Londonderry (1,809), Manchester Central (2,159), Manchester Memorial (2,165) and Nashua South (2,287).

"I've explained the situation to the kids," Cote said. "We'll do the best we can."