Division V Semifinals

No. 4 Somersworth at No. 1 St. Thomas

• When and where: Saturday (4:30 p.m.) at Exeter High School.
• Team records: Somersworth is 6-3. St. Thomas is 9-0.
• Regular-season result: St. Thomas won 16-13 in Somersworth.
• Noteworthy: St. Thomas is one of three unbeaten teams in the state (Division IV Trinity and Division VI Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough are the others) and is seeking its first state championship since 2006, when it beat Laconia in the Division IV championship game. ... Somersworth earned the No. 4 seed amid controversy. Somersworth was declared a forfeit winner against Stevens -- a game that was postponed in the second half by lightning during the regular season -- when a field could not be found to play the game on Monday. Somersworth was leading 20-18 with 6:12 to play in the third quarter when the game was suspended. If Stevens had won that game, Bow would have been the No. 4 seed and Somersworth would not have qualified for the playoffs. ... St. Thomas running back Ryan Monette was held to 36 yards on 19 carries during the regular-season meeting between these teams. That game was played in sloppy conditions. ... St. Thomas place-kicker Hayden Middleton made two field goals (22 and 16 yards) during the regular-season victory over Somersworth. ... The St. Thomas defense has allowed 25 points in the last five games. ... Somersworth's last state championship came in 1997, when it beat St. Thomas 45-0 to win the Division IV title at Dover's Dunaway Field.

No. 3 Windham at No. 2 Kearsarge

• When and where: Saturday (noon) at Hanover High School.
• Team records: Windham is 7-2. Kearsarge is 7-2.
• Regular-season result: Kearsarge won 28-14 in North Sutton.
• Noteworthy: Windham qualified for postseason play in its second season as a varsity program. ... Kearsarge is attempting to win back-to-back Division V championships. The Cougars completed an unbeaten season by defeating St. Thomas 12-6 in last year's championship game. ... Windham's Kevin Cooney ran for 183 yards on 20 carries when the teams met during the regular season. One of Cooney's carries resulted in a 42-yard touchdown run. Windham quarterback Joe Lorenz completed 7 of 9 passes for 110 yards in the loss. ... Kearsarge lost to both St. Thomas (13-6) and Somersworth (17-15) -- the teams in the other Divison V semifinal -- during the regular season. Windham defeated Somersworth (40-12), but lost to St. Thomas (48-20). ... Although the teams have identical records, Kearsarge earned the No. 2 seed because it beat Windham during the regular season (first tiebreaker). ... The Division V championship game will be played a week from Saturday at the site of the highest-seeded team.

                                                                          -- Capsules compiled by Roger Brown

Coming Friday: Division IV capsule previews.