Division II champion will win with defense
Division II Semifinals
No. 4 Keene at No. 1 Bishop Guertin
- When and where: Saturday (7 p.m.) at Nashua's Stellos Stadium.
- Team records: Bishop Guertin is 8-2 overall, 7-1 in Division III. Keene is 7-3 overall, 5-3 in Division II.
- Regular-season result: Bishop Guertin won 14-0 in Nashua..
- Noteworthy: These teams are meeting for the second time in two weeks. BG wrapped up the No. 1 seed by defeating Keene 14-0 last Saturday. Both team's used conservative game plans, knowing a playoff rematch was likely. BG's Kyle Remillard moved to tailback last week and rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. BG also received a 25-yard TD run from quarterback Steve Cuipa. BG was penalized 10 times for 80 yards in the victory. Each team committed three turnovers. ...Chris Lacroix, Keene's leading rusher, was cleared to play last week after missing four games with an injury. ... Keene's three losses came against the three other Division II playoff teams. The Blackbirds were held to a total of 13 points in those three losses. BG went 2-1 against the playoff field. Its loss was a 7-0 setback against third-seeded Dover. Keene enters the postseason coming off back-to-back losses. The Blackbirds lost to Winnacunnet two weeks ago. ...The Cardinals allowed 44 points in their eight Division II contests. ... BG has won five of the last six Division II championships. ...
No. 3 Dover at No. 2 Winnacunnet
- When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton.
- Team records: Winnacunnet is 8-2 overall, 6-2 in Division II. Dover is 7-3 overall, 6-2 in Division II.
- Regular-season result: Winnacunnet won 18-13 in Hampton.
- Noteworthy: These teams finished in a tie for second place, but Winnacunnet won the tiebreaker thanks to its regular-season victory over Dover. ... Dover lost its first three games by a total of 11 points, but has won seven in a row since then. Three of those victories were shutouts. ... Dover allowed 21 points in its six Division II victories. ... Winnacunnet fumbled 10 times (lost three) during its regular-season victory against Dover. The Warriors trailed 13-12 until quarterback Steve Cronan hit Matt Sullivan with a 33-yard TD pass with 9:10 left. Winnacunnet scored on its first two possessions. The other TDs came on a 56-yard pass from Cronan to Sean Dolan, and an 8-yard run by Mike Trainor. Cronan completed 8 of 9 passes for 193 yards in the victory. Trainor led the ground game with 140 yards on 14 carries. ... Dover quarterback Tyler Zabkar completed 17 of 32 passes for 218 yards in the regular-season meeting with Winnacunnet. Dover's first TD came on a 35-yard pass from Zabkar to Max Rewucki with 1:48 left in the first half. The Green Wave also scored on an 11-yard run by Corey MacKoul.
- -- Capsule compiled by Roger Brown
Coming Thursday: Division III capsule previews
