Today, we’ll preview the playoff games played this weekend across all four divisions.

 We’ll have coverage of two games:

 On Friday night, Pete Tarrier and Ian Melewski will be in Dover when the St Thomas Saints face the Sanborn Indians in a Division II Quarterfinal showdown.

 On Saturday afternoon, Pete Tarrier and Patrick Cogan will be in Salem when the Blue Devils host the Spaulding Red Raiders.

 We’ll have all the highlights and the post-game interview/celebration with the entire winning team!

 Our column today is brought to you by our longtime partners at Manchester Community College, who have an Open House coming up next Wednesday, November 8th, from 4 to 6 pm!

 

 Division I

 Standings, statistical leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

 (9) Dover at (8) Bishop Guertin    (winner plays at Pinkerton)

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season

 The Preview: Hey kids, do you like points?? Well, you’re going to get them in this eight vs. nine match-up.

 BG’s Mike MacDonough led all Division I quarterbacks in passing yards with 1,662, while Dover’s Ryder Aubin finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row with 1,121 yards.

 There are talented playmakers all over the field and two very smart offensive coaching staffs.

  The question is, who’s defense do you trust more to force turnovers and make a stop when they have to?

 The Pick: I trust Dover’s defense more than the Cardinals, so I’m going with the Green Wave in a close one.

 

 (13) Windham at (4) Londonderry

 Box Score from the regular season meeting

 The Preview: It’s fair to ask, who are the Windham Jaguars?

 Are they the team that lost to Pinkerton, Londonderry, and Salem, teams with a combined record of 21-3, by a combined total of twenty-three points?

 Or are they the team that lost a must-win game to a Merrimack team who turned around the next week and lost to a 1-7 Nashua South team?

 Lancers head coach Jimmy Lauzon may be asking himself that same question, but he no doubt will not look past Jack Bryne’s team.

 Billy DePierto (551 yards passing and 432 rushing on the season) has been very good at quarterback, while Tiger An finished second in the Division I rushing race with 958 yards.

 I hope Londonderry fans/parents don’t take the 7-1 season (8-1 including their out-of-state win) for granted. Lauzon has turned a program that was battling just to get in the playoffs a decade ago into one of the best programs in New Hampshire.

 The Pick: The Lancers want a rematch with the Astros, and they're two wins away. They'll move on this weekend.

 

 (12) Keene at (5) Exeter   

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season

 The Preview: Bill Ball’s Blue Hawks go into the playoffs with a little bit of momentum after a 16-7 win over Dover that earned them the five-seed and a home playoff game.

 The Blackbirds will see a steady diet of Daniel Batstone (565 yards and 9 touchdowns) and Evan Delorie (309 yards) out of the backfield. 

 The Pick: Exeter gets the win on their home turf.

 

 (11) Spaulding at (6) Salem  (winner plays Bedford next week)

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season.

 The Preview: It will be a battle of rushing attacks Saturday afternoon as Kevin Hebert’s Red Raiders take on Steve Abraham’s Blue Devils. 

 Spaulding averaged 199.1 rushing yards per game this season, led by Hunter Trueman (Seventh in Division I at 743 yards), Seth Cortina (386) and Zach Lynch (274).

 Salem averaged 279.8 rushing yards per game and were led by Kevin Todisco (fifth in Division I at 761 yards), Felix Gonzalez (459), and Jordan Zannini (219).

 The Red Raiders have won four in a row to get here, while Salem faced two of the top four teams in the division to close the regular season.

 The Pick: Salem pulls away in the third quarter to advance to a date with the defending champs.

 

 (10) Alvirne at (7) Nashua North   (winner plays Portsmouth-Oyster River next week)

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season.

 The Preview: You could call this the feel-good game of the Division I first round because it’s impressive that both teams are here.

 We always expected Nashua North to be in the playoffs (I had them second in the West in the preview, right where they finished), but it has been new-look Titans teams after losing a huge senior class in June.

 Steven Rosario (536 yards rushing) has been a difference-maker on both sides of the ball, while John Barry Jr., Luke Peters (the team’s leading receiver at 424 yards), and quarterback John Canaway (856 yards and six touchdowns) have all stepped into more significance roles and played well.

 We did not expect Alvirne to be here, but you could hear the belief in Matt Lee’s voice when I spoke to him in the pre-season. Lee talked about a team that wanted to turn the page on a winless season and change the narrative. They’ve done both.

 The Broncos lost quarterback Charlie Crawford, our Week 1 player of the week, early in the season, but Shawn Boudreau has stepped in and played very well. 

 Aiden Mills finished third in the Division I rushing race with 896 yards, while Ayden Kelly has led a vastly improved Broncos defense.

 The Pick: I expect a good one. Alvirne is playing with house money and a lot of confidence. I’ll go with the Titans in a close one.

 

Division II

Standings, statistical leaders & Gold Level Coaches/Programs

(8) Kennett at (1) Pelham

 The two teams did not meet during the regular season

 The Preview: The Eagles lost four of their last five games of the regular season, giving up an average of 38 points per game in those losses to Sanborn, Bow, Plymouth, and Merrimack Valley.

 They now face the undefeated defending champions, who averaged 48 points per game.

 That’s what we call bad math for Kennett.

 Every year, a national publication reaches out to me for my vote for New Hampshire Player of the Year.

 Earlier this week, I voted for Memphis Patterson. He’s been outstanding and is deserving of the honor.

The Pick: Pelham rolls into the semifinals

 

 (5) Sanborn at (4) St Thomas

 Box score of the first meeting

 The Preview: It is a toss-up game, just as you would expect from the four vs. five match-up.

 Josh White’s team will look to get the ball to their all-state backs Austin Ingersol (825 yards rushing and eight touchdowns) and Ben Cardoso (546 and eight) in space. The Indians are the better big-play offense, but St Thomas is better equipped for the long, time-consuming drives that wear a defense down.

 Michael Skowron is in his second season behind center and has proven he can make plays when the Saints need it. Head coach Ed McDonough does a terrific job of spreading the carries amongst Tim Avery (520), Sam Grondin (467), and Trent Salyards (443).

 The Saints defense has only given up over twenty points three times all season (I’m counting the Pelham game that ended at halftime due to weather), so they are built for another 21-14 type slugfest.

 Sanborn wants to get a lead early and let Ben Rossi and a tough defense force St Thomas to have to take shots down the field throwing the ball.

 I’d be shocked if this wasn't a one-score game by the end.

 The Pick: I’m going with St Thomas only because it’s at home. If the game were in Kingston, I’d be picking Sanborn.

 

 (6) Bow at (3) Souhegan

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season.

 The Preview: The Sabers speed, especially on turf, is a lot for any team to go up against. This is a young/inexperienced Bow team. Making it a big hill for them to climb tomorrow night.

 Paul Cohen and the Falcons coaching staff, one of the best in the state, have done a phenomenal job with a team that nearly completely turned over its starting lineup from last season’s semifinal team.

 The defense has improved by the week and has been led by Sean Nichols, Jackson Hall, Adam Auclair, and Eli Ayers.

 Bow will be back to contender status next season, but right now, Robin Bowkett’s Sabers are on a mission to win the Division II title. They are going to be very tough to beat.

 The Pick: The Sabers roll into the semifinals.

 

 (7) John Stark at (2) Plymouth

 The two teams did not meet in the regular season.

 The Preview: Two teams with similar offensive philosophies square off for a spot in the semifinals.

 Donnie White and Joey Dykstra have been terrific for Ray Kershaw’s Generals all season long and now face a Plymouth team with one of the best defensive lines in the division.

 Plymouth has the confidence in Luke Diamond to take shots down the seam to players like Jaxson Rineer and will try and wear down the Stark defense running the football.

 The Pick: The Bobcats defense is the story as they beat John Stark and host next weekend's semifinal.

 

 Note: The championship previews will be scouting reports using blind quotes from opposing head coaches.

 

 Division III

 Standings, statistical leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

 (4) Monadnock at (1) Campbell

 Box Score from the first meeting

 The Preview: Scott Hershberger sat out the Cougars season finale (a 28-21 win over Fall Mountain) but is good to go in this one.

 As I wrote last week and spoke about on our Sunday morning podcast, Rob Lotito and his staff have done a terrific job guiding the undermanned Huskies to the playoffs.

 Ben Dean and Koby Kidney have been very good all season, but it will take a big-time upset to beat the Cougars on their home field this weekend.

 The Pick: The defending champs roll to the finals. 

 

 (3) Inter-Lakes Moultonborough at (2) Trinity

 Box score from the first meeting

 The Preview: Pete made a really good point on our Sunday podcast; the Lakers probably match up better with Campbell than they do the Pioneers.

 Trinity is the fastest team in the division, and when you face them on turf, you’re only speeding them up. Jack Service has been terrific again this season at quarterback. At the same time, Devohn Ellis, Paul Thibault, and Alex Oyaronbi are all terrific players and would be the lead running back on almost any other team in the division.

 The Lakers can score, it’s going to be about their defense getting stops. That unit has been led all season by Garrett Hayward, Noah Salamanca, Addie Kernan, Connor Adams, Brogan Donnelly, and Tyler Cataldo has to try to limit the big play machine that is Trinity.

 The Pick: I’m not picking against Trinity and Campbell Part II for the title next weekend

 

 Division IV

 Standings, Statistical Leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

 (4) Bishop Brady at (1) Newport

 Box Score from the regular season meeting

 The Preview: The Tigers were taken to the wire in their season finale by a tough Raymond team, 44-40. The Rams, with all-state quarterback Trey Donahue, were able to expose what might be the Tigers greatest weakness; their pass defense.

 The question is, who besides Raymond can throw the ball well enough to knock off the undefeated Tigers?

 Kyle Ashley rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns in the win (he also threw a touchdown pass) while Aidan Couitt hauled in two passes for 44 yards and a score and led the defense with eight tackles.

 The Pick: Spoiler alert….I’m not picking against a Newport/Somersworth rematch.

 

 (3) Raymond at (2) Somersworth

 The Preview: The Hilltoppers rolled to a 44-6 win over Raymond (undefeated at the time) in their first meeting and did it on the road.

 The Rams though will come into this one with a lot of confidence after nearly knocking off Newport last weekend.

 Tayshawn Sheppard finished second to Kyle Ashley in the Division IV rushing race and has proven he can be a difference maker on a championship team.

 The champs are playing very well and look poised to win third consecutive Division IV championship.

 The Pick: Much closer than the first meeting but I’m not picking against the Hilltoppers on their home field.