As we inch closer to the mid-way point of the season, today we will have our first edition of Power Rankings for all four divisions and breakdown what has gone on in the last week of play. 

 Today's column is brought to you by our friends and partners at Exeter Hospital!

 Core Orthopedics and Exeter Hospital’s Sports Medicine Team has a wide range of specialists to help your high school athlete recover from injuries, manage chronic conditions, and work with athletic trainers to get back in the game. Find them at coreorthoaandsportsmed.com

  Jennifer Chick-Ruth and I plan to have our first girls' basketball podcast of the season up on Friday and hope to have a few coaches on this year to get their thoughts on the season. 

  Finally, last call for Players Locker Room members before putting in a (fairly mammoth) custom jersey order on Friday morning. Every player whose family chooses to support our 12-person team as a Gold Level member will be receiving their custom jersey just as players did a year ago.

 

 Click to register and become a Gold Level/Locker Room member today!

 

 

Division I

Division I Standings & Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Greg Cotreau of Manchester Memorial, Andrew Marden of Winnacunnet, Kevin Gibbs of Bedford, Scott Blake of Spaulding, Tim LaTorra of Concord, and Ernie Clark of Dover

 

Power Rankings

1. Bishop Guertin 

2. Pinkerton

3. Bedford 

4. Portsmouth 

5. Goffstown 

6. Concord 

7. Salem 

8. Windham

9. Exeter

10. Alvirne 

Where we are today: The top three of BG, Pinkerton, and Bedford could really go in any order. BG got the best of the defending champs on opening night which gives them the slight tilt over Pinkerton who has had a dominant start to the year. Bedford's only blemish is to the Cardinals and has been solid through their first six games. When BG and Pinkerton meet on the 20th that will tell us a lot about how things may shake up when everything is said and done. Liz Lavoie and Sydney Gerossie give the Astros that much more of a punch than they already had with Avah Ingalls and Kristina Packowski. That game will be determined by how well Pinkerton can handle the patented BG pressure. Liv Murray (13.6 ppg) and Brooke Paquette (11.4 ppg) returned much more poised this year and have been steady to start the season for Brad Kreick's team... Not too far behind that top bunch is Portsmouth who is capable of competing with the three teams ahead of them. Tim Hopley always gets the most out of his teams and the Clippers have been very well-rounded to start the season. The experience they got last year with their run to the Final Four has shown in the pose they have had to start the season. Avery Romps (14.9 ppg) is having a breakout sophomore year and Bella Slover (8.5 ppg) is doing a great job running the show from the point guard spot...  Anne Haky has done a great job with the young group she has at Windham as the Jaguars sit at 4-2 following a thrilling 51-44 win over Merrimack... Alvirne has been shut down for the week, once again shutting down any chance for the Broncos to find momentum. It's been a tough go for Frank Girginis and his team but they still find themselves a game above .500... The injury bug continues to hit Manchester Memorial. Maddie Pepra-Omani is coming along well and the hope is that she takes the floor at some point this season. Hopefully a sign of good things to come for the Cardiac Crusaders.

 

 

Division II

Division II Standings and Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Dan O'Rourke of Hanover, Larry Meader of Kennett, and Bob Murphy of Hollis-Brookline

 

Power Rankings

1. Hanover

2. Hollis-Brookline 

3. John Stark

4. Pembroke

5. Merrimack Valley 

6. Laconia

7. Lebanon

8. Bow 

9. Milford 

10. Kennett

Where we are today: Despite being 3-5, Kennett is still a top ten team in this division, and could certainly find themselves in the top eight come playoff time. They have played easily the toughest schedule up to now and things will hopefully start to ease a bit for the Eagles in the second half of the year. Sydnie Chin is a great floor general for Larry Meader's team and has great shooters on the perimeter in Hope Elias, Kaley Goodhart, and Kaylee McLellan They went right down to the wire with Merrimack Valley on Monday night and were a possession away from completing the comeback. This is a team I would not want to see coming to my gym in the playoffs... Speaking of MV, I would say the Pride and Pembroke have been the biggest risers to start the season. Bob McNutt has a really good core of seniors in Mackenzie McDonald, Macy Gordon, Alyssa Woodman, and Rylee Boucher who have really learned how to put games together over the past four years. They have also put together back to back good wins against Kennett and Laconia. Ashley Stephens (15.7 ppg) and Annelise Dexter (16.3 ppg) have been one of the best one-two punches in the division for Pembroke. Steve Langevin and the Spartans are certainly in contention for two home playoff games... John Stark and Hanover square off on Thursday and that will give us an idea of how big of a gap there is between Hanover and the rest of the division. John Stark has been the biggest surprise of the year. The Generals were somewhat of a mystery coming into the season with how hectic of a year they went through last winter. Sophomore Eleanor Giradet (19.2 ppg) has burst onto the scene this year and has been a matchup nightmare for most teams. We will see what Dan O'Rourke and Hanover have in store for her this week.

 

Division III

Division III Standings & Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Matt Baird-Torney of Fall Mountain, Scott Currier of Gilford, and Pat Roye of Hopkinton 

 

Power Rankings

1. Conant 

2. Fall Mountain

3. Kearsarge 

4. Stevens

5. Newfound

6. Prospect Mountain

7. Monadnock

8. Hopkinton 

9. White Mountains

10. St Thomas Aquinas

Where we are today: Unfortunately due to shut down we weren't able to see Conant and Kearsarge face off this week. I think the Cougars could give the Orioles a good shot, especially if they play like they did back in early November during our Coaches for a Cause Jamboree against Division I Concord. You can't get in a shootout with Conant. Emma Tenters (18.4 ppg) is the biggest mismatch for any team in Division III and has one of the best point guards in Brynn Rautiola (14.6 ppg) feeding her the ball and creating shots of her own. Kearsarge has shown the ability to lock in defensively, and they have one of the best scorers in Caroline Camp (18.7 ppg) on their side as well. I think Kearsarge along with Fall Mountain are two teams who could potentially get into a grudge match with Conant, but it is certainly no easy task... Dave Haley's Gilford Golden Eagles picked up their best win of the season, 55-45 over St. Thomas Aquinas, behind a 28-point outburst from Vanessa Flanders. This could be a huge momentum boost going forward for Scott Currier's squad... White Mountains has had a terrific 5-0 start to the season. Their schedule picks up in intensity tonight with a home game against Kearsarge. This will be a big test for Chris Foss and his team and should tell us a bit more about the Spartans... I really like Stevens as the dark horse in this division. Kiley Bundy (14.6 ppg) has flourished in year two as the point guard and Alyssa Paquette (12.4 ppg) has been a do-it-all forward for the Cardinals. This is a group capable of capturing a top-four seed.

 

 

Division IV

Division IV Standings & Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Derek Tremblay of Mount Royal, and Courtney Cheetham, and Mark Gouveia of Derryfield

 

Power Rankings

1. Concord Christian

2. Derryfield 

3. Canaan-Pittsburg

4. Newmarket 

5. Groveton

6. Woodsville

7. Sunapee

8. Colebrook

9. Gorham 

10. Littleton

Where we are today: Groveton has been really impressive to start the year at 4-0 and could arguably be dubbed the best team in the North Country thus far with being the only team to hand Cannan-Pittsburg a loss so far. Tim Haskins has been tremendous in having his group prepared on a nightly basis. Marissa Kenison (14.5 ppg) is having the breakout year we expected her to have back in the preseason and the Eagles are benefiting from the double-digit scoring performances she has every night... Derryfield and Newmarket should be a fun one tonight. Derryfield has been right up there with Concord Christian as a top team in this division, but I expect Meghan Averill to have a game plan ready to give the Cougars all they can handle... Sunapee is going to be a group that flirts with a top-four seed for most of the season. They still have two games with Concord Christian and rematches with Derryfield and Newmarket left on the schedule. If they can go at least 2-2 in those games they should be able to fight for a chance of two home playoff games... My Gorham Huskies gave Groveton a scare on Tuesday night, falling just short 32-30. Zoe Grondin (11.0 ppg) has been stepping it up in the scoring department as of late and sophomores Sarah Godin (8.8 ppg) and Madi Girouard (6.8 ppg) continue to develop for the Huskies. They certainly could be a top-eight team by the end of the year, and will certainly give a lot of teams trouble if they can make it to the quarterfinals... Woodsville and Colebrook are the two teams out of the top ten who have the most playoff experience in the last few years and I expect that to play a factor no matter where they end up getting seeded. Both are yet to hit their full stride just yet and could make a jump in the standings over the next few weeks.