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The Buffalo Wild Wings Thursday Thoughts for 9/15/2022

By Dave Haley, 09/15/22, 6:15AM EDT

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Zack Doward and Concord make their way into the Power Rankings (photo by Alyson Condict)

 Back with year fifteen of the Thursday Thoughts where we will rank the teams in all four divisions and look ahead to the weekend games.

 We will have full coverage this weekend of two games;

 Pete Tarrier and Colin O’Neil will be at Londonderry high school Friday night when the defending champions take on the Windham Jaguars.

 ‘The boys’, Brandon Bojarsky, Spencer Coronis, and Ian Melewski will be in Keene for a big Division I showdown when the Blackbirds take on the Nashua North Titans

 We’ll have all the highlights plus the post-game interview/celebration with the winners.

 Our column today is brought to you by our longtime friends and partners at Buffalo Wild Wings.

 Their locations in Concord, Nashua, and Manchester will be hosting championship watch parties for our football and girls' soccer champions this November!

 Thank you to our Gold Level Coaches/Programs who support the coverage of high school sports and our 16-person team.
 

 Division I

 Division I Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Brian Pafford of Portsmouth-Oyster River, Ryan Francouer of Winnacunnet, and Jack Bryne of Windham.
 

  1. Londonderry- A loss to the best team in Rhode Island isn't knocking them out of the top spot. Big one Friday night against a Windham team that took Pinkerton to the wire and oh….that opening night win at Concord looks pretty good right now.

  2. Exeter- This may seem odd to say since we haven’t seen the Blue Hawks in person yet, but this team feels dialed in. That’s the impression I get from opposing coaches and people in Exeter.

  3. Bishop Guertin- My impressions of BG’s 23-20 win at Timberlane were that it told me more about the Owls than BG. I already saw John Trisciani’s team as a title contender and Timberlane proved they’re in it for the long haul as well. Also, Matt Santosuosso is really good at football…

  4. Pinkerton Academy- They’ll take care of business this week before a showdown at Londonderry next Friday night. Jacob Albert and Cole Yennaco have combined for 323 yards in the Astros 2-0 start.

  5. Nashua North- Excited to cover the Titans on Friday night. Playmakers like Derek Finley and Jordyn Raisanen-Andino stand out but it’s been the defense, led by Toby Brown, that has been elite through two weeks.

  6. Dover- Eric Cumba’s team is better than I thought and I thought they were a playoff team going into the season. They are better than that. The defense is physical and Ryder Aubin has been terrific at quarterback. Brody McInnis and Brett Davis are kids you win games with…..I’m a fan of this Dover team.

  7. Bedford- The offense will come together but the defense looks like it has arrived. Zach Matthews team gets a really good test against Thornton Academy (Maine), if they can win, I like their chances to be 4-1 going into Week 6 at Exeter.

  8. Timberlane- If you put the Owls and the Bulldogs on a neutral field ten times I think each team comes away on top five times. They proved they can hang with an elite team last weekend. I’m sure Kevin Fitzgerald doesn't like losing but his kids proved something last weekend against Bishop Guertin.

  9. Windham- The Jaguars fought back against Pinkerton and carried that momentum into a lopsided win over Nashua South. Tiger An has justified the pre-season hype that surrounded him by rushing for 177 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games.

  10. Salem- They were missing one of their running backs last weekend and Steve Abraham’s teams get better as the season goes along. He told me in the pre-season that they were building towards October and hoped to be a tough out by the end. I’d say they are right on schedule.

     10. Concord- Yes I am copping out by including eleven teams in my Top 10 but I’m also not crazy enough to omit the Tide. That was a terrific performance against Keene last weekend and with a peek at their schedule…I don’t see them leaving the Top 10 anytime soon.

 

 Division II

 Division II Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Robin Bowkett of Souhegan and Chris Sanborn of Plymouth

  1. Souhegan- The Sabers are extremely fast, talented, and well-coached. The offensive line was the difference in their win over Milford. If you give JJ Bright & Carson Behn running room and Romy Jain time to throw…I don’t see how you are holding them to under thirty points.

  2. Pelham-  They outscored Manchester West and St Thomas 75-7 in their first two games. Does that make them the second-best in the division? I’m not sure yet. Here’s the issue with ranking the Pythons…they are going to be twenty-plus point favorites in every game until they play Milford on October 14th (a game we plan to be at). Tom Babaian’s team closes with the three best teams on their schedule; Milford, at Souhegan, and at Hanover. That’s when we will get our answer.

  3. Milford- Yes they lost 40-14 but a closer look offers a little more context because I was there. They were down 14-6 and driving, controlling the clock for most of the first two quarters before a fumble at the Sabers five-yard line took them out at the knees. Then Charlie Urda broke a long touchdown run to get the game back to 27-14 early in the 3rd quarter but was forced to leave the game with leg cramps. So is Souhegan the better team today, yes, but Milford is a good football team and we have a long ways to go.

  4. Gilford-Belmont- I’m picking them to win against Bow on Saturday so I’m going all in with my alma mater. Isaiah Reese has been the best player in the division through two weeks and a big physical defense has been as good as coaches Josh Marzahl and Mo Reese hoped back in August. That win at Kennett was impressive, beat Bow and they are the team to beat in the East.

  5. Bow- If they can control the line of scrimmage you’re going to have a tough time beating them because they are loaded in the backfield with the three-headed monster that is Ryan Lover (210 yds), Logan Gordon (171), and Hollis Jones (167). This is a tough football team and I expect a terrific game Saturday in Gilford.

  6. Hanover- Sam Cavallaro has a lot of weapons to work with as Jeff Vidou, Matt Brock and Roger Lucas are all capable of big games against you. They’ll get their first big test of the season at Milford this weekend.

  7. Plymouth-  They will get better by the week, as they always do, and will be a nightmare lower seed to have come to your place in the playoffs. They face a possibly frisky Merrimack Valley team this weekend followed by Laconia and showdowns with Souhegan and Gilford-Belmont (I’ll be there for that one).

       8. Kennett- I still believe in the Eagles (we plan to cover them at St Thomas next Friday night) and with Laconia, St Thomas, and Sanborn coming up they’ll have to avoid the slow start that cost them a playoff spot last season.

 

Division III

Division III Standings and Statistical Leaders

Gold Level coaches/Programs:

  1. Trinity- They have outscored their first two opponents 102-8 to open the season and this is clearly a championship or bust season for the Pioneers. Now they face a 0-2 Con Val team. The stretch that tells us the pecking order of this division comes in back to back weeks when Rob Cathcart’s team faces Monadnock and Campbell (we will be there to cover it).

  2. Monadnock- I was very impressed with what I saw in the win over Stevens. Rob Lotitio has a difference maker on the defensive side of the ball in Jack Lorenz and a backfield/offensive line that can control the clock and wear teams down over four quarters. I don’t see a gap at all between #1 and #2.

  3. Campbell- The theme remains the same and it’s not atypical in the lower two divisions. Glen Costello’s team has outscored their first two opponents 81-8 and we will not get a full accurate read on this team until weeks five and six when they face Trinity and Monadnock back to back. Scott Hershberger’s 459 rushing yards leads the state.

  4. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough- That was a good opening win over Stevens as Brayden Arruda threw for 151 yards (100 of them to wide receiver Joey Doda) for Paul Lavigne’s team. Now the Lakers have Monadnock and Campbell on back to back weeks after their loss to Trinity. 

    5. Fall Mountain- I’m giving Orion Binney’s team the nod after their 14-6 win at Kearsarge. Also we have never covered a game in Langdon and I’m hoping this is the year.

 

 Division IV

 Division IV Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs:

  1. Somersworth- Calvin Lambert and Tayshawn Sheppard rushed for over 150 yards in a little over a half of football and the defense was led by Blayne Belanger (7 tackles, 3 for a loss) and Seth Worrel (6 tackles, and 2 for a loss). Next up is a trip to Mascoma.

  2. Newport- The Tigers led Mascoma 42-0 at halftime and took their foot off the pedal in the second half. Wide receiver Kayden LaClair gives this team a deep threat when teams stack the box. He hauled in 69-yard and 39-yard touchdown receptions in the win. Kyle Ashley is a problem for teams on the defensive side of the ball.

  3. Winnisquam- Good win over Bishop Brady on the road, that could have tie-breaker implications down the line because both teams should be in the playoff mix.

  4. Bishop Brady- Good test for Brendan Johnson’s team against the 1-0 Raymond Rams Saturday afternoon.

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Tag(s): Home  Football  NHIAA Division I  NHIAA Division II  NHIAA Division III  NHIAA Division IV