We take a look at who your likely playoff teams in the top two divisions are as we head into the final weeks of the regular season while also previewing the game of the year so far in Division III.

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth & I will be out at the game of the weekend in the state of New Hampshire when undefeated Campbell travels to Somersworth to battle the fellow unbeaten Hilltoppers.

 We also had three coaches reach out to me last week about their programs becoming Gold Level members; supporting the free content by our six person team and gaining access to every one of our produced full game videos.

 If you and your booster club would be willing to support NHsportspage and gain access to every game we cover email me at davehaley@nhsportspage.com

Today's column is sponsored by our longtime partners at Sentinel Title Services in Rye, NH.

 

Division I

Who’s IN?

Who’s nearly IN?

East/North Conference (4 teams will make the post-season)

Winnacunnet will be the one seed if they can remain unbeaten in their final three games against Portsmouth, Manchester Central and Spaulding. Their only big test will be at Gill Stadium on October 20th and the entire town of Hampton will be in attendance if the Warriors have a shot to get to Durham with a pair of home playoff games. ‘The Beach Boys’ have been the best story of the 2017 football season to this point.

Goffstown has a huge match-up with Central Friday night. The Grizzlies need to win that game and then they close with a pair of 0-6 teams in Spaulding & Memorial, meaning you can count the Grizzlies in but they take a lot of the guess work out about where they’ll end up with a win Friday night.

Manchester Central still has Bedford in their season finale so there is work to do. Defending champion Bedford now is essentially playing a playoff game every weekend from here on out. They lose again and they’re out. Their hope is that Goffstown beats Central this weekend and they run the table with wins over Concord, Dover (a very capable spoiler) and Central.

I believe Bill Ball when he says the Exeter Blue Hawks have had their best two weeks of practice of the season, leading up to their season saving win at Bedford two weeks ago. Exeter closes with Dover, Concord & Manchester Memorial. If they can beat the Green Wave Friday night count them in. Dover isn’t out of it yet but they’re going to need to run the table and get some help to get in. If Exeter wins Friday night they are in, and Dover is out.

 South/West Conference (4 teams will make the post-season)

 Who’s IN?

 Who’s nearly IN?

 Salem is likely your top seed, that win over Pinkerton was every bit as big as we said it was (Salem 35, Pinkerton 20 Box Score).

 The Blue Devils, who are running the table while Josh Sibanda recovers from an injury, finish with Merrimack & Nashua North at home and then close at Londonderry. Those are three tough games to finish with but remember Londonderry may have a playoff berth clinched by the time Pete Tarrier covers that game in the Halloween costume of his choice (as Jim Nantz would say ‘A tradition like no other’).

 Pinkerton would love another shot at Salem and with a closing schedule of Timberlane, Keene and Merrimack they will be in the playoffs to try and force the rematch. Londonderry gets Alvirne this weekend and then a closing 1-2 of at South (who hasn’t lost since Week 2 at Pinkerton in a game we covered) and the Salem match-up. The Lancers look solid, even if they lost two of their last three they should be in over a Nashua North team they beat 26-21 in Week 3.

Your Division I Bracketology (do I owe Joe Lunardi a $1.00?)

(4) Manchester Central at (1) Winnacunnet

(3) Exeter at (2) Goffstown

Still alive: Bedford & Dover

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(4) Londonderry at (1) Salem

(3) Pinkerton at (2) Nashua South

Still alive: Nashua North & Merrimack

 

Division II

Who’s IN?

Who’s nearly IN?

(Top team from the North and South are top seeds. The next six teams are based off of their rating, regardless of conference)

Plymouth will need to beat Lebanon & Milford (at home) in their final two games to earn the top seed & a pair of home playoff games. Fellow unbeaten Hanover trails Plymouth in the point ratings and closes with Kennett, Kingswood and John Stark. They’d need to run the table and get some help, namely if Stark beats Bow, that result coupled with a Hanover win over Stark in the season finale, could earn them the top seed from the North.

John Stark is in good shape to get back to the post-season (that win at Laconia was huge). The Generals close with Hanover at home and Bow on the road, two big time challenges so nothing is secure yet. The Generals need to go 1-1 and hope it doesn’t come down to a tie-breaker with a Souhegan team that handed them their only loss in Week 1.

 Windham looks solid as your top seed from the South after their win over St Thomas two weeks ago in a game we covered live. The Jaguars close with Lebanon, Gilford-Belmont (oh good grief….) and at home against Con Val. Count them in.

 You can count on St Thomas returning to the post-season as well. They will close with Hopkinton-Hillsboro Deering and Con Val. Hollis-Brookline took a major step towards getting back to the post-season with their win at Con Val Friday night in a game we covered. The Cavaliers will close with Manchester West, Pelham and Souhegan at home. If they take care of business in the next two weeks the finale against the Sabers may only be for seeding.

 By the way it’s going to be fun watching Sean Holland of Nashua South throwing passes to Matt Simco in the CHaD game this July..

 Both Bow and Con Val have some work left to do but with only Souhegan & Laconia chasing them for the final playoff spot (Milford’s fourth loss likely knocked them out) both teams should still get in. If the Falcons can go 2-1 in games remaining against Merrimack Valley, Lebanon and John Stark then the 2016 runner-ups should be back to the post-season. Running the table could get them a home playoff game in Bow.

 Con Val is the team to watch, as Souhegan has a chance to sneak up and pass them in the final weeks of the season. The Cougars, who had to play without all-state quarterback Dan Spezzaferri last weekend in the loss to Hollis-Brookline, closes with Pelham, St Thomas (at home) and Windham (on the road).

 Souhegan closes with Sanborn (still feeling like they have a shot to get in with only 3 losses), Hopkinton-Hillsboro-Deering and at Hollis-Brookline, meaning the Sabers can still get in even if they go 2-1 over the final three games. The last spot likely comes down to Con Val and Souhegan.

 

Top 8 Seeds if the playoffs began today:

1. Plymouth
2. Windham
3. St Thomas
4. Hanover
5. John Stark
6. Hollis-Brookline
7. Con Val
8. Bow

 

Division III

Campbell (5-0) at Somersworth (5-0)

 We will breakdown the playoff picture in Division III next Thursday but this is one of two key games that are going to determine the top seeds. The other will be when Monadnock and Newport square off next weekend, in a game we will also have full coverage of.

 Campbell, known mostly as a spread offensive team under head coach Greg Gush, has gone to more of a tightened backfield and rode the talents of Ryan Yanuszweski (Click to view Ryan's Player Profile page) , Keegan Mills (Keegan's Player Profile Page) and Nick Boucher (306 YDs rushing) to a dominating 5-0 start. The Cougars will go for two point conversions over extra points and will often onside kick in an attempt to keep the football with their high powered offense. It’s an approach that has led to a flurry of lopsided first quarter scores.

 Dan Hodsdon’s Hilltoppers defense will have to be well prepared. They are an elite defense that has been led by senior captain Zach Andrews (DE), 6’5 275 lb. Daniel Osuna by way of the Mexican student exchange program, lineman John Estevez and the disruptive play of Chase Sprague. This will be the biggest team Campbell has faced all season long, Campbell will be the fastest that Somersworth has matched up against.

 The Hilltoppers have been no slouch on offense either as Christian Abkarian (533 YDs rushing and 10 TDs) has put together an all-state season while Ray Mills (a fellow all-state performer) has battled injuries week to week around running for 335 yards and 3 TDs. Brogan Bonsaint will throw the football if the defense sneaks too many defenders like Carter Vedrani (Carter's Player Profile Page) up into the box to stop the run.

 Expect the game of the weekend and I will be interviewing the entire winning team on the field when this one is over Friday night.