We are back with the Thursday Thoughts, where every week we rank the contenders in all four divisions.

  We’ll have coverage of two games tomorrow night;

 Pete Tarrier and Patrick Cogan will be at Merrimack when the Tomahawks take on Keene in a big Division I West showdown.

 Jay Manzi, Colin O’Neil and Jennifer Chick Ruth will be in Amherst for a Division II battle of unbeatens as Souhegan hosts Manchester West.

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

 Our column is brought to you by partners at Jersey Mike’s Subs of Exeter, Portsmouth, Seabrook, Londonderry, Epping, and Rochester!

 Division I

 Division I Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Brian Pafford of Portsmouth-Oyster River and Ryan Francouer of Winnacunnet

1. Bedford- The Bulldogs are proving they can beat you through the air as well as on the ground. Quarterback Jack Maye threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 158.3 in the 35-13 win over Bishop Guertin. 

2. Londonderry—Good road win over Concord in front of a big crowd. The offense always gets most of the attention, but Jimmy Lauzon's defense, led by Devin Boles, Alex Villa, Damon Dawson, and Colin Couture, has been very good.

3. Exeter—The Blue Hawks head into their rivalry showdown with Winnacunnet 3-0 after a 40-7 win over Portsmouth-Oyster River. The defense, which has given up only nineteen points in three games, has been outstanding. Against the ClipperCats, Sam Dulac led the way with six tackles.

4. Pinkerton Academy- The Astros went on the road to Windham and battled the Jaguars and the rain in a good 24-8 victory. All-state running back Matt Morrison was tremendous, leading the way with 163 yards and three touchdowns.

5. Alvirne- The Broncos pulled away from Timberlane for a 48-20 victory and head into a showdown with Windham 2-0. The defense has been led by (DE) Shawn Boudreau and linebackers Ryan Rochealeau, Quintin Tetreault, and Shayne Mackey.

6. Nashua South- The Purple Panthers earned another impressive win against Lowell (MA) 36-13 as QB Cody Jackson rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns. At the same time, Cole Patno, Sam Levine, and Bruno Goncalves combined for 13 tackles.

7. Winnacunnet—The Warriors won a 21-13 grind-it-out affair over Manchester Central to improve to 3-0. Oscar Miringu was terrific defensively, leading the team with 10 ½ tackles. They get their measuring stick game against arch-rival Exeter this weekend.

8. Windham- Quarterback Kevin Murphy missed the Pinkerton loss with an injury but may return against Alvirne this weekend. Hayden Tedesco carried the ball 36 times against Pinkerton for 141 yards.

9. Keene- It was the Blackbirds air attack that helped earn a good 23-20 win over Nashua North as Kasen Abbott threw for 197 yards and a touchdown to Colin Tinnin. We’ll see Linwood Patnode’s team when they square off with Merrimack tomorrow night.

10. Concord- The Tide lost their first game of the season 35-7 to Londonderry last Friday night. No shame in that; now they go out of state to face Malden Catholic (reminder out of state games do not count in the standings) before they’ll face Windham on their home field.

Division II

Division II Standings and Statistical Leaders

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

1. Pelham- The Pythons defense looks elite after a 24-0 shutout win over Hanover. Justin Hufft’s defense has been led by a balanced group that includes Pat Muise, Brady Williams, Mark Waden, Junior McKinnon, Steve Harbey and Omar Ortiz.

2. Plymouth- The Bobcats racked up a staggering 497 yards on the ground against Trinity, averaging over eight yards a carry. As good as Chris Sanborn’s offense has been, the defense, led by Emmitt Nossaman, Eli Crane, Liam Shannon, Nolan Gavin, Tyler Mederios, and Nathan Lyons, has been just as impressive.

3. Souhegan- Is there a wide gap between the top three teams and the rest of the division? We’ll get a better sense after tomorrow night when a much-improved Manchester West team rolls into Amherst in a game we will be covering. The Sabers rolled to a 45-14 win over John Stark last week behind a 9 for 11, 186 yards and three touchdowns performance from quarterback Mike Fiengo.

4. Bow- The Falcons ran for 277 yards in a 19-7 win over Kingswood (the Knights might be a playoff team) with a 60 yard touchdown pass from Brady Lover to WR/K Kody McCranie being the big play. They now face a St Thomas (1-2) team that badly needs a momentum-turning win.

5. Trinity- Right now, the Pioneers can't run the ball effectively and have trouble stopping it against playoff-caliber teams. That’s a lethal combination. They have a chance to get right against Pembroke Academy this weekend. Look for Rob Cathcart’s team to lean on Dominic De Tone to get the running game going.

6. Manchester West- The Blue Knights earned a good road win over Con Val behind two Gio Doria to Terrance Bovill touchdown throws. Now, they face their first title contender tomorrow night in Amherst in a game we will be covering.

7. John Stark- Ray Kershaw’s team has the distinction of having played the toughest schedule in the division through three weeks (the teams they’ve faced are a combined 7-2). They now have a chance to get right with games at Milford and Hollis Brookline (a combined 1-5) before a showdown with Hanover that we will be covering.

8. Hanover- The Bears hang on to the last spot, nudging out Merrimack Valley and Kingswood after a 24-0 loss to Pelham. Hanover was held to just 21 rushing yards in the loss and face a tough test against a Con Val team that gave Manchester West everything it could handle on Monday night (the game has been moved to Saturday).

 Division III

 Division III Standings and Statistical Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Josh White of Sanborn

1. Campbell- I came away from Saturday’s 34-12 win at Inter-Lakes Moultonborough impressed with the Cougars defense. We know they can stop the run. Zach Poulin, Alex St. Pierre, and Nick Hershberger have been terrific upfront, but the pass defense held up against a Lakers team that threw the ball twenty-nine times. Mikey Grace and freshman Brody Pinciaro picked off Alec Adorno, and when the Lakers got to the redzone, the Cougars repeatedly turned them away.

2. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough—What impressed me the most about the Lakers was their defensive line, led by O’Brien Murray, who spent half the afternoon in the Campbell backfield. Alec Adorno (166 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions against Campbell) may be the best passer in the division, but IL-MA has to figure out a way to establish the running game to be a more balanced offense.

3. Monadnock- Ryan Avery’s Huskies earned a big 32-22 win over Newport in Swanzey to remain undefeated and earn what could be a crucial tie-breaker. Nick Ball (356 yards rushing) and Liam Hart (276) have led the offense along with quarterback Kaden Smith, who has three touchdowns on the season.

4. Newport- John Proper’s Tigers host Lebanon on Saturday and have a chance to string some wins together. The running game was held to just 71 yards in the loss at Monadnocvk, but Aaron Fellows was effective through the air, passing for 121 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Aidan Couitt.

5. Stevens- The Cardinals earned a 25-7 win over Kearsarge as Carter Bastian earned a Player of the Week nomination with 164 yards and two touchdowns. They are on a bye week before they travel to Lebanon next week.

6. Somersworth- Just as we expected, Jeremy Lambert’s young Hilltoppers are improving by the week. The defending Division IV champs rushed for 351 yards in a win over Sanborn, with Max Dubois (101 yards), Seth Worrell (98), and Blayne Belanger (98) leading the way.

Division IV

Division IV Standings and Statistical Leaders

1. Raymond- The loneliest person in New Hampshire football is the Rams punter who has yet to see the field this season. The Rams have scored 93 points in two games, led by a huge start by quarterback Ethan DeRoche, who has thrown for 534 yards and a whopping 12 touchdowns.

2. Hillsboro-Deering- Jay Wood’s Hillcats earned a good 20-14 win over Franklin as Robert King rushed for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

3. Franklin- The Golden Tornadoes battled H-D before losing by a touchdown, as Nate Holmes and Harrison Kaplan combined for 183 yards on the ground. Next up is a rivalry game against Winnisquam.

4. Mascoma- The Royals bounced back from an opening weekend loss to Raymond with a 34-6 win over Newfound. Now they face Hillsboro-Deering in a game that could have playoff-seeding implications.