Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

New Hampshire high school football will again feature six divisions next season, but the six-division format will be in effect for only the first year of the two-year cycle that begins in 2012.

The NHIAA classification committee has asked the NHIAA football committee to submit a realignment proposal that features no more than five divisions by April 1, 2012. With that in mind, here's a proposal New Hampshire Football Report would like to see submitted (and approved):

ALIGNMNENT: The state's 57 football programs would be divided into three divisions*. There would be two conferences in each division. Teams would be placed in a division based on enrollment (plus petitions). Teams in each conference would be grouped by geography in an attempt to reduce travel costs.

• DIVISION I (18 teams)
  Division IA (9 teams)
  Division IB (9 teams)
  
• DIVISION II (19 teams)
  Division IIA (9 teams)
  Division IIB (10 teams)
  
• DIVISION III (20 teams)
  Division IIIA (10 teams)
  Division IIIB (10 teams) 

SCHEDULE: Each team would play a balanced schedule and would not face a team from the other conference in its division until the postseason. Teams placed in a nine-team conference would play eight regular-season games and have one open date that could be used as a bye week or to schedule a non-league game that would not count in the league standings (Pinkerton-Brockton, etc). Teams in a 10-team conference would play nine regular-season games, all of which would count toward making the playoffs. The second "off week" that some teams currently have would be eliminated. Crossover games that do not count in the standings would also be eliminated, unless schools chose to schedule them.

Note: The divisions with 10 teams could be adjusted if the committee felt it was in the best interest of NHIAA football to do so. 

PLAYOFFS: The playoff field for each division would increase from four to eight teams. The top four teams from each conference would qualify. To protect the integrity of the playoff field, crossover games would be played in the quarterfinals: No. 1 A vs. No. 4 B; No. 2 A vs. No. 3 B; No. 3 A vs. No. 2 B; and No. 4 A vs. No. 1 B. The brackets would be set up so that two teams from the same conference could meet in the championship game. The three championship games would be played at one location (St. Anselm College?) on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. (The nine-game regular season would allow for an extra round of playoffs without extending the season.)

SUMMARY: This proposal would produce three "true" state champions, instead of six champions from smaller divisions, providing each champion with heightened sense of accomplishment. It would reduce travel and increase interest in football by adding an extra round of playoffs. Going from six divisions to three would also reduce much of the controversy over which teams should be playing in what divisions. It would also produce New Hampshire's best day of football by allowing all three state championship games to be played on one day at one location. 

*Although not preferred, this proposal could easily be altered to add a fourth division. Divisions I and II would remain the same, but Division III could be spilt into two 10-team divisions. Those divisions would each have a four-team playoff format. In that scenario, the Division III and Division IV championship games could be played one week before the Division I and Division II championship games.

Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Rosters for the East-West New Hampshire All-Star Football Game have been selected and invitations have been sent out. The teams are tentatively scheduled to be announced early next week.

The game will be played June 23 at the University of New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium.

Windham's Bill Raycraft will coach the East team. Milford's Keith Jones was selected to coach the West.

Chicago Bears' defensive back Corey Graham, who played college football at the University of New Hampshire, has been named to the NFC Pro Bowl Team.

Graham, a fifth-year veteran, earned his first Pro Bowl honor as the NFC's special teamer.  Graham, 26, has recorded 13 tackles, 11 solo, with three interceptions, three passes defended and a forced fumble for the Bears this season. The 6-foot, 196-pound defensive back contributes on five of the team's special team units: punt and kick coverage, punt and kickoff returns and field goal blocks. 

A team captain during his 2006 senior season, Graham was a four-year starter for the Wildcats who compiled 302 career tackles, 195 solo, with 12 interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns. He added 31 pass breakups and returned 65 kickoffs for 1,787 yards and two touchdowns. His collegiate career highlight was a 99-yard kick return for a TD versus Georgia Southern in the opening round of the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) Championship tournament.

Graham became the 12th UNH football player ever drafted when the Bears selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, coincidentally following in the footsteps of fellow UNH alum Jerry Azumah (Worcester, Mass.), who was Chicago's fifth-round pick in 1999. The parallels don't stop there. Graham, like Azumah, was named to the Pro Bowl for special teams-play in his fifth season, though Azumah was feted as a kick-return specialist.

The 2012 NFL Pro Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 29, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Souhegan High School coach Mike Beliveau, who was recently selected to coach New Hampshire in next year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, has filled the remaining spots on his coaching staff.

Merrimack High School coach Joe Battista and Bedford High School coach Kurt Hines will join Beliveau. Both Battista and Hines are former Souhegan assistants under Beliveau.

Souhegan assistant Paul Landau, Souhegan assistant JT Anderson and Merrimack assistant Justin Smith will also be on the New Hampshire staff.

Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Talk to college coaches about under-the-radar football prospects from New Hampshire in the Class of 2012 and Aaron Martin's name might pop up.

Martin was a three-year starter at quarterback for Manchester West, but received limited publicity because's of West's recent struggles on the field.

West coach Jim Lauzon said Division III, Division II and FCS programs have expressed an interest in Martin, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior who is also one of the state's best basketball players.

"He really wants to play Division I football, but his grades are gonna hurt him," Lauzon said. "Right now we're looking into prep schools."

Martin directed three different offenses (wing-T, option and spread) during his three seasons at West. He completed his career with more than 4,000 yards of offense and 54 touchdowns. He gained 1,012 yards rushing, passed for 1,562 yards and scored 23 touchdowns during his senior season, when he returned the only punt he fielded 63 yards for a TD.

Martin was also a starter on defense, where he was moved around but played primarily safety.

'He was the focal point of defenses and he was still tough to stop," Lauzon said. "That showed how athletic he was.

"As far as feedback [from coaches] they seem to like him as a quarterback. Mechanically he's not there yet. Athletically he's fine.

"He could also put weight on and be used on defense  Right now he's just looking for an opportunity."

HANOVER -- The Associated Press has named Dartmouth senior running back Nick Schwieger to its Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America Third Team.

Schwieger, the Big Green's all-time leading rusher, is the first Dartmouth player to be chosen an All-American since return specialist Shawn Abuhoff last year by the Sports Network and Phil Steele. Tight end Casey Cramer was the most recent AP All-American for Dartmouth in 2002, when he was named to the second team.

Schwieger is the 63rd Dartmouth player to be selected as an All-American in 72 seasons, and the 22nd AP selection.

Schwieger finished the season second in the FCS with 131.0 rushing yards per game and led the Ivy League in overall rushing average for a third consecutive season. A co-winner of the 2010 Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League's Most Valuable Player, Schwieger was a finalist for the award this year while piling up 1,310 yards on the ground, which ranks second in Dartmouth history. He also led the league in all-purpose yardage (1,429) and was fifth in scoring (10 touchdowns, 6.0 points per game).

Schwieger ran for at least 100 yards in a game eight times, making him the fifth Ivy player to accomplish the feat, and his 16 career games of 100 or more yards tie him for sixth in League history. Schwieger set a school record on Nov. 5 by amassing 257 rushing yards against Cornell on 26 carries, a 9.9-yard average, to help Dartmouth defeat the Big Red and begin the first three-game winning streak for the Big Green in eight years. He scored at least one touchdown in seven of the 10 games, including three to match a career-high in a 37-0 shutout win over Columbia. Against Brown, Schwieger took the handoff 37 times and hammered out 137 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter in the 21-16 road win.

For his career, Schwieger registered 3,150 rushing yards, nearly 900 more than anyone in the Dartmouth annals and the 12th most in the Ivy League. He set a school record with 4,115 all-purpose yards as well, which also places him 12th in the conference record books. Just the fifth Big Green player to be chosen as an All-Ivy first-teamer three times, Schwieger was selected as the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week five times during his career. His 26 rushing touchdowns are the second most in the program's history, while his 156 career points rank sixth.

The NHIAA Council passed the following alignment Thursday with the following recommendations from the Classification Committee:

The Classification Committee recommends that this alignment be for one year and request the Football Committee develop another alignment that consists of no more than 5 divisions by April 1, 2012 for the second year of the cycle. If a proposal is not presented for implementation for the second year of the 2012-13, 2013-14 cycle, the Classification Committee will set the alignment for football for the second year of the cycle, per By-Law Article IV Classification Sect. 2 and Section 3.

DIVISION I (nine schools): Pinkerton (3,168), Manchester Central (2,324), Nashua South (2,053), Manchester Memorial (2,040), Nashua North (1,928), Concord (1,860), Londonderry (1,707), Exeter (1,703),* Salem (1,543).

DIVISION II (nine schools): Keene (1,583), Spaulding (1,506), Merrimack (1,450), Dover (1,437), Timberlane (1,424), Bedford (1351), Manchester West (1,304), Winnacunnet (1,235), *Bishop Guertin (854).

DIVISION III (nine schools): *Alvirne (1,400), Goffstown (1,201), Portsmouth (1,085), Milford (936), Hollis-Brookline (908), Con-Val (905), Pembroke (899), Souhegan (857), Merrimack Valley (885).

DIVISION IV (10 schools): *Kennett (857), Kingswood (799), John Stark (762), Hanover (760), Lebanon (727), Windham (708), Plymouth (688), St. Thomas (643), Laconia (628), *Trinity (417).

DIVISION V (10 schools): *Sanborn (736), *Stevens (649), Pelham (623), Kearsarge (604), Monadnock (601), Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (581), Fall Mountain (574), Somersworth (573), Epping-Newmarket (539), Bow (528).

DIVISION VI (10 schools): *Farmington-Nute (656), *Gilford (532), Campbell (493), Winnisquam (481), Franklin (459), Newfound (422), Raymond (419), Mascoma (404), Newport (390), Bishop Brady (392).

Player nominations for the inaugural CHaD New Hampshire East-West High School All-Star Game are due Thursday. The game will benefit the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) and Kristen's Gift, a restricted-fund for pediatric oncology at CHaD.

Coaches can download the nomination form at www.CHaDAllStarFootball.org. Each team can have as many as five players nominated.

This year's game is June 23 and will be played at the University of New Hampshire.

Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough coach Paul Lavigne announced his retirement Monday, ending a 41-year coaching career that featured six high school state championships.

Lavigne ended things on a high note. He guided Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough to an unbeaten record and the Division VI championship earlier this year. He spent three seasons in Meredith and compiled a 27-5 record with two state championships.

Lavigne's coaching career includds four consecutive Division II titles with Milford from 1976 to 1979. He also had coaching stints at Stevens, Manchester Memorial and Manchester West and coached New Hampshire to a 38-20 win over Vermont in the 1992 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl.

His 2009 Inter-Lakes team never lost a Division VI game and beat Winnisquam, 6-0, for the program's first state title. The Lakers beat Epping-Newmarket 29-7 in this year's title game.

Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Souhegan High School's Mike Beliveau and Rutland High School's Mike Norman have been named the head coaches for this year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, which will be played Aug. 4 at Dartmouth College's Memorial Field.

Beliveau was also New Hampshire's head coach in 2000, when Vermont posted a 47-40 victory in the highest scoring game in the event's history. Beliveau has guided Souhegan to four state championships and 10 championship game appearances in the last 14 seasons.

Norman's Rutland teams have won seven state titles in the last 18 years. He coached the Vermont Shrine team in 1998 and 2001. Vermont won 21-13 in 1998, and New Hampshire prevailed 21-0 in 2001.

Practice for this year's game will begin July 26 at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden.

Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

One month after guiding the Epping-Newmarket football to its first playoff appearance, Ryan Francoeur has resigned as the program's head coach.

Francoeur said he stepped down to spend more time with his wife and newborn son, and could not devote the proper time to being a high school head coach. Francoeur said he will join the staff at Winnacunnet High School next season. He is currently employed as a teacher at Winnacunnet.

Francoeur was an assistant coach on the Winnacunnet staff before he became Epping-Newmraket's coach in 2009. He guided Epping-Newmarket to an 8-3 record and a berth in the Division VI championship game this season. Epping-Newmarket lost to Inter-Lakes Moultonborough 29-7.

Before this season Epping-Newmarket had never won more than four games in a season.

According to Souhegan High School coach Mike Beliveau, the annual Thanksgiving Day game between Division II Merrimack and Division III Souhegan will continue for another four years, after which the plans to extend the rivalry game will be revisited.

The programs have met in each of the last 15 years -- the longest active Thanksgiving Day series in the state -- and Souhegan holds a 10-5-0 edge in the series.

There was speculation that the Thanksgiving Day meeting between the schools would end after this year's game.

Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

Two New Hampshire coaching vacancies were created last week when Salem's Jack Gati and Pelham's Tom Babaian both resigned.

Gati spent 18 seasons at Salem, where his teams had a 121-77 record and won two state championships. He also served as the head coach at Trinity and Concord, and he left the game with an overall record of 221-138. He guided four teams to the state title.

Plymouth's Check Lenahan (336-69-1) and Pinkerton Academy's Brian O'Reilly (250-100) are the only New Hampshire coaches who have won more games than Gati. Nashua's Buzz Harvey won 217 games.

Babaian had been with the Pelham program since is started at the JV level in 1992. He was an assistant for two seasons and became Pelham's head coach in 1996.

His 2007 and 2008 teams went 22-0 and won the Division V state title each year.

Pelham spent the last two seasons in Division III, but is expected to be back in Division V when the realignment plan for 2012-13 is finalized.

DIVISION VI ALL-STATE TEAM
First Team Offense

Mitch Jurius (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) QB; Tanner Quinney  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) FB; Hayden Jurius  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) OL; Hunter Jensen  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) E; Daniel Espo (Epping-Newmarket) RB; Dustin Jarosz (Epping-Newmarket) WR; Mike McClean (Franklin) OL; Dyland Turner (Franklin) OL; Justin Beauchaine (Newport) OL; Brandon Murphy (Gilford) RB; Malcolm Benavides (Gilford) FB; Conor Langille  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) OL; Cole Boone (Newport) OL; Zack Lynch (Newfound) OL.

First Team Defense

Conor Donovan  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) LB; Chris Gagne (Franklin) DE;  Bernie Hutchinson (Epping-Newmarket) DE; Robert McGloughlin, Jr. (Epping-Newmarket) LB; Logan Merritt (Newport) DT; Brian Pickowicz (Franklin) LB; Eli Stockwell (Gilford) LB; Zebvlon Valinski (Newport) DT; Jacob Valinski (Epping-Newmarket) LB; Shannon Tucker (Newfound) DB; Richard Sheperdson (Farmington) DE; Patrick Sanborn (Winnisquam) DB; Nick Maynard (Raymond), DL; Justin Marsh (Mascoma), DB.

Second Team Offense

Nick Sindorf  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) C; AustinMcGuingan  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) OL; Alex Osgood (Epping-Newmarket) OL; Brandon Carleton (Epping-Newmarket) RB: Connor Smith (Franklin) QB; Zach Bass (Franklin) OL; Greg Beaulieu (Newport) TE/SE; Devin Burnham (Newport), WB/FL; Ethan Gardner (Newport) FB; Ben Morris (Gilford) OL; Vinnie Bounopane (Gilford) OL; Jamen Gunnison (Farmington) RB; Kyle Kosoriek (Mascoma) RB.

Second Team Defense

Willie True ( (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) OLB; Brandon Krueger  (Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough) DB; Joe McKee (Epping-Newmarket) NT; Kody Benwell (Franklin) LB; Dalton Campbell (Newport) OLB; Tyler Costa (Gilford) DB; Jacob Fuller (Winnisquam) DE; Fisher Bourbeau (Newfound) DE; Doug Payne (Newfound) OLB.

DIVISION V ALL-STATE TEAM
First Team Offense

Jon Conley (Bishop Brady) Z Back; Ricky Bailey (Bow), Guard; Casey Fessenden (Bow) Running Back; Kyle Moore (Bow) Running Back; John Houston (Campbell), Running Back; Jesiah Wade (Campbell), Wide Receiver; Ryan Bentley (Fall Mountain) Tackle; Parker Hansen (Kearsarge) Wide Receiver; Oliver Gallio (Kearsarge) Running Back; Ben Gambino (Kearsarge) Guard; Josh Ream (Somersworth) Running Back; Drew Francoeur (Somersworth) Quarterback; Mike Estes (Somersworth) Tackle; Scott Munroe (St. Thomas) Quarterback; Ryan Monette (St. Thomas) Running Back; Tylor Buckley (St. Thomas) Wide Receiver; Jared Dickie (St. Thomas) Tackle; Cam Blewitt (Stevens) Running Back; Kevin Cooney (Windham) Fullback; Scott Priestly Jr. (Windham) Running Back; Joe Lorenz (Windham) Quarterback; Pat Stapp (Windham) Center.

First Team Defense

Nick Lulka (Bow) Defensive End; Mark Piroso (Bow) Inside Linebacker; Dylan Andrews (Campbell) Linebacker; Jon Merritt (Fall Mountain) Long Snapper; Andrew St. Louis (Kearsarge) Defensive Tackle; Jacob Jones (Kearsarge) Linebacker; Dylan Spence (Sanborn) Safety; Tyler Kretchmer (Somersworth) Defensive End; Tom Cifrino (St. Thomas) Inside Linebacker; Andrew Kahr (St. Thomas) Cornerback; David Rogers (St. Thomas) Cornerback; Hayden Middleton (St. Thomas) Place-kicker; C.J. Gosselin (Stevens) Outside Linebacker; Danny Cannone (Windham) Outside Linebacker; Artern Aristov (Windham), Defensive End.

Honorable Mention Offense

Anders Hanson (Bow) Running Back; Garrett Sahlin (Campbell) Guard; Aaron Ripole (Campbell) Guard; Kurtis Madden ( Fall Mountain) Guard; Kaian Wilkes (Fall Mountain) Quarterback; Ben Greenbaum (Kearsarge) Tackle; Ryan Morris (Sanborn) Quarterback; Mike Rich (Sanborn) Split End; Nick Carson (Sanborn) Tackle; Pat Rose (Sanborn) Tackle; Sam Routhier (St. Thomas) Center; John Cifrino (St. Thomas) Tackle; Cullen Eaton (Stevens) Center; CJay DiPrima (Windham) Running Back; Kennie Padin (Windham) Running Back.

Honorable Mention Defense

Jim Anderson (Bow) Defensive End; Matt Bemis (Bow) Outside Linebacker; Jacy Parker (Bow) Outside Linebacker; Sean Gray (Campbell) Cornerback; Chuck Neild (Campbell) Defensive End; Drey Palmer (Fall Mountain) Noseguard; Jordan Bartho (Kearsarge) Linebacker; Erick Hauck (Kearsarge) Defensive Back; Justin Lamphear (Kearsarge) Linebacker; Casey Soucie (Somersworth) Linebacker/Kicker; Josh Gamble (Somersworth) Noseguard; Brenden Lennon (Somersworth) Safety; Kurtis Michaud (Somersworth) Linebacker; Joe Polychronis (St. Thomas) Inside Linebacker; Sam Quirk (St. Thomas) Defensive End; Joe Tarr (Stevens), Linebacker; Donald Pellerin (Stevens), Defensive Back; Corey Alberico (Windham), Linebacker; David Crichton (Windham) Defensive Tackle.

Player nominations for the inaugural CHaD New Hampshire East-West High School All-Star Game are due prior to Dec. 15. The game will benefit the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) and Kristen's Gift, a restricted-fund for pediatric oncology at CHaD.

Coaches can download the nomination form at www.CHaDAllStarFootball.org. Each team can have as many as five players nominated.

This year's game is June 23 and will be played at the University of New Hampshire.

College: UNH suffers heartbreaker in playoffs >> Portsmouth Herald

College: 'Cats run out of lives in thrilling finish >> Portsmouth Herald

College: UNH deflected from playoffs >> Manchester Union Leader

College: Bobcats defeat UNH again on missed PAT >> Bozeman Daily Chronicle

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Kevin Decker threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Justin Mello with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the extra point was blocked, allowing seventh-ranked Montana State to pull out a 26-25 victory over the University of New Hampshire football team in a second-round NCAA Division I FCS playoff game Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.
 
UNH sees its season end at 8-4 overall, while Montana State improved to 10-2 and earned a quarterfinal game at top-seeded Sam Houston State next weekend.
 
Chris Beranger recorded a game-high 15 tackles, and the Wildcats forced four turnovers, highlighted by a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown by Matt Evans (11 tackles).

The Wildcats trailed 26-19 with 4:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Decker completed all six pass attempts in advancing the ball to the MSU 19-yard line. On second down, Decker was intercepted by Darius Jones at the 5 with 1:16 on the clock.

UNH's defense forced a three-and-out and MSU's punt sailed out of bounds at the Bobcats' 29 with 17 seconds to play.

College: Limiting turnovers key to UNH's success >> Portsmouth Herald

College: McDonnell looks back to Montana State >> Portsmouth Herald

High School: Realignment ramblings >> New Hampshire Notebook

College: UNH defense must rise to challenge >> Portsmouth Herald

College: UNH offense not all about Decker >> Bozeman Daily Chronicle

College: Bobcats look to make life tough for UNH QB >> Billings Gazette

  New Hampton quarterback/receiver/defensive back Jake Kiley has been selected as New Hampshire's Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2011 season.

Kile rushed for 358 yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 carries this season, when the Huskies (7-2) earn the right to play in the New England Prep School Athletic Council's Jack Etter Bowl. A two-time Evergreen League Player of the Year, Kiley also passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns, caught 15 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a score.

On defense, he recorded 46 tackles and four interceptions, and averaged 40.3 yards on 16 punts.

Kiley has verbally committed to play football at Penn State University beginning in the fall of 2012.