It can turn on a dime, that’s one of the many things we have learned in 2020; we’ve come to appreciate every opportunity you have to live a normal life.

 On Friday, March 13th I was on the phone with my good friend Trevor Howard, head basketball coach at Littleton, talking about his Division IV championship game against Newmarket that was literally hours away.

 In the middle of that conversation, I had to interrupt him to tell him the NHIAA had just announced (around 10 am) that all events were canceled for the time being. As we know, those games were never played.

 So here I was again last Wednesday morning on the phone with one of our favorite coaches, Pinkerton Academy head coach Brian O’Reilly, talking to him about us potentially covering their Friday night game against Salem.

 Our only concern was a spot to film and the weather. Neither of us saw what was coming in the next 24 hours...

 Within two days Pinkerton Academy’s fall sports season was over and I still read the heartbreaking Instagram post from the volleyball team talking about saying ‘See you tomorrow!’ at the end of what they would later learn was their last practice of the season.

 For the seniors, it was the last of their careers.

 I’m writing all this because we’ve reached the last weekend of the regular season and while Massachusetts and Maine look on over their borders, we are still playing football and all fall sports.

 The decision to move forward and give the kids a chance to play proved to be the right one and it cannot go unmentioned that we need to publicly thank the athletic directors, the many coaches, and yes the players themselves.

 When I was a junior & senior I routinely forgot to take my car keys out of the ignition when I went into Gilford high school. Now we are asking kids who are the same age to be vigilant 24/7 to make sure their season can continue.

 These kids deserve a ton of credit for how they have handled this, they have perseverance I doubt any of us had at their age.

 It only took one AD to say to me on the phone, “ They never trained us for all this..”

 He was speaking for all of his colleagues. Every week I speak to athletic directors about safety precautions and where we can & cannot film from but they are always happy we are coming and the kids are getting the coverage they deserve.

 These coaches have gone above and beyond to make sure their players were safe and their team eligible to compete.

 From every coach I speak with it is always week to week. Trust me no one is worried about where the championship games will be played on November 21st, they are worried about this weekend. When Saturday has come and gone, they will worry about next weekend.

 Jeff Collins of the NHIAA and Governor Chris Sununu deserve a ton of credit as well. These kids were only asking for a chance to play and they both gave it to them. On behalf of our 12-person team here I sincerely thank them both.

 Yes some teams have played two games, others are about to play five and the playoff seeding in volleyball & field hockey makes me want to scream into a paper bag but the only important fact is that the kids are out there playing while kids in our neighboring states are not.

 You should thank your athletic director and your coaches when you see them. The kids are playing because of the hard work of these people and I for one am thankful they were willing to put the kids above themselves to make this happen.

 We’re about to preview games in Week 5 and take a look at power rankings for Divisions II, III & IV.

 I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the fact that I can do that in New Hampshire.

 

 Today’s final Thursday Thoughts of the football season, playoff previews start next week, is brought to you by our friends and partners at Core Physicians, with over 25 locations on the seacoast!

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 We are back out at three games this weekend:

 Spencer Coronis and Colin O’Neil will be in Hanover on Friday night for a huge rivalry game when the Marauders take on Lebanon.

 On Saturday Pete Tarrier & Ian Melewski will be in Goffstown when the undefeated Grizzlies take on a very tough Manchester Memorial team.

 At the same time, ‘The Franchise’ Jennifer Chick-Ruth & I will cover our first ever football game at Pembroke when the Spartans take on Bow.

Thank you to all of the coaches who have supported the coverage of the kids as Gold Level Programs & Coaches so far. Our two newest members are Tarek Rothe and Alvirne football and Kevin Fitzgerald and Timberlane football!

 

 Division I

 Portsmouth-Oyster River (0-3) at Exeter (2-2)

 Division I Standings and leaders

 Exeter Team Page

 Portsmouth-Oyster River Team Page

  This is an East Conference play-in game and don't let the records fool you…either team can win.

 Exeter is starting to figure it out, as we always assumed they would. Spencer Clark (220 yards rushing), Uly Ellis (219), and Michael Dettore (176) have split the carries in the Blue Hawks Wing-T offense and the defense has played better by the week.

 Brian Pafford’s Clippers are four or five plays away from being 3-0. They were tackled at the 1-yard line, unable to stop the clock, in a 14-7 loss to Winnacunnet in Week 1, penalties killed them in a 14-13 loss at Spaulding and last week Dover’s Darian Lopez Sullivan ran in a touchdown in the final minute.

 The margin between winning & losing has been that razor-thin every week.

 Don’t expect this one to be decided until the very end. The winner moves on and the loser is done for the season.

 The Clippers defense, coached by veteran head coach Tim Hopley, has been very good this season. Defensive tackle Joe Gobbi, linebacker John Moats, outside linebacker Cam Francois and safety Matt Koener have all been very good.

 CB/slot receiver Will Hindle is a terrific athlete who has made a big impact on both sides of the ball.

 Expect another low scoring game on Friday night, with the winner moving on to play Dover next weekend.

 

 Londonderry (3-1) at Nashua North (2-0)

 Londonderry Team Page

 My Division I power rankings would be 1) North 2) Goffstown 3) Bedford 4) Londonderry so we will get a championship level match-up in this one.

 Dylan McEachern vs. Curtis Harris-Lopez at quarterback, Jimmy Lauzon vs. Dante Laurendi on the sidelines and there are all-state players all over the field.

 The conferences have been playing a regionalized schedule, with games like this one being the one outlier in a five-week season.

 That will make seeding these teams easy and avoid the mess field hockey and volleyball find themselves in where undefeated teams are in play-in games and teams that are winless are the top seed (that’s not an analogy it’s literally happening).

 The defending champion Lancers will be the top seed in the South (Correction: Salem still can gain the top seed with a win and Londonderry loss) while the Titans have already wrapped up the top seed in the West by beating both Nashua South and Bishop Guertin, who is in a play-in game this weekend against Keene.

 Goffstown is your top seed in the North if they beat Manchester Memorial this weekend while undefeated Dover is your top seed in the East.

 

 Division II

 Division II standings and leaders

 Here are my Division II power ranking as we head into the final week of the regular season. You can click on any of the teams to go to their team page for results and statistics

1.    Souhegan  ( They pass the eyeball test and the one on paper as well. This is a really good football team and their best player seems to change from game to game)

2.    Plymouth  (They haven’t hit their stride yet but they’ve stayed healthy and are getting contributions from several different players. Right now it looks like we are headed towards a Bobcats/Sabers final but never forget the (very recent) history of the Division II playoffs. It usually turns to Banana-land very quickly).

3.    Kennett (The Eagles are really good, I mean as in they could win it all good. I trust their quarterback and love their defensive line (Bobby Grautstein is a beast). They have good playmakers in Cole Salyards, Kyle Perry & Tanner Bennett and they know they can beat Plymouth. They just need to get it done, we may see that match-up in 2 weeks.)

4.    Bow (We’ll see them on Saturday for the second time. No one needs to convince me the Falcons are a title contender, I’ve covered them at UNH twice, but they haven’t played anyone who is a true title contender yet.)

5.    Hollis-Brookline: (You had to know the champs were going to climb back into the conversation; too many athletes, one tremendous playmaker in Marc-Andre Thermitus, and a terrific coaching staff. They killed Timberlane with big plays & speed. They seemed to have figured out the quarterback position (which I wrote about after the Souhegan loss we covered) and rounded into form at just the right time. 

6.    Timberlane: (Did not see the lopsided loss to Hollis-Brookline coming but what teams are doing is testing the Owls speed. Kevin Fitzgerald’s team has been very good in the trenches and the offense led by Dominic Pallaria, Ethan Stewart, and Robert Olsen has been good but teams are going to try and spread them out…starting with Souhegan this weekend.)

7.    Lebanon: (it’s a shame the Plymouth game was canceled because that was a measuring stick game for Chris Childs’ team. Jackson Stone has been terrific and they’ve been very good defensively. We are looking forward to covering them tomorrow night.)

8.    Gilford-Belmont: (Give my team credit they have played a tough schedule. They’ll have faced the two best teams on their side of the division after they face Plymouth on Saturday. This is a group with 22 seniors that need a marquee win. The St Thomas win doesn’t look as impressive as it did on opening day but this is still a team with a lot of very good football players and upside. They don’t have to necessarily beat Plymouth this weekend but they have to go toe to toe with them for four quarters. That would tell you they’re contenders and should be rated higher than 8th))

9.   Hillsborough-Deering Hopkinton: ( I’d ask someone to explain why this 3-1 Red Hawks team is in a play-in game but my head already hurts enough as it is. This is a good football team and they have found their mojo as a rushing attack behind Jack Morrall & Dylan Barrett. I think they’re going to be a very tough out.)

10. Hanover: (They won’t like it but it is very fair to point out they haven’t played a Division II schedule and they beat winless John Stark by one point last weekend. If they beat Lebanon, which they certainly can do, I’ll change my tune…..just don't take it out on my guys Spencer & Colin Friday night.

 

 Division III

 Division III Standings and Leaders

 Power Rankings

1.    Pelham: (Tom Babaian’s Pythons are the best team in Division III and in the words of Smilin’ Jack Ross ‘ These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed’. I never expected the defense to be this good after losing so many playmakers but Pelham has picked up where they left off and every win of the season has been decisive.)

2.    Trinity: (No one is giving up on the champs but their confidence has taken a hit with losses to Pelham and Bishop Guertin. The team I interviewed after the title game a year ago had a great vibe to them and real confidence. They need to get that back for the post-season. No reason to think they won’t)

3.    Monadnock: (I took two things out of the 41-14 loss at Newport we covered; 1) The Huskies just had a very bad day and 2) Newport is really, really good. This is a team that could be there on the final Saturday of the season. They have the players and the coaching.)

4.    Winnisquam: (This is a group of kids I know pretty well and it’s been depressing to see how little they have gotten to play in their new division after winning back to back titles in Division IV. They need games and they need reps. Facing Monadnock this weekend will tell them exactly where they are in the pecking order heading into the post-season.)

5.    Campbell: (The Cougars took to the air last weekend as Jackson Kanaley threw for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over Sanborn. The most passing yards for a Campbell QB in five years. Head coach Glen Costello always has his team ready at playoff time and now they add another facet to their offense.

6.    Stevens: (Yes, they are re-building….we told you that in the preview…but bet against Playoff Paul Silva at your peril…….and the playoffs start next week).

 

 Division IV

 Newport team page

 The division has struggled to get teams eligible every week, for a variety of reasons. Farmington-Nute never played a game, Somersworth waited until October to approve fall sports and Newport looks like they are five touchdowns better than every other team in the division.

 Fall Mountain and Raymond should battle it out to see who plays John Proper’s team in the final.