It’s a playoff edition of the Thursday Thoughts because after this weekend, we will have arrived at the one & done stage of the 2019 season.

 There is a lot at stake so we’ll try and guide you through every scenario. From who’s already in, who is still hanging on and who is hanging on by just a thread.

 Three years ago Justin McIsaac & I called Chris Childs’ Lebanon Raiders the best team not to make the post-season. A pretty nice sentiment for a highly respected coach and his football program.

 There was only one problem……….you actually have to miss the post-season to be the best team not in it.

 Lebanon indeed did sneak in after winning their season finale and this weekend…guess who is still in the mix after being counted out?

 Yes, the Pinkerton Astros….who with a win over defending champion Bedford (in a 2018 championship game rematch) can get into the post-season.

 

*Record scratch*

Hey guys, it's McIsaac. Dave, you're not being dramatic enough - when a team has been left for dead, and might rise from the ashes, this calls for a little RASSLIN!

Ahem.

"It looks like the field is set folks, there shouldn't be any other surprises...

Wait, what's that?!?!? That's... that's....

BAH GAWD!!!! BAH GAWD!!!! THAT'S PINKERTON'S MUSIC!! WHERE IN THE BLUE HELL DID THEY COME FROM!!!!

BRIAN O'REILLY HAS DONE THE ZOMBIE SIT UP!! AND THE REST OF D1 IS SHAKING IN THEIR PANTS!!! WHAT A HISTORIC NIGHT HERE IN THE SILVERDOME!!!"  

Ok Dave, all yours.........

 

 As if we didn't put Coach O'Reilly through enough when we had Pete Tarrier interview him in a Darth Vader costume on Halloween night four years ago..

 Today, in our final Thursday Thoughts column of the football season, we take a look at the top three divisions (Division IV begins its playoffs next week) and where we stand heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

 Thank you to Bedford Head Coach Zach Matthews for being the 9th Division I coach to become a Gold Level Coach/Program!

 Tomorrow night ‘The Franchise’ Jennifer Chick-Ruth & I will be in Milford for a HUGE Division II showdown when the Spartans take on Alvirne.

 Today's column is sponsored by Concord Orthopaedics!

 Concord Orthopaedics, with locations in Concord, Derry, New London & Windham, has been serving New Hampshire and beyond in specialized orthopaedic and arthritis care.

 Concord Orthopaedics is the sponsor of the coverage of Concord area high schools Bow, John Stark, Concord, Bishop Brady, Pembroke Academy, Kearsarge, and Merrimack Valley

 

 Division I

 Bedford (6-2) at Pinkerton (5-3)

 Bedford Team Page & Statistics

 Pinkerton Team Page & Statistics

  The three best Division I programs of the last 10 years have been Exeter, Pinkerton and Bedford. The fact that two of them are about to play in a loser leaves town match-up to close the season adds a new element to the race to UNH.

 The Bulldogs opened the season with five straight wins but in back to back losses to Londonderry & Salem they were outscored 69-3. That, to put it mildly, was concerning.

 We worried about the offense early in the season but the defense hasn’t developed into the elite unit we saw a year ago.

 After heavy graduation losses that shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Bedford is going to compete for championships on an annual basis under Zach Matthews but they will miss out on the post-season altogether if they can’t go into Derry and beat the Astros tomorrow night.

 Brian O’Reilly’s team has run the football well in the last month behind Jake MacInnis and a solid offensive line. They’ve been pretty good defensively against the run all season; the question is will Bedford have to throw the football to win tomorrow night?

 North/South bracket:

 Who is IN: Londonderry, Goffstown and Salem

 East/West bracket:

 Who is IN: 1) Nashua North 2) Exeter 3 and 4) to be determined between Nashua South, Merrimack and Bishop Guertin

 If Bedford beats Pinkerton they are in as the 2 seed (and North Conference winner) and would host Goffstown next Saturday afternoon. Londonderry would play Salem.

 If Pinkerton wins they are in as the 4-seed and would travel 5 miles down the road to Londonderry while Goffstown would host Salem.

 Nashua North and Exeter are hosting playoff games next weekend.

 Nashua South is 6-2 but has to play Exeter this weekend while Merrimack and Bishop Guertin (both 5-3) play Winnacunnet and Dover respectively.

 

 Division II

 Seeding heading into the last game of the regular season:

 1. Bow

 2. Milford

 3. Pelham

 4. Plymouth

 5. Alvirne

 6. Kennett

 7. Hollis-Brookline

 8. Souhegan

---------------------------

 9. St. Thomas

 Before we even allow ourselves to talk about how fun a Plymouth/Alvirne first-round game would be let’s take a deep breath and discuss what it is at stake this weekend.

 Hollis-Brookline, who has been the surprise team in the division this season, could do Souhegan a real favor by beating St. Thomas and knocking the Saints out.

 Souhegan has to travel to unbeaten Bow with their playoff fate still to be determined.

 The entire division of coaches seems to have been in agreement that the South is deeper than the North, but there are doubts about the defense of those South teams (Not you Pelham….not you).

 Some coaches have wondered out loud if they are in fact more vulnerable than we might have thought three weeks ago?

 Hollis-Brookline has become a legitimate championship contender, not because of their offense, which we already knew was elite, but because of their defense.

 Sal Fabbio, Quinn Connors, Austen Etchells, Adam Slater, and John Rutledge have all played a huge role in the Cavaliers defensive revival under Chris Lones and his staff.

 Bow might be the best team in the division, and Steve Guerrette might be its best player, but going up against a spread offensive team like the Sabers to close the season is the best thing that could happen to them.

 They need to remove the stigma from a year ago, fair or unfair, that they struggled to cover teams in space.

 I don’t think it will be an issue as they covered the Kennett receivers very well last Friday night (Quarterback Parker Coleman was terrific for the Eagles). Playing a spread team is going to help them as they try to get back to UNH for the third time in four years.

 

 Division III

 Campbell (7-1) at Lebanon (8-0)

 Lebanon Team Page & Statistics

 Campbell Team Page & Statistics

 A possible championship game preview will lead off the month of November.

 A year ago Lebanon pulled off a big upset in beating Campbell, a year later it’s the Cougars looking for a (mild) upset on the road.

 Keegan Mills has been as good as any running back in the state and tomorrow night Lebanon’s defense led by Jon Willeman (he’s pretty good on defense too), Nathan Beaulieu, CJ Childs and Calvin Bates will work to keep him under wraps.

 The Raiders have proven they can beat you running the ball or by spreading you out and throwing it. It will be interesting to see how they mix it up against Campbell.

 Seedings going into this weekend

 1. Lebanon

 2. Trinity

 3. Campbell

 4. Monadnock

 5. Stevens

 6. Hillsborough-Deering-Hopkinton

 7. Newport

 8. Somersworth

 8. Laconia

 A Lebanon win keeps the top 3 where it is today. A win by Campbell makes the Top 3 teams all 1-1 against one another and leads to tie-breakerville.

 Monadnock will be the 4 seed and host the winner of Stevens/Hillsborough-Deering-Hopkinton next weekend.

 As for the final two spots, Laconia and Newport will be favored to win this weekend while Somersworth has to close with a Trinity team that needs the win to stay in the hunt for the top-seed.