The State of Football: Week 4
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
How good is Salem? We're about to find out.
The Blue Devils are off to a 3-0 start with victories over Dover (40-21), Londonderry (35-0) and Manchester Memorial (35-6), and are entering the toughest two-game stretch on their schedule this weekend. Salem will play Pinkerton in Salem on Saturday (2 p.m.), and then travel to Nashua South next Friday.
"I like what I've seen so far," Salem coach Jack Gati said. "We're improving. We replaced everybody on our offensive line, but this group is smart, focused and they work hard in practice. As a group they're playing well."
The Blue Devils have a deep offensive backfield that features Max Jacques, Jerickson Fedrick and Alex Sobrado. Jacques leads the team in rushing with 415 yards and seven touchdowns.
Fedrick's best game came against Memorial, when he gained 177 yards on 12 carries. Sobrado had 107 yards rushing on 18 carries against Dover. The Blue Devils are averaging 346 yards per game on the ground.
"We have a pretty balanced backfield," Gati said. "Hopefully they stay healthy."
Pinkerton will likely provide more resistance than any team Salem has faced thus far, however. The Astros rebounded from a non-league loss to Bishop Guertin (35-7) to post impressive victories over Manchester Memorial (42-0) and Manchester West (47-0).
Salem is seeking its first victory over Pinkerton since 2002. If the Blue Devils do prevail, it will be Gati's 100th victory in his 16 seasons as Salem's head coach.
"As always, we can't allow them to make big plays," Gati said. "It'll probably come down to defense and special teams. If we can come out of the gate on defense and get some stops, it'll be a battle."
The Picks ...
Nashua North 26
Concord 13
The Titans are clearly better than they were a year ago, but we won't know how much better until sometime next month. North's schedule is backloaded. The team's final four regular-season games are against South, Salem, Londonderry and Pinkerton.
South 20
Central 7
It looks like it's going to be a pretty good season for high school football in Nashua.
Londonderry 26
Manchester West 6
The Lancers should be able to take care of business at home.
Manchester Memorial 14
Merrimack 13
The Crusaders may not be a threat to win this year's Division I title, but they're better than many people think. Memorial's losses came against two teams that are pretty good (Pinkerton and Salem).
Pinkerton 21
Salem 14
Pinkerton has won 19 of its last 20 games against Salem.
Alvirne 14
Keene 13
It's going to be quite a battle for the third and fourth spots in Division II.
Dover 34
Spaulding 12
Can't overstate how important Dover's come-from-behind 20-19 victory over Winnacunnet was last Friday. It would have been tough to recover from an 0-3 start.
Bishop Guertin 35
Timberlane 13
The Owls might need another six-touchdown performance from Derek Furey to win.
Exeter 21
Winnacunnet 14
The Blue Hawks have allowed seven points in three games. Winnacunnet will need to have success through the air.
Souhegan 36
Bedford 7
Souhegan's D.J. Petropulos may be the most underrated player in the state. He may be the best high school quarterback in New Hampshire.
Portsmouth 28
Goffstown 13
it should be a battle of unbeatens when Portsmouth visits Souhegan next weekend.
Hollis-Brookline 14
John Stark 13
After Portsmouth and Souhegan, not sure what to make of Division III. There are seven Division III teams at 1-2 overall.
Con-Val 20
Pembroke 6
Have a hunch that Con-Val is about to go on a lengthy winning streak.
Plymouth 28
Milford 7
Would rather see Plymouth play Souhegan in its non-league game.
Kennett 26
Hanover 14
The Eagles gained a lot of respect despite their seven-point loss to Plymouth.
Kingswood 28
Merrimack Valley 20
Win or lose, Kingswood is going to score a lot of points.
Laconia 28
Lebanon 7
The Sachems have to do a better job of protecting the football.
Monadnock 7
Sanborn 6
Not expecting a lot of offense in this one. Sanborn hasn't scored since it opened the season with a 46-12 loss to Kingswood.
Bishop Brady 36
Epping-Newmarket 6
Everyone seems to be picking Trinity to meet Pelham in the Division V championship game. Brady might be the team that proves everyone wrong.
Pelham 26
Bow 12
Bow's bid for a perfect season comes to an end.
St. Thomas 20
Winnisquam 13
The Saints are having trouble running the ball. They're having trouble passing it too.
Kearsarge 20
Somersworth 12
The Toppers have been held to one touchdown in their last two games. The winner of this contest remains in the Division V playoff picture.
Trinity 32
Stevens 13
It's hard to picture the Pioneers losing during the regular season.
Gilford 28
Campbell 6
Campbell finally gets to play a home game, but the Cougars will need more than home-field advantage to beat Gilford.
Inter-Lakes 38
Farmington 0
Inter-Lakes is 3-0 and has outscored its opponents 101-19. Farmington is 0-3 and has been outscored 122-12.
Raymond 28
Mascoma 8
The Rams might finish over .500 in their first varsity season.
Newfound 36
Fall Mountain 6
Fall Mountain still haven't found its way to the end zone this season.
Newport 19
Franklin 12
Newport appears to be among a handful of teams capable of winning the Division VI championship.
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Last week: 21-7
Record to date: 67-17
Roger Brown is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. His column, The State of Football, appears every Friday throughout the season.
