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TJ's of Portsmouth presents Justin McIsaac's Top 10 of Everything... and Anything....

By Justin McIsaac, 11/11/19, 6:00AM EST

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I'd run through a wall for Coach O

It's back! The best listicle in NH, the McIsaac Top 10! And I'd like to announce that this year, Jen Chick-Ruth is a Top 10 voter! 

(46 minutes later)

Oops, Austin Grass had a giant screaming fit about that decision, so Jen's out. I guess she had a slice of pizza in a media press box once, and THAT CAN'T BE ALLOWED. 

The Top 10 is brought to you by TJ’S in Portsmouth! My absolute favorite spot in Portsmouth to catch a game. Tell Bethany that McIsaac sent you.

 

10. LONDONDERRY WASN’T SCARED OF THE UNDERTAKERS


I thought maybe Londonderry having to face their rival Pinkerton in a playoff game would be a tighter affair than the regular-season game, and that perhaps Pinkerton could do some Pinkerton stuff and make this uncomfortable for the Lancers.

Reader, I was not correct.

A 45-3 thumping in round 1 of the Londonderry Invitational that saw the Astros turn the ball over 6 times ensued, and now Londonderry is a game away from UNH.

 

9. 4TH AND SALEM

Salem was big on 4th down vs Goffstown, stopping the Grizzlies on 4 separate 4th downs to help secure a 32-10 win. Salem winning shouldn’t be terribly surprising, although the margin of victory might be, since Goffstown got a 1 point win in Haverill a few weeks back. Salem’s reward is a trip to Londonderry.

8. THE EXETER FOOTBALL TEAM LOOKED LIKE THE EXETER BASKETBALL TEAM

By which I mean they put points up in a hurry – Derek Edmiston ran for 3 TD’s of 59 yards or more, and added in a 20 yard TD run that must’ve seemed like playing hopscotch in comparison. Exeter’s 42-27 win over South means they get to host a semi-final game with North’s loss to Merrimack.

7. LOL BAMA

You hate to see ‘Bama lose. You just hate it.

What I actually hate about LSU’s win, other than nothing, is the fact that Alabama will still find a way to weasel their way into the Playoff, which is why you saw Tua’s limp suddenly get a whoooooole lot more pronounced once the game was over. Whatever, Bama losing is great and we should all celebrate it. Plus Joe Burrow and Coach O are fun as hell.

 

6. THIBAULT TIME

Are 267 yards and 4 TDs good? It seems good, but I’m no expert. John Thibeault helped lead Trinity to their first playoff win since 2013 with a marvelous performance over Newport 35-0. The Pioneers get a chance at revenge in the Semi-finals when Stevens comes to town.

5. FALL MOUNTAIN DOES NOT CARE ABOUT MY ADOPTED TEAMS

37-0 over the Greatest Show on (Natural) Turf on the road to get the program’s first-ever playoff win is something special-  Izaak Westover ran for 3 TDs and had a Pick 6 to get the (looks up Fall Mt’s mascot) Wildcats to the Championship game in D4

4. I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING

I’ve been high on the Hillsborough Deering Hopkinton Hawks all season, but I’d be a dirty liar if I said I saw a 54-14 thumping of defending champ Monadnock coming – Colby Quiet made his case for D3 POTY with a 220 yard 4 TD rushing performance, and a receiving TD for the icing on the cake. HDH gets a shot at #1 Lebanon for a trip to Durham.

3. STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

PLAYOFF PAUL SILVA!!!

I know Keegan Mills was out for Campbell, but a 20-8 playoff win on the road at Campbell is outstanding no matter who is out there. It was Keaghan McAllister who had a day for Stevens, scoring 3 times on the ground to get Stevens a road playoff upset YET AGAIN! The Cardinals get another crack at Trinity, who they were able to upset 7-0 last season in the playoffs.

2. RETURN OF THE MACK

Even with Curtis Harris our for Nashua North, there wasn’t a whole lot of Merrimack picks to be had, but the Tomahawks are now just a win away from getting to Durham after a 26-7 win at Stellos-  Merrimack will have to go on the road once again as they’ll have to upset Exeter in the same building where the Blue Hawks won 41-7 earlier this season.

1. D2 INSANITY

Only one of the higher seeds won, and it was Bow with a thrashing of Souhegan, after the Sabers gave the Falcons a pretty good game the week before.

Alvirne was able to get revenge over Milford after a heartbreaking loss to end the regular season.

Hollis Brookline went to Kennett and, whole a Cavs win was an upset on paper only, a man-handling of Kennett was a surprise.

And the Plymouth Bobcats busted my bracket by beating Pelham with the most Plymouth-Pelham score possible 14-12.

Anything’s possible in the semi-finals, but one thing is certain – I’ll pick incorrectly.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: UNH got thumped, Lebanon took care of business, Turning off the lights after a TD is stupid, Did I mention Bama lost?

Justin McIsaac writes the Top 10 every week (usually). He is the 2018 NSMA NH Sportscaster of The Year.  He has 1,000 jobs, including radio color commentary for UNH Football, Producer of "NH Today with Jack Heath", HS play by play for MOSN, The McIsaac On Sports Network, college play by play for Dartmouth, St Anselm’s, UNE, Harvard, and whoever else will cut the check. Follow him on Twitter: @justin_mcisaac

 

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