Every week I will post my Union Leader Power Poll Ballot so everybody can see who I voted for and why I voted them in my Top 10.
Here's the latest poll...and don't forget to see below for my ballot!
The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, with record, first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus last week’s rankings. Voters are Union Leader sports writers Roger Brown, Alex Hall and Joe Duball, Union Leader Chief Sports Editor Chris Duffy, Union Leader contributor Joe Marchilena of NH-HighSchoolSports.com and Pete Tarrier, host of the NH High School Football Show (Saturday, 9-11 a.m.) on WFEA (99.9 FM & 1370 AM)
1. Salem, 3-0 (6/60) 2nd
2. Goffstown, 3-0 (47) 6th
T-3. Winnacunnet, 3-0 (43) 8th
T-3. Bedford, 2-1 (43) 1st
5. Plymouth, 3-0 (39) 5th
6. Exeter, 2-1 (33) 3rd
7. Windham, 3-0 (25) 7th
8. Londonderry, 3-0 (17) NR
9. Pinkerton, 2-1 (9) 4th
10. Bow, 3-0 (7) NR
Others receiving votes
: Campbell, 3-0 (1), NR; Nashua North, 2-1 (1), 9th.
Here's how I voted and why...
1. Salem...I think an obvious choice after the convincing win over Pinkerton on Saturday afternoon. This edition of the Blue Devils is similar to past powerhouse Salem teams that also had stellar running games.
2. Plymouth...since I have them ranked 2nd and they still wound up 5th in the poll, I guess I have the defending Division 2 Champion Bobcats a lot higher than the other voters. Plymouth returned most of it's playmakers from the title team of a year ago and they also have a now healthy Nolan Farina who missed the playoff run, but is back and hungry to show it's not just the Garrett Macomber show.
3. Windham...it's my opinion that year in and year out the Jags have earned the right to be mentioned among the top teams in New Hampshire regardless of division. Windham reminds me a lot of D1 Exeter with their deep roster and revolving door of newcomers who come in and keep the tradition of success going.
4. Goffstown...great win last Friday night for Goffstown on the road at Bill Ball Stadium. The Grizzlies defense dominated the big Exeter offensive line and stuffed the Blue Hawks running game all night long. Big play specialist Andrew Duval is making an early case for Player of the Year consideration.
5. Bedford...all due respect to a very good Winnacunnet team for knocking the Bulldogs off in a foggy Hampton last week. I wasn't at the game personally, but from what I saw on the NH Sportspage video highlights, it seemed to me that Bedford was playing in a bit of a haze that night. I expect them to bounce back in a big way.
6. Exeter...the Blue Hawks got a taste of their own medicine when Goffstown ran the ball all over them and stopped the Exeter running game cold in the 28-7 loss. Now Exeter has to play a flying-high Winnacunnet team in the biggest rivalry game in the state on Saturday afternoon.
7. Bow...the Falcons have played 3 games so far this season and have outscored their opponents 125-0. The schedule gets much tougher starting now, especially this Saturday when Bow plays at Plymouth in a rematch of last year's thrilling D2 Championship Game.
8. Winnacunnet...the Warriors certainly came out to play when they handed Bedford a surprising 20-8 defeat last week. It was awesome watching the Winnacunnet kids call out Justin McIsaac on camera in the postgame interview noting that he was one of the 11 high school football media types who had all picked Bedford to win.
9. Londonderry...seems a little strange that Londonderry is ranked ahead of Pinkerton on my ballot. After all, the Lancers have been on the short end of the rivalry over the years to put it mildly. But this year, Londonderry is riding high at 3-0 and Pinkerton is coming off a big loss against Salem.
10. Pinkerton...the Astros may have lost to Salem, but it seems like Brian O'Reilly's team is back in the hunt after a down year last season. I'm looking forward to getting my 1st look at Pinkerton in person this year as I'll be covering the game in Derry on Friday night.
