Twelve years ago, in my second year of high school coverage, we started the tradition of handing over the semifinal previews to the people who know these teams better than anyone; the coaches who have faced them during the season.

 We asked Division IV coaches to breakdown Wednesday night’s semifinal using blind quotes. The two semifinals at Plymouth high school are a stark contrast in terms of the schools, coaches & their experience on Division IV’s biggest stage.

 In one game you have Mark Collins and Groveton, seven-time champions under the Hall of Fame coach, taking on Woodsville, one of the top programs in the North Country and led by their head coach Jamie Walker, who takes the Engineers into the semifinals for the 5th time.

 On the other side you have Portsmouth Christian, who lost the 2016 championship game to Littleton 38-36, being led back to the Final Four by 5th year head coach Derek Summers for the first time since that night.

 They will take on Holy Family, a small catholic school in Manchester that played a JV schedule a year ago and is led by their first-year head coach Keith Lacasse.

 Our semifinal scouting report is brought to you by our friends and longtime partners at White Mountains Community College. Watch ‘The Franchise’ Jennifer Chick-Ruth’s Golden Globe nominated one-minute video or click on their banner ad to the right.

 We asked five head coaches to breakdown the Division IV semifinals, here is their scouting report:

 Holy Family vs. Portsmouth Christian

 Holy Family Team Page

 Portsmouth Christian Team Page

  We asked our coaches to breakdown Holy Family, the new kids on the Division IV block.

 “Well obviously it starts with the Yonkeau brothers, and they are both very good,” said a head coach we spoke to. “Karl is the point guard, he runs their offense. He can break you down off the dribble and has a good mid-range game as well. Defensively he will take a lot of chances and go for steals, but it usually pays off.”

 “ Yann is their center and at about 6’6 he is an intimidating presence in the middle. He doesn’t have a real back to the basket game; his points come mostly on offensive rebounds or dump down passes.”

 A fellow coach talked about the style of Keith Lacasse’s team.

 “ They are hard to scout because offensively they really just let Karl create his own offense. He will kick it out to wide open guys if you double him. Thomas Gillis & Paul Lamontagne can knock down shots if you leave them open, but it’s mostly just a wide open offense created by him.”

 What about the Holy Family defense?

 “ They play what almost looks like a 4-1 defense where they put everyone out on the perimeter and funnel everything to Yann in the paint”, said a head coach who faced them twice during the season. “ Karl goes for steals and if you get around him you have their 6’6 center in the paint waiting for you.”

 “ They really don’t let Yann leave the paint,” said another head coach. “ They put him on the block and that forces you to double-team him anytime he gets the ball. That opens up looks for Gillis & Lamontagne.”

 What about Portsmouth Christian?

 “ You have to give them a lot of credit. They have run the Division IV triangle; they have beaten Epping, Pittsfield and Newmarket on the road,” said a coach who faced them during the season. “ Derek’s team is not known for making adjustments but he is obviously doing something right. He’s now beaten Groveton, Pittsfield twice and Newmarket on the road in playoff games.”

 A fellow coach agreed. “ It’s Division IV so you have to have coaching once you get to this stage and Derek has had success in the playoffs.”

 “ I think Jason Stockbower is their best player. He handles the ball for them, can knock down shots and brings a lot of energy for them. Maxx Spinelli gives them good size and can score as well.”

 A fellow coach broke down the Eagles personnel. “ Spinelli is tough defensively because of his length. The Prospect Mountain transfer (Seth Huggard) has really come on for them late in the season. He can knockdown shots. Caleb Runey gives them some rebounding as does Coleman Philbrick.”

 Another coach talked about the lack of a go to guy in the fourth quarter. “The thing with PCA is they don’t have a go-to guy and from watching a lot of Final fours that can really lead a team to the title. Does not having that kind of player hinder them?”

 A fellow coach broke down the Eagles. “ Against us Coleman Philbrick was their second-best player. He just does the little things and the way he kills you are garbage points; dump down passes & rebounds. Spinelli gives them size but he hasn’t played as well down the stretch, I think other guys have stepped into bigger roles.”

 Another coach talked about how you can beat PCA. “ Derek really lets them play very freely and that’s really a double edged sword. On one hand they all have confidence to shoot the ball at anytime, on the other hand they really take some questionable shots. They are the kind of team up three with forty seconds and the ball who will launch a three pointer on the first pass.”

 A fellow coach talked about the PCA offense. “ They really play 5-out and anyone will shoot it. They are certainly the most talented team going to Plymouth on Wednesday and they came back from 13-points down against Holy Family during the season to beat them so they have that confidence.”

 How do the two teams match-up?

 “ I think if PCA can get up and down the floor for 32 minutes they are going to win the game. If you make them play in the half-court I like Holy Family. I don’t think coaching comes into play too much in this one but it will in the final. Jamie Walker (Woodsville) has been here before and Mark Collins (Groveton) won’t lose to a team where two guys score 80% of the points.”

 “ I think Holy Family will clog the lanes, close the gaps in the defense and force PCA to take 3-pointers all game long. If you can hold them to one shot you have a good chance to win.”

 Another coach talked about the different environment the teams will play in front of this season.

“ When you play up at Plymouth State that can be a big change for these kids. It’s not like the Division I & II players who are used to being in school assemblies with 1,000 other kids. Playing in front of a huge crowd on a college floor can seem like the moon to them.”

 “So every year you see a couple of players on the floor who look scared and play that way. That shouldn’t be the case at all this week playing at Plymouth high school. You won’t have that player you point to and say, ‘Oh boy, he’s not going to be a factor today.”

 Ok, so who wins on Wednesday night?

 “ I think PCA beats them. They have seen them twice and I just see them making adjustments to try and slow down the two brothers the third time around.”

 “ In March the best players on the floor usually find a way to win and Holy Family has the two best, I’ll go with them.”

 “ I think PCA finds a way to beat them. They’ll make more tough shots.”

 

 Groveton vs. Woodsville

 Woodsville Team Page

 Groveton Team Page

 The two North Country rivals meet in the semifinals and we asked our coaches to break the two teams down, starting with Jamie Walker’s Engineers.

 “ I think Jamie is the best offensive coach in our division. Woodsville has good spacing, movement and he knows how to get his best players good looks. It goes back to when he had Jaret Bemis & Nick Stokes. He understands where his players want and need to get the ball and puts them in a position to succeed.”

 “I think Elijah Flocke is their best player, he does is on both ends of the floor and he is the only Woodsville player who can get to the rim off the dribble. If he can score in the paint, that will collapse that Groveton zone and open up more looks on the outside for players like Cam Burt & Corey Bemis.”

 Another coach also broke down Woodsville.

 “ They have gotten better as the season has gone on. They are not a good defensive team but they can score in bunches.”

 “ I think they’ll be better against the Groveton zone than Littleton was because of the players they have. Littleton got down in the fourth quarter and panicked. They started shooting 3-pointers on every possession and they did that because they hadn’t been in close games all season and they didn’t know what to do. Woodsville has been in a lot of close games against good teams like White Mountains & Kennett. That experience is going to help them against Groveton.”

 Another coach talked about Woodsville’s personnel.

 “ Michael Maccini has improved during the season. I think you could pressure him back in January but he can handle it now. I don’t think you’ll see Groveton pressure Woodsville, they sit in their zone, but you might see PCA or Holy Family try and pressure them if they make it (to the final).”

 “ I think Corey Bemis is going to be an important player for them. If he has a good game and scores in the teens that really helps Woodsville because you know Burt & Flocke are going to get their points. Flocke is much more efficient while Burt is their leading scorer but needs more shots to get there.”

 Another coach also broke down the Woodsville players. “ Cam Davidson hasn’t had a great year for them but I thought he really helped them beat Concord Christian in the quarterfinals. He did a good job defensively, even drew a couple of charges, and he rebounded well. He can score if he finds a spot on the baseline where he can take his mid-range jumper.”

 “ The key is the looks Woodsville gets because Groveton rebounds the ball so well. If you tell me Burt scores 20 points on 10 shots then I’d tell you Woodsville wins the game. If he scores 20 on 18 shots then I like Groveton.”

 A fellow coach agreed, “ I think the two most important players are Julian Kenison and Cam Burt. It feels like Kenison is due for a big game and he can score on Flocke, who is their best defender, in the post. If Burt scores under 15 I think Groveton wins.”

 We then asked the coaches to breakdown Groveton.

 “ My question with Groveton is, ‘Are they going to score enough points to win?”

 “ They were able to beat Littleton without Julian Kenison getting into double digits because Aiden Whiting (18 points) had the game of his life. Can Matt St. Cyr, who was really good against Littleton, and Kenison score enough to beat Woodsville? I think that’s what it all comes down to.”

 “ I think Kenison has a big game. I know how inconsistent he has been but I see him breaking out in this one.”

 Another coach talked about Groveton’s role players. “ Chris Corliss and Aiden Whiting will be important in different ways. Corliss, who I like a lot as a player, needs to rebound and be a factor on the offensive glass. Whiting needs to be that third scorer again. He doesn’t need to score 18 points again but he needs to be a factor Woodsville has to guard. That will open up looks for Kenison & St. Cyr.”

 Another coach talked about head coach Mark Collins. “ I think once you get to the semifinals coaching becomes an even bigger factor in these games. Mark knows exactly how to prepare his teams. He’s won seven titles and it’s not even disputable that he is the best final four coach in the state of New Hampshire. Those kids will follow his lead.”

 “ Jamie (Walker) does a really good job and his teams are always prepared when they get to this stage of the tournament. If Mark can get past Woodsville I think he wins it for them on Saturday.”

 “ Something to watch is if Kenison can get Flocke into foul trouble. I think it if this game comes down to the last two-minutes then Flocke is the guy you want taking that shot, so if you can effect him in any way that can only help Groveton.”

 “ I really like Matt St. Cyr as a player. It’s only his lack of size that holds him back. He can handle the ball, he can knockdown shots and you can see how much he cares. He really drives that team from what I can see. Kenison is more passive and quiet, it’s St. Cyr who you can see the other players feeding off of.”

 “ The issue with Groveton is how inconsistent they have been. This is a team that beat Littleton on the road and lost to Lin Wood at home. You just don’t know which team is going to show up. My guess is that now that they have gotten past Littleton and Newmarket is out of it in the south, Mark is dialed in even more. He knows they are the team to beat for his eighth title.”

 “ The match-ups are going to be fun to watch, Kenison-Flocke, St. Cyr-Burt, Davidson-Laundry, Maccini-Whiting, Bemis-Corliss…..those are toss-up match-ups and neither team gets much from their bench.”

 

 So who wins it on Wednesday night?

 “ I like Groveton to beat Woodsville in a close one and then win the final.”

 “ I think if Woodsville shoots well they beat them, I’ll go with that.”

 “ It’s going to be close but I’ll go with Groveton.”