NHIAA DIVISION V PREVIEW

The League: Sanborn, Windham, St. Thomas, Kearsarge, Stevens, Fall Mountain, Bow, Somersworth, Campbell, Bishop Brady.

Defending Champion: Kearsarge beat St. Thomas, 12-6, in last year's state championship game.

Top Story Line: Change at the top. Both Kearsarge and St. Thomas have new head coaches.

Player to Watch: Stevens took some significant strides forward last season, when it reached the Division V semifinals. If the Cardinals are going to keep moving forward they'll need a big season from quarterback Logan Batchelder.

Game to Watch: Kearsarge at St. Thomas (Oct. 29). Teams that met in last year's championship game will clash during the regular season's final weekend. The outcome of this contest will likely have playoff implications.

Noteworthy: Eric Cumba, a former captain at the University of New Hampshire, takes over for Rod Wotton at St. Thomas. Wotton, who also coached at Marshwood High School in Eliot, Maine, guided his teams to 21 state championships, four of which came at St. Thomas. He retired with 342 career victories. Cumba is in charge of a program that graduated 22 seniors, but the Saints haven't lost a JV game in two seasons.... Zach Matthews is the new head coach at Kearsarge, which will be dealing with life after quarterback Doug Gregory. ...  Windham coach Bill Raycraft has everyone back from a first-year varsity program. ... Stevens and Somersworth were the other Division V playoff teams last season. Jim Keays, who has served as the head coach at Somersworth and Spaulding, is back on the Somersworth staff as a defensive coordinator. ... Somersworth quarterback Drew Francouer suffered an injury to his wrist and may be out until October. ... Campbell and St. Thomas will open the season Saturday at the University of New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium (2 p.m.). ... Running back Cam Blewitt should take some of the pressure off of Batchelder and give Stevens one of the top offensive backfields in the division. ... Each of the six non-playoff teams last season finished under .500: Campbell (4-5), Bow (4-5), Bishop Brady (3-6), Sanborn (2-7), Windham (1-8) and Fall Mountain (1-8). 

Coming Tuesday: Division IV preview.

                                                                                                          -- Roger Brown