Three weeks remain in the regular season as playoff seedings are starting to take shape.

 Thirteen teams in Division I will make the playoffs with the three division winners earning a first-round bye.

 In Division II eight teams make the playoffs, with the two conference winners earning the top two seeds. In both Divisions III & IV four teams will make the playoffs.

 Today in addition to the weekly power rankings we’ll focus on the playoff race as we head into Week 7.

 We’ll be in Rochester Friday night as Pete Tarrier and Colin O’Neil bring you full coverage of the Timberlane Owls and the Spaulding Red Raiders.

 Our column is brought to you this week by our friends and partners at River Valley Community College!

 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- The loss on the road to the best team in Rhode Island (Bishop Hendricken) disguised what has been a dominant regular season thus far by the champions. The 34-24 win at Concord is the Tide’s only loss of the season and it wasn’t quite as close as the ten-point final indicates. Since those first two weeks, they have had convincing wins over Windham, Pinkerton, and now Bishop Guertin. They’ll be double-digit favorites in their last three games against Alvirne, Winnacunnet, and Salem. The Lancers should easily earn their first-round bye and home field until the final.

2. Nashua North- The Titans were idle last week after Alvirne understandably decided not to play after a tragic week. They now face a Merrimack team that has been playing very well offensively before a showdown with Bishop Guertin (we will be there to cover the game) that should decide the West.

3. Bishop Guertin- The Cardinals struggled to move the football against the best defense in the state. The good news, they can return their focus to winning the West and earning a coveted first-round bye. John Trisciani’s team faces off with a red-hot Bedford team that is playing with a ton of confidence before the showdown with the #3 Titans.

4. Bedford- That was a big-time win at Exeter. Zach Matthews team fought for four quarters and closed out with a 13-0 fourth quarter to earn the 20-10 win behind 161 yards rushing from Colby Snow. A very good defense has been led by LB Parker Bromley, DE Kevin Sheridan, DE Cal McAuliffe and safety Evan Cibotti.

5. Timberlane- We will get our second look at the Owls on Friday night when they square off with Spaulding. With the Exeter loss Timberlane not only is a game up on the next teams in the division but they own the tie-breaker. Kevin Fitzgerald’s team still has to not only face Spaulding but two other teams fighting to get into the playoffs; Dover and Portsmouth-Oyster River in their last three games.

6. Pinkerton Academy- They will face Brockton (MA) this weekend, I love that Coach O’Reilly and the Astros have rekindled that inter-state rivalry, before closing with Manchester Central and a Concord game we will cover on the final weekend of the regular season.

7. Concord- Jim Corkhum’s team has won the games they were supposed to and now look poised for a strong finish against the three best teams they have seen since opening night against Londonderry. They travel to Salem this week followed by Windham at home and the trip to Derry to face the Astros.

8. Exeter- The 3-0 win over Winnacunnet seems like more of a red flag now than it did three weeks ago on rivalry night. They now go to Dover Friday night to face a Green Wave team that can absolutely beat them. Dover suffered a bad loss at Manchester Central and now knows they are playing every week for their playoff lives.

9. Windham- As our friend and Windham assistant coach Lauren Gaudette put it ‘ Memorial might be the best 1-4 team’ she’s seen in a long time. The Jaguars picked up a good 20-7 last Saturday and now are a win away from locking up a playoff spot.

10. Merrimack- Kip Jackson should be in the conversation for Division I coach of the year. The Merrimack offense has been very good but it’s the defense that has been the biggest surprise. That unit has been led by Remiello Hyde, Garron Brown, Owen Sadowski, and Ryan Turley.

 Division II

 Division II Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Robin Bowkett of Souhegan, Chris Sanborn of Plymouth, Sam Cavallaro of Hanover, Chris Lones of Hollis-Brookline, Keith Jones of Milford, and Scott Stearns of Kennett.

1. Souhegan- The game was marred by the injury to Hanover’s quarterback Roger Lucas but the Sabers were the better team all night. Expect them to only play their starters as long as they have to against Hollis-Brookline this weekend before they start preparing for a Week 8 showdown with Pelham, a game we will be covering.

2. Gilford-Belmont- The message that was universally repeated by both the players and the coaches after their first-ever win at Plymouth was that there was still a lot more to accomplish. 6-0 is a terrific start but this is a team with a chance to get all the way to the final Saturday of the season. The East's superior cross over record against the West means if the Golden Eagles win out, they're likely the one-seed. Michael Maccoine and the Golden Eagles defensive line has been underrated all season.

3. Pelham- The three-game season-ending stretch begins with Milford followed by road games at Souhegan and Hanover. This team hasn't played a close football game in over two years, will they be ready when they have to go win a game in the fourth quarter?

4. Bow- The Falcons have a reputation for playing better as the season goes along and that was proven once again with a 10-0 win at Kennett last Friday night. This is a team that can move you on the line and dominates the time of possession. A top 3 seed is still very much in play for Bow.

5. Hanover- The news is very positive on Roger Lucas, who Coach Sam Cavallaro said was doing well this week after Friday night's injury. This is an offense that needs him and you could see right away that they struggled to move the ball without him. The Bears will host Manchester West this weekend before a pair of pivotal road games to end the season; at Gilford-Belmont and at Pelham.

6. Plymouth- The Bobcats hung in there last Friday night, getting the ball back with five minutes to go trailing 28-14. This team though doesn't have the explosiveness of prior teams and that was highlighted by the fact they had to give the ball to Dylan Welch, who was terrific, thirty-three times. For a team that is used to spreading the ball between three backs, that was very telling. Now comes a trip to North Conway to play Kennett. A huge rivalry game with a lot at stake. A top 5 seed is still very much in play.

7. St Thomas- I think the line between the Saints, Kennett, & Milford is razor-thin and I don’t think Merrimack Valley is very far behind. Those are the four teams fighting for the last playoff spots (along with Plymouth). Continued below.

8. Kennett- Of those four teams, St Thomas has the toughest road; they’ll go at Bow, at Plymouth, and host Gilford-Belmont in the finale. Kennett still can get to the 5-seed but they have to beat Plymouth this weekend to get there. Look for Milford or Merrimack Valley to sneak in the eight spot.

Division III

Division III Standings and Statistical Leaders

Gold Level coaches/Programs:

1. Trinity- The Pioneers were off last week after Kearsarge was forced to forfeit due to low numbers. As for the incident last week involving their now-former teammate, I’ll repeat what I said on the Sunday podcast with Pete. Don’t take it out on these kids, they didn’t have anything to do with it and I’m sure were just as horrified by it as the rest of us were. Let the kids get back to playing football and focusing on winning a championship.

2. Monadnock- We listed the candidates for player of the year last week, and my vote right now would go to the Huskies' Jack Lorenz who looked like Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson in a 52-8 win over Campbell. This has been a better offense since Rob Lotito and his coaches decided to put the ball in his hands, as evidenced by his 400 yards rushing last Saturday. 

3. Campbell- The defense couldn’t stop Monadnock but they can get right over the last three games; they’ll go at Con Val, at Kearsarge, and close at home with Fall Mountain. Win all three and they are at worst the 3-seed.

4. Stevens- Smart people have been telling me for weeks to watch out for the Stevens Cardinals as Josh Duford's team ran their winning streak to three games after a shutout win over Fall Mountain. The surging defense has been led by linebackers Colby Sheppard and Tank Christian along with defensive ends Luke Smith & AJ Rozzell.

5. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough- The Lakers were impressive against Epping-Newmarket last weekend and now play their biggest game of the season Saturday against Fall Mountain. The loser of that one will have a hard time getting in and with their final two games against Kingswood and Con Val teams that have one win combined, a Lakers win could also spell doom for Stevens’ playoff hopes.

 Division IV

 Division IV Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs:

1. Somersworth- The Hilltoppers have outscored their first five opponents 222-27. Bishop Brady, a possible semifinal-round preview, is up next.

2. Newport- John Proper’s Tigers bounced back from their only loss of the season in impressive fashion with a 36-13 win over Bishop Brady. Tyler Gobin (212 yards rushing) and Kyle Ashley (119) each averaged over eight yards per carry.

3. Bishop Brady- The 3-2 Giants are the third-best team in the division through five weeks. Their 36-13 loss to Newport, which followed Newport’s 35-7 loss to Somersworth, illustrates the gaps in this division. Also, a good time to remind everyone that we felt the same way a year ago until four-seed Fall Mountain went on the road and upset undefeated Newport. So I’m not sure what point I was making there…

4. Raymond- The Rams control their own playoff destiny, a 1-1 finish likely gets them in. First up is a playoff-level match-up against Zach Parsons’ Newfound Bears. The winner has a good shot to be the fourth team in, the losing team likely will be eliminated.