The Thursday Thoughts are back as we take a look at some of the biggest games in all four divisions.

 Our column today is brought to you by our friends and partners at White Mountains Community College.

 See our Golden Globes winning video above (produced by ‘The Franchise’ Jennifer Chick-Ruth and narrated by our own Justin McIsaac) above and please don't fact check the Golden Globes part.

 Thank you to the coaches and programs that have supported the coverage of the kids as Gold Level members/programs:

 Brian Pafford of Portsmouth Oyster River, Josh Marzahl of Gilford-Belmont, Jimmy Lauzon of Londonderry, Jack Byrne of Windham, Chris Sanborn of Plymouth, Glen Costello of Campbell, Ryan Francoeur of Winnacunnet, Mo Reese of Gilford-Belmont, Bob Polish of Bow, and ‘Playoff’ Paul Silva of Stevens

 We are out covering 3 games this weekend. One tomorrow night and two on Saturday:

 Spencer Coronis & Colin O’Neil will be in Dover for a huge East Conference match-up when the Green Wave host undefeated Winnacunnet.

 On Saturday afternoon Jennifer Chick-Ruth & I will be in the greatest hometown in America when my Gilford-Belmont Golden Eagles takes on a very good Kennett team. The ‘Human Hurricane’ Max Troiano will join me as my color analyst.

 Saturday night Pete Tarrier & Ian Melewski will be in Nashua when pre-season favorite Nashua North takes on the Bishop Guertin Cardinals

 We’ll have all the highlights plus the post-game interview with the entire winning team!

 

 Division I

 Division I standings and leaders

 Winnacunnet (2-0) at Dover (1-0)

 Winnacunnet team page

 Dover team page

  I’ve already warned Spencer Coronis that if the Warriors win this one they’re going to give it me pretty good after picking them 5th in the pre-season. Head coach Ryan Francoeur didn’t exactly deny that when we texted this week...

 As they should, those players felt strongly that last year's 1-8 finish was due to a lot of underclassman in important roles and key injuries that seemingly popped up every week.

 Francoeur and his staff have done a terrific job and the formula has been playing great defense, manage field position and take care of the football. Tucker McCann and QB Kyle Tilley give them a pair of good runners and the defense has been terrific through two games.

 Defensive tackle David Araujo has been immense, as have linebacker Matt Alkire and defensive end Colby Tomlins. The defense has three takeaways in their 2-0 start and tomorrow night they face a player who is emerging as one of the best quarterbacks in the division.

 Darian Lopez-Sullivan has the size to throw over you and the speed to get by you. This will be a battle of field position and whose defense controls the game. Both teams have already beaten Exeter so the winner here takes a big step towards a home playoff game in four weeks.

 

 Manchester West (0-1) at Manchester Memorial (2-0)

 Manchester Memorial Team Page

 This fun match-up is a product of the regionalized schedule. Rob Sturgis and his Crusaders are off to a 2-0 start after wins over Manchester Central and Concord, making them one of the great stories of the 2020 season.

 The defense has been the story, causing 6 turnovers and sacking the quarterback 10 times through 2 games. Defensive coordinator Ray Portu has a fast defense capable of giving a good Manchester West offense fits tomorrow night.

 Offensively quarterback Jeffrey Josefik is 4th in the division in passing yards (228) while running back Kai Colson is 2nd in rushing with 216 yards in the undefeated start.

 The most important number from the offense may be zero. As in zero turnovers in the two wins. Sturgis and his staff have done a very good job of focusing on the little things and this is a team that never gets too high or too low during the game.

 A win here over a tough city rival would guarantee them a winning record in the shortened regular season.

 

 Division II

 Division II standings and leaders

 Kennett (1-1) at Gilford-Belmont (2-0)

 Gilford-Belmont team page

  This is a big one and believe it or not, the first Gilford home football game I’ve ever covered. The fact that my daughter Allison will be lost in a corn maze across the street for the entirety of the game just made it too convenient to pass up.

 Let’s start with Vaughn Beckwith’s Kennett Eagles.

 Kennett should have beaten Plymouth last Saturday night. They controlled the game but they couldn’t close the Bobcats out. That win was HUGE for Plymouth because it did two very big things for them; 1) they now own the tie-breaker over Kennett and Timberlane in the conference and 2) Chris Sanborn’s kids now know that when they have a 14 point deficit late they are not out of it. They proved that on the road last weekend.

 Parker Coleman is a very good quarterback, their best since Will Pollard, and he has weapons around him. The Eagles beat Gilford-Belmont 41-28 on this field a year ago. This is a better Gilford-Belmont team but it is a better Kennett team as well.

 Josh Marzahl’s team suffered a huge loss in a 53-0 win at Kingswood when all-state quarterback Alex Cheek was lost for the season with a hip injury.

 Capable back-up Jack Mclean steps in so the passing game shouldn’t suffer, the Golden Eagles are loaded at wide receiver with Curtis Nelson & Liam Merriam, but you can’t replace Cheek’s leadership and playmaking ability.

 This puts more pressure on Blake Descoteaux and the backfield. Cheek was arguably their best runner and as a 3-year starter, he’s pretty much seen it all.

 The defense has been very good through two games under coordinator Mo Reese. All-state LB John Mitchell has been as good as advertised while defensive end Malik Reese is putting up all-state numbers. Michael Kitto and Brandon Gallagher have been rock solid and on Saturday this group has a chance to pick up their biggest win as a team.

 

 Merrimack Valley (1-1) at Pembroke Academy (2-0)

 Pembroke team page

 Will Moher’s team is off to an undefeated start at Pembroke and no it isn’t basketball season.

 Ryan Casey has been very good at quarterback while Jack Schaefer is emerging as one of the best playmakers in the division. It’s been the defense though that has made the biggest improvement from a year ago.

 Devin Bourget has been terrific for the Spartans and puts what seems like constant pressure on the quarterback. Meanwhile, each member of a secondary led by cornerbacks Scott Lachance, Nate Quinn, and Schaefer at safety, has recorded an interception.

 The Spartans have a showdown looming against Hillsborough-Deering Hopkinton next weekend before the ultimate test against division powerhouse Bow. They’ll need to get by their arch-rivals first but a 3-0 start sets them up for a high seed in the playoffs.

 

 Division III

 Division III standings and leaders

 Pelham (2-0) at Trinity (2-0)

 Pelham team page

 This is a terrific showdown between the defending Division III champion and a Pelham team that was a top 4-seed in Division II a year ago.

 The Pioneers are going to be battle-tested by the time we get to the playoffs. They beat Division I Concord in Week 1 before beating city rival Manchester West 20-8 weekend, making this their first game against a division opponent.

 Peter Alisandro is elite at quarterback and with James Thibault in the backfield alongside him, Rob Cathcart’s team can wear you down and control the clock.

 Sully Masuku is terrific on the offensive line and for Pelham, the key is going to be not allowing those 8-minute ‘move the chains’ drives that seize control of games.

 We knew the Pythons had weapons on offense but the defense, which had to replace 9 starters, has been better than anticipated.

 Ethan Demmons, Noah Coppinger, Zach Jones, Jake Herrling, and Cam Santolucito have all been terrific for Tom Bababian’s defense, and tomorrow night they get their biggest test of the season.

 The winner here is your Division III favorite.

 

Division IV

Division IV standings and leaders

Newport team page

Fall Mountain team page

 We’re going to find out who the best team in Division IV is on Saturday afternoon.

 Orion Binney’s team lost to Winnisquam in a good final a year ago and is led by all-state running back Izaak Westover (218 yds. rushing on the season) and Tyler Swain.

 Fall Mountain couldn’t compete with Division II Hanover in Week 1 but pulled out a good win over Mascoma last weekend. In Newport, they’ll face a team with depth at running back and the best defense in the division.

 Head coach John Proper’s team returns 21 of 22 starters from a Tigers team that got better as the season went along last season.

 Adriano Urista and Josh Orlowski anchor a very strong unit on both the offensive and defensive lines. Proper has a ton of confidence in his line and in a division where running the football is essential the Tigers interior players are as good a group as there is in the division.

 They have paved the way for both Jagger Lovely (200 yds. in 2 games) and Josh Sharron, who is likely to see more carries by the week as he returns from injury.

 Quarterback Marius Edwards has shown the ability to throw the football and ranks 3rd on the team in rushing.

 Newport controlled a large chunk of the game against a good Division II Lebanon team last weekend but was done in by 3 fumbles, including one inside their 10-yard line, and a missed extra point.

 Newport has been one of the best football programs in the state over the last 10 years and the move to Division IV feels like both a very good fit and an opportunity to get back to contending for championships.

 The winner here becomes the favorite to follow Winnisquam’s two consecutive Division IV championships.

 

 Other key games this weekend:

 Exeter (0-2) at Manchester Central (0-2): Not used to seeing either of these teams winless for very long. Bill Ball’s team needs to play better on the offensive line and when they do they have the playmakers to make another run.

 Mascoma (0-2) at Hanover (2-0): The Marauders are winning but the regionalized schedule has them playing much smaller schools….meaning they don’t even know how good they are yet.

Portsmouth-Oyster River (0-1) at Spaulding (1-0): The Clippers have a ton of speed but they need to get the ball to them. This is an important game for playoff seeding.

 Windham (0-0) at Pinkerton Academy (1-1): The season opener for the Jaguars, interested to see the score of this one, I still believe in the Astros.