Man, it felt really good to be out at games last week. We covered four (three football games and one volleyball) and every game had different rules but very good vibes.

 I want to thank all of the coaches and athletic directors who have supported the coverage, specifically Oyster River & Dover volleyball, Bow & Hillsborough-Deering football as well as Souhegan and Hollis-Brookline.

 These coaches continue to go above and beyond for these kids and having a view of it from behind the scenes only has made me appreciate these people more.

 We kick off our 13th year of the Thursday Thoughts where I will preview the biggest games of the week and breakdown the teams to watch in each division.

 Today’s column is sponsored by our friends and partners at Great Bay Community College. Click on any of our GBCC banner ads for more information about registration, courses, and open houses!

We are out at two Division III games tomorrow night:

Pete Tarrier, Dan Pierce, and Colin O’Neil will bring you all the coverage of Campbell at Pelham

Spencer Coronis and Ian Melewski will bring you all the coverage as Laconia travels to one of our favorite spots, Swanzey, to take on Monadnock.

 

 Division I

 Division I Standings, statistics and gold level coaches/programs                   

 Londonderry (1-0) at Salem (1-0)

 Londonderry team page

 Salem team page

  It’s been great having Pete Tarrier back with us this season after he was sidelined for football a year ago (real job responsibilities). One of our routines is we call each other on the drive home to hear about each of the games we were at.

 How did the teams look? How were the kids in the post-game interview? Etc.

 When Pete & I talked last Friday night the first thing he said about Jimmy Lauzon’s Lancers was ‘man they’re really fast.’

 You could see that on the highlights. Londonderry has big-play potential on every snap and they can do it in a variety of ways. Dylan McEachern looked so comfortable behind center that you wondered if older brother Jake (our player of the year last season) had grabbed a helmet and snuck into the huddle.

 One aspect of Londonderry’s win over Pinkerton that stuck out to me was the fact that McEachern completed 11 passes to 6 different receivers. Where last year it felt like the all-state duo of Cole Keegan and Alex Tsetsilas were getting 80% of the targets, the balance in this offense was noticeable. When the Lancers came back in the second half the defense shut down the Astros.

 Salem is going to play a very similar style on Saturday afternoon. Steve Abraham’s team rushed for 275 yards in a win over Alvirne and although there will be wrinkles based off of the Pinkerton film, Salem will try and wear Londonderry’s defense down over four quarters running their Wing-T offense.

 This is a fast Salem defense so they should match-up pretty well with the Lancers. If you’re the Blue Devils you try and ride the wave of momentum from the first game on your shiny new field.

 Kids were cramping and even throwing up their mandated water breaks all over the field last weekend. These kids are in good shape but with a shortened pre-season they certainly are not where they were at this time a year ago.

 Teams can win games based on being the fresher team in the fourth quarter. Look for that to be a factor in this showdown on Saturday.

 

 Exeter (0-1) at Dover (0-0)

 Exeter team page

 Yes Exeter’s loss to Winnacunnet, who went 1-8 a year ago while Exeter went all the way to the Division I championship game, was a shocker. Taking a step back though it says more about the job 2nd-year head coach Ryan Francoeur and his staff have done and should not be a declaration that Exeter is more pretender than contender.

 What stood out was the lack of offense the Blue Hawks were able to generate. Not just the 12 points but only 177 yards on the ground. The Warriors controlled this game for four quarters and it was only a strong fourth quarter from Exeter that got them back in it.

 It won’t get any easier this week. Eric Cumba’s team has been building towards this moment and junior QB Darian Lopez-Sullivan is both smart enough and talented enough to beat an elite team. Beau Normandeau, Luke Geppert, and tight end Hunter Kaarto give him the weapons he’ll need to control the clock and put enough points on the board to beat Exeter.

 Bill Ball’s teams lose back to back conference games about as often as we elect a president so this will be a score to keep your eye on Friday night.

 

 Division II

 Division II standings, statistics, and gold level coaches/programs

 Plymouth (1-0) at Kennett (1-0)

 Plymouth team page

The lead position in the East (why did we have to change it from North and South? Has that been answered yet?) is at stake Saturday night in North Conway.

 This is a rivalry that has been pretty one-sided for the most part but Kennett beat Plymouth a year ago and is more than capable of doing it again this weekend.

 Parker Coleman is as good as any quarterback in the division and there are weapons around him in Tanner Bennett, Kyle Perry, and tight end Gaven Gagne.

 The Eagles 38-0 win at Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough was a product of a regionalized schedule and we learned little about Vaughn Beckwith’s team that we didn’t already know.

 Plymouth struggled to execute in a 16-14 win over Timberlane and if it weren’t for a player of the week effort out of Cole Johnston (110 yards rushing and 10 tackles) the Bobcats might have come into this showdown 0-1.

 Around the state, coaches were lamenting that their kids played like they were in their second scrimmage and not their regular-season opener. Plymouth was no different, which is surprising with most of their roster back, but don’t expect that to continue this week.

 The shortened 5 game season makes the importance of this one more defined. The winner here has a good chance to finish as the Top seed in the East.

 

 Milford (0-0) at Hollis-Brookline (1-0)

 A renewal of a very good rivalry over in the Nashua area.

 I’m concerned my buddy Keith Jones, the longtime head coach at Milford, might be sandbagging me but the Spartans lost a lot of seniors from a year ago including all-state QB Gavin Urda.

 We got our first in-person view of the defending champs last Friday night in a 20-0 loss and the defense looked solid. The Cavaliers, led by Quinn Connors, played well inside the ’20s but allowed Souhegan to go up and down the field for most of the game.

 Chris Lones told me he had three quarterbacks battling for the position in the pre-season and all three saw snaps against the Sabers. They’re going to have to find out who their starter is because until they can utilize the talent of Blake Bergeson down the field teams (like Milford) are going to stack the box to stop Marc Andre-Thermitus and Kyle Manley.

 In the other Division II game, I covered I thought Bow looked good, although not as explosive as they were a year ago. Andrew Robbins gives them another bruising ‘please move the chains’ running back while the defense makes very few mistakes. The Falcons are always very well-coached and looked it again in the heat last Saturday.

 Hillsborough-Deering-Hopkinton looked good and they fought for four quarters. If you’re going to beat a program as good as Bow on the road you’re going to have to play a clear game and the Red Hawks did not last weekend.

 Penalties killed drives and by the end of the game they were out of gas but this is a team with talent (Jack Morrall runs hard, Dylan Barrett gives them a good receiver and Mike Oberheim is tough….he’ll take a hit to get the pass off on time).

 Jay Wood’s team has the potential to be a problem for teams in the playoffs once they eliminate the early season mistakes.

 

 Division III

 Division III standings, statistics, and gold level coaches/programs

 Campbell (0-1) at Pelham (1-0)

 Pelham team page

 Tom Babaian’s Pelham Pythons might be the team that challenges Trinity’s quest for back-to-back titles so the home-field advantage is going to be crucial come November.

 A win tomorrow night puts them a step closer (timely reminder that the regular season is 40% over after this weekend) and would put perennial contender Campbell in an 0-2 hole.

 Jake Herrling got all the pre-season buzz but it was Ethan Demmons who led the way with 127 yards on the ground in a win over Sanborn. Campbell battled a very good Monadnock team in the division’s best rivalry before losing 28-20.

 Glen Costello had a lot of production to replace from a year ago but Hunter Caron gives them a back capable of controlling the clock and the Cougars can & will throw the football when you sneak too many guys into the box.

 It’s an open playoff in all four divisions but two young teams will have a better sense of where they are in the Division III pecking order after this one.

 

 Division IV

 Give me a week to get caught up. Between football rosters, stats, and getting volleyball up to speed it’s been a little overwhelming.

 I will get caught up on Division IV as I always do and if that explanation isn’t good enough for you try and remember I still can’t feel one of my toes from covering the championship game in below zero weather 11 months again.

 

 This year I’m adding a new feature where I give my quick thoughts on other games around the state

 Trinity at Manchester West: We know what we are getting out of the Pioneers but I’m interested to see what West has. This is a fun match-up

 Gilford-Belmont at Kingswood: I’m not saying anything about my alma mater yet………….. I’m not…………You won't get me to.

 Bishop Guertin at Souhegan: These two teams should play more often. John Trisciani is building something at BG and Robin Bowkett’s team is legit.

 Bishop Brady at Pembroke: When was the last time Pembroke was 2-0? Will Moher’s team is going to be fun to watch this year. Jack Schaefer is the best player you haven’t heard of yet.

 Manchester Memorial at Concord: Wait, Manchester Memorial could be 2-0 too!!??

 Mascoma at Fall Mountain: Fall Mountain might be the class of Division IV.

 Hillsborough-Deering-Hopkinton at Merrimack Valley: This is a score I’m interested to see. This is a sneaky really good game.

 Nashua South at Pinkerton: A pretty good team is about to be 0-2.

 Spaulding at St. Thomas: The Saints debut their beautiful new turf field (which previously turned into a mud pit every November).

 The Saints are still finding themselves under their new head coach. Kevin Hebert’s team needs this one.

 

 Staff picks, the coverage of 3 games and a ton of volleyball content coming tomorrow!