Back with the weekly Thursday Thoughts as we head into Week 6 of the regular season.

 Our column today is brought to you by our longtime partners at NHTI in Concord!

 Much of the talk on our Sunday morning podcast has centered around the divisions and changes that are likely to be made when the two-year cycle ends after this season.

  If I were put in charge of the lower two divisions, I would make Division IV 8-man football for the next two-year cycle.

 Divisions I & II look solid. You may see a team or two petition down to Division III but don't expect many changes next season.

 I expect Trinity to move up to Division II, but that is not a certainty at this time.

 I would also move Hillsborough-Deering Hopkinton down to Division III, making it an even swap. You could talk me into Manchester West as well.

 If bylaws prevent schools from being able to move down to a more competitive division.........change the bylaws.

 Moving the smaller schools to 8-man football (featured in over thirty states, including Maine & Vermont) would energize the programs and address the lack of roster depth crippling the division.

 If a team is assigned 8-man football in Division IV but wants to play eleven-man football in Division III, they are welcome to move up.

 Here’s how those two divisions would look:

 Division III: Campbell, Fall Mountain, Monadnock, Inter-Lakes Moultonborough, Con Val, Hillsborough-Deering/Hopkinton, Newport, Somersworth, Stevens, Epping-Newmarket, Kingswood and Kearsarge.

 Division IV: Mascoma, Newfound, Franklin, Winnisquam, Bishop Brady, Raymond

 Schools that have previously had football teams, like Farmington, would likely consider getting back in with 8-man football being an option.

 Are you going to eliminate 51-0 games? No, but you will cut down on them, and 8-man football will save the sport at the smaller schools.

 Just something to consider…

 Division I

 Standings, statistical leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

1. Bedford- I saw the Bulldogs in person for the first time this season, and they were as good as advertised. They have a quarterback who takes care of the ball and makes plays, one of the best running backs in the state, a reliable kicker, receivers who can create in space, and what many consider the best defense in the state. Add a very good/veteran coach in Zach Mathews and his staff……and you see why they’re still #1. They’ll get their best test of the season tomorrow night in Dover.

2. Pinkerton Academy- The train rolls along as Brian O’Reilly’s team rolled over Concord 34-7 and now faces a Bishop Guertin offense that will spread them out and throw the football. 

3. Londonderry- That was a very good road win for Jimmy Lauzon’s team as they beat Windham 21-14 behind a strong performance from Sam Ogden and a defense we are probably underrating. Next up is Nashua North before a showdown we will be covering against Exeter next week.

4. Portsmouth-Oyster River- HUGE showdown tomorrow night as the Clipercats face the best football program on the seacoast when Exeter comes to town. Expect Brooks Connors (307 yards rushing), Cole McLaughlin, and QB Aiden Thomas to get a lot of touches, but it’s the defensive line, led by Max Durkin, ability to handle Exeter’s line that will be the match-up to watch. I expect them to be up to the task.

5. Exeter- The Blue Hawks just played a very good St. Johns team from Massachusetts, Portsmouth-Oyster River tomorrow, and Londonderry next week. That brutal three-game stretch will tell you all you need to know about Bill Ball’s team. 

6. Salem- The Blue Devils improved to 5-0, but Alvirne did not make it easy (Head coach Matt Lee is doing a great job in Year 1 for the Broncos). Salem averaged seven yards a carry and picked off five passes in the 21-10 win. 

7. Dover- We will find out if there is a gap between the Seacoast teams and the Bedford/Pinkerton/Londonderry power players in the middle of the state. I expect Eric Cumba’s team to battle the defending champion Bulldogs tomorrow night. The key will be the Green Wave’s ability to run the football behind Brady McInnis (299 yards rushing) because if they become one-dimensional, Kevin Sheridan, Eli Goumas, and Spencer Henrichon are going to pin their ears back and go after quarterback Ryder Aubin. 

8. Windham- Jack Byrne’s team may be 1-3, but the record of the three teams that have beaten them is 13-1, and the average margin of defeat was eight points. So, no one is panicking. This is a good team. That said, I agree with Pete Tarrier's statement on the Sunday podcast; the Jaguars need to beat Merrimack this weekend, or their playoff hopes will start looking dim. 

9. Nashua North- The Titans still looked like a playoff team, even in a lopsided loss to Bedford. Steven Rosario is everywhere defensively, and John Barry Jr. & Luke Peters were equally impressive. The slate gets no easier, with Londonderry coming in before it eases up with games upcoming against Goffstown, Keene, and Division II Milford. 

10. Bishop Guertin- Expect Mike MacDonough, who leads the state in passing yards with 955, to try and get the ball out quickly against Pinkerton’s terrific defensive line. The Cardinals are a fun offense to watch, but if they are going to hang in with the Astros, they will need to get the ball to wide receivers Cody Symnasky, Connor Lennon, and Ronan Balisteri in space.

Division II

Standings, statistical leaders & Gold Level Coaches/Programs

1. Pelham- The champs are on a bye week (due to Lebanon not fielding a varsity team this year) after a 54-0 win over Hillsborough-Deering Hopkinton last week that couldn't have been fun for anyone. I'm surprised Pelham chose to have a bye week when there are more than a dozen Massachusetts schools within a 30-minute bus ride of Pelham high school (Dracut and Methuen are two Massachusetts towns that border Pelham.) Souhegan played their first competitive game of the season two weeks ago against Division I Timberlane (a 21-20 loss that does not count in the standings) during their scheduled Lebanon-bye week. The weaknesses Timberlane exposed absolutely played a factor in Souhegan cleaning those issues up and beating Plymouth last week. So I'm surprised Pelham chose to sit out a week rather than play a good football team from Massachusetts that will challenge them.

2. Souhegan- The Sabers made a very loud statement last Friday night. Their 49-7 win over Plymouth proved that barring a 1980 Olympic hockey-level miracle, this is a two-team race. All-state quarterback Romy Jain completed 8 of 9 passes for 148 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in the win.

3. Plymouth- The Bobcats are going to have to dust themselves off and find a way to defend spread teams as good as Souhegan (there aren’t many) after last week’s loss. They face a Gilford-Belmont team that is in a must-win situation after their loss to Laconia. Expect Plymouth to bounce back and play well on Saturday, and we will be there next week when they take on Kennett.

4. John Stark- The Generals move up to #4 and should stay there at least until they face a big game next week against an improving by-the-week Sanborn team.

5. Kennett- Whether it serves as a wake-up call (the best case scenario) or Sanborn found a real weakness in the Eagles (the worst case scenario), Scott Stearns's team was blitzed last weekend 48-21. Kennett now faces a Bow team that is, like their former sandwich mate Gilford-Belmont, in must-win mode after the Falcons' loss to Merrimack Valley.

6. St Thomas- The Saints read last week’s ‘Their offense has been the issue’ breakdown and promptly scored 55 points last Friday night. To be fair, Pembroke came into that game allowing over forty points to three of the four teams they had played, but the Saints should have added confidence going into a very big game tomorrow night at Laconia. We’ll see the Saints next week when they face Bow.

7. Hanover- The Bears face a huge test tomorrow night when the Sabers come to their turf field. Is there any chance they can move the game to an abandoned cow pasture? 

8. Sanborn- Let’s start by bidding adieu to the Bow/Gilford-Belmont/Sanborn sandwich, which occupied this spot for the last two weeks. We had some good times and a lot of laughs together, but like the ‘Golden Bachelor’ (no, I’m not watching, but my mom definitely is), there are those you keep around and those you send packing. Sanborn turned the trio into a solo act after their 48-21 win at Kennett. A game in which they ran all over the Eagles to the tune of 457 yards rushing behind Ben Cardoso (204 yards), Austin Ingersol (197), and an offensive line led by Ben Rossi (who has been terrific all year) and Tristian Donigan.

 Division III

 Standings, statistical leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

1. Campbell- The Cougars were able to make a few more plays than the Pioneers last Friday night and now have a clear path to the top seed. If we see the rematch again in the finals on a neutral field, I’d make the champs a slight favorite, but these are two evenly matched-teams.

2. Trinity- If I’m head coach Rob Cathcart coming out of the 6-0 loss to Campbell, I’m feeling great about how my defensive line held up.

3. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough- The Lakers got an unexpected off week when Kearsarge was forced to forfeit. They now host Epping-Newmarket before a battle for the 3-seed next week at Fall Mountain. We’ll break down that game next week.

4. Fall Mountain- The Wildcats improved to 4-1 with a 20-0 win over Kingswood as Eric Franklin threw for 106 yards, and Charlie Dussault, Owen Riendeau, Franklin, and Patrick Connors combined for 177 yards (5.2 yards per carry) on the ground.

5. Con Val- The Cougars settled the matter of whether it was their team or Monadnock who belonged in the #5 spot and did it pretty emphatically, beating the Huskies 26-8. Elliot Featherstone ran for 80 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.

 Division IV

 Standings, Statistical Leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

1. Newport- Terrific win by John Proper’s team and a great state-wide showcase for all-state standout Kyle Ashley, who we nominated for player of the week. A rematch on a neutral field will be a toss-up game where either team could win, but the Tigers look poised to be the #1 seed in the tournament.

2. Somersworth- Jeremy Lambert’s team believed they could beat Newport going into last Saturday’s showdown and come out feeling the same way. They outplayed the Tigers in the second half but could not climb out of a 14-0 hole.

3. Raymond- The Rams are undefeated and probably feeling unappreciated. They can change all that against Somersworth on Saturday. If they can stay with the Hilltoppers or beat them, we have a three-team race. Until that happens, the division goes strictly through Newport and the defending champs.

4. Mascoma- The Royals put 36 points on the board against Raymond but lost a 52-36 shootout. Next up is a trip to face a much improved Franklin team led by quarterback Zeke McCoy.