Titles will be on the line

Division I Championship Game

No. 2 Nashua North vs. No. 1 Pinkerton Academy

When and where: Saturday (noon) at Pinkerton Academy in Derry.
Team records: Pinkerton is 9-2 overall, 8-1 in Division I. Nashua North is 7-4 overall, 7-2 in Division I.
Regular-season result: Nashua North won, 33-7, in Derry.
Noteworthy: The Astros advanced by playing one of their best defensive games of the year in last Saturday's 21-14 triumph over Salem. Pinkerton will likely need another stellar defensive effort this weekend since Nashua North has scored at least 33 points in seven of its 11 games. ... North beat cross-town rival Nashua South, 49-35, in last Saturday's other semifinal. Senior running back Andre Williams returned from a two-game suspension to rush for 279 yards and five touchdowns on 30 carries in that contest. North also received a strong game from senior quarterback Brandon Karkhanis, who completed 9 of 14 passes for 209 yards and a TD. ... North led Pinkerton 14-0 at halftime when the teams met in the regular season. Pinkerton cut that deficit in half with a 16-play, 72-yard scoring drive on the second half's opening possession, but Williams responded with an 80-yard TD run two plays later. Williams rushed for 199 yards on 17 carries that afternoon. Pinkerton played that game without senior running back Luke Somers. ... Brian O'Reilly is in his 33rd season as Pinkerton's head coach. He has a 239-98 career record, and has guided the Astros to nine state titles. ... North's Jason Robie is in his seventh season and will carry a 36-43 record into this contest. ... Pinkerton has reached the Division I championship game in six of the last seven seasons. The Astros are seeking their first title since 2007, when they beat Nashua South 14-2. ... North's only appearance in the championship game came last season, when it dropped a 28-21 decision to Salem.

Division II Championship Game

No. 2 Winnacunnet vs. No. 1 Bishop Guertin

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) at Nashua's Stellos Stadium.
Team records: BG is 9-2 overall, 8-1 in Division II. Winnacunnet is 9-2 overall, 7-2 in Division II.
Regular-season result: BG won, 28-14, in Hampton.
Outlook: BG, once the doormat of Division II, is seeking its sixth state championship in the last seven years. The Cardinals won two of those titles by beating Winnacunnet (2004 and 2009). ... Both teams had to come from behind to win in the semifinals last Saturday. BG trailed fourth-seeded Keene 21-20 until James Carver picked up a fumble and returned it 10 yards for a TD with 9:53 left in the fourth quarter. BG quarterback Steve Cuipa scored two TDs in the victory. BG also received 157 yards on 23 carries from Zach Mailloux. ... Winnacunnet snuck past third-seeded Dover, 30-27, in overtime. The Warriors trailed by 14 points in the second half of that contest. Winnacunnet QB Steve Cronan threw four TD passes in that game. ... The University of New Hampshire is among the schools that have shown interest in Cronan, who is one of the few Division I prospects in the state. ... Winnacunnet is winless in its last 10 games against BG. The Warriors will be trying to win their first state championship since 2000, when it beat Exeter, 10-9, in the Division II title game. ... BG outscored Winnacunnet 14-0 in the second half of the regular-season meeting between the teams. The game's key play came in the third quarter, when Cronan was stripped of the football as he was entering the end zone and BG recovered. The Cardinals led 21-14 at that time, and added a TD with 40 seconds to play. Winnacunnet was missing three starters in that game, but all three will be in uniform Saturday. Running back Mike Trainor, Winnacunnet's leading rusher, was among those who didn't play against the Cardinals in the first meeting. ...BG had a 303-167 edge in total offense when the teams faced each other in October, but 138 of those 303 yards came on three plays. Each of Winnacunnet's four second-half possessions ended with a failed fourth-down-conversion attempt. ... These programs also met in last year's Division II championship game. BG won that contest 31-0.

Division III Championship Game

No. 2 Portsmouth vs. No. 1 Souhegan

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) at Souhegan High School in Amherst.
Team records: Souhegan is 10-1 overall, 9-0 in Division III. Portsmouth is 7-3 overall, 7-2 in Division III.
Regular-season result: Souhegan won, 23-14, in Portsmouth.
Noteworthy: This is Round 3 between these programs, which also met in the 2008 and 2009 Division III championship games. Souhegan won each of those contests, and also picked up a victory over Portsmouth earlier this season. ... The Clippers will have to find a way to slow down Souhegan quarterback Mike Luks, who set single-game school records for pass attemps (45), pass completions (29) and passing yards (405) during Souhegan's nine-point victory over Portsmouth in September. Luks passed for three TDs that night. ... As good as the Souhegan offense has been this season, Portsmouth has been just as good. The Clippers have scored at least 40 points six times this season, including a 51-3 triumph over third-seeded Milford in last Saturday's Division III semifinals. Running time was used for the majority of the second half in that game. ... Portsmouth quarterback Quinn McCann threw four TD passes and ran for another in the playoff victory against Milford. ... Souhegan advanced by beating fourth-seeded Hollis-Brookline, 39-24, in the other Division III semifinal. Luks passed for 262 yards and two TDs in that victory. He was also Souhegan's leading rusher with 75 yards on 16 carries. Luks surpassed 2,000 yards passing in that game. ... Portsmouth running back/split end/defensive back Billy Lane may be the best athlete on the field Saturday. Lane missed nearly three games with a back injury before he returned to the lineup last weekend. ... The Sabers have reached the Division III championship game in eight of the last nine years. ... Portsmouth is seeking its first state championship since 1981, when it beat Salem to win the Division I title.

-- Capsules compiled by Roger Brown