Five items on the New Hampshire footballl landscape:

1) Jumbo backfield.

Dover resident Tyler Long has played a significant role in the Plymouth State University offensive backfield this season, but in the third quarter of Saturday's 48-30 triumph over Nichols the Panthers handed the ball to a different back from Dover.

Senior Zac Duval, a 6-foot-4, 364-pound right tackle, took the snap from center and scored from 3 yards away to cap Plymouth State's first possession of the third quarter. So far, it's Duval's only carry of the season.

Long, a freshman who played for Dover High School last season, leads Plymouth State with 491 yards rushing on 85 carries.

Plymouth State (6-1 overall) will play at Curry College on Saturday. Both teams are 4-0 in the New England Football Conference's Boyd Division.

2) Unbeatens fall.

Three NHIAA teams -- Nashua North, Bow and Winnisquam -- suffered their first loss of the season over the weekend. Salem beat Nashua North 54-33, Somersworth beat Bow 17-7 and Inter-Lakes beat Winnisquam 21-14.

There are now six unbeaten high school teams in the state: Salem (Division I), Bishop Guertin (Division II), Exeter (Division II), Plymouth (Division IV), Trinity (Division V) and Inter-Lakes (Division VI).

3) BG, Exeter winning with defense.

When Exeter travels to Bishop Guertin on Nov. 7 the top seed in the Division II playoffs will be on the line. The game will also feature the top two defenses in the state.

Exeter pitched its third shutout of the season when it beat Timberlane 28-0 on Saturday. The Blue Hawks held Timberlane's all-everything running back Derek Furey to 47 yards on 17 carries.

Timberlane had 95 yards of net offense in the contest, 46 of which came on a Nick Lawrence run after the outcome had been decided.

Exeter has allowed 39 points in seven games.

BG didn't pitch a shutout in Friday's victory over Catholic Memorial, but it came close. Both Catholic Memorial TDs came on kickoff returns. It was the first time BG has allowed more than seven points in a game this season.

BG has surrendered 38 points in seven games.

4) Max Jacques.

Jacques is making a strong case for himself to be selected as New Hampshire's Mr. Football. Jacques rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in Salem's 54-33 victory over Nashua North.

Jacques has run for 1,382 yards on 155 carries this season.

5) They're No. 1.

Teams that are in the best position to earn the No. 1 seed for the playoffs:

Division I: Salem
Division II: Bishop Guertin/Exeter
Division III: Souhegan
Division IV: Plymouth
Division V: Trinity
Division VI: Inter-Lakes