Before we get to the biggest games of Week 3 I wanted to update our readers on the status of our statistical leaders.
 

Before we get to the biggest games of Week 3 I wanted to update our readers on the status of our statistical leaders. We should have the top 10 passing, rushing and receiving leaders for all three divisions up by the middle of next week.

As soon as that becomes available we’ll also be posting a weekly Top 10 for each category in the entire state.

 The feedback regarding our new website has been tremendous so far. New features are still being added all the time, in addition to our statistical leaders we will introduce all new team pages where each school can have their team pictures, results, practice schedule, article links and full team statistics viewed by our thousands of readers.

These pages will be sponsored by team booster clubs and local businesses supporting the coverage of high school sports and they will be very interactive as players and parents will have the ability to add information to the pages throughout the year.

 We are very excited to unveil those team pages to you in the coming weeks.

Now on to the games;

Division I

Winnacunnet (2-0) at Exeter (2-0)
The coverage of Exeter is sponsored by Chad Fletcher at Blue Water Mortgage

 The faces may have changed but the stakes haven’t and now one of the best football rivalry games in New Hampshire will be for first place in Eastern sub-division. If you remember Winnacunnet beat Exeter a year ago in an out of conference game and then had to sit back & listen to people question whether the Blue Hawks were really going 100% against their biggest rivals in front of a packed house. Aren’t we all happy those ridiculous days seem to be behind us…

 The Warriors have won a pair of dogfights to get to 2-0 and has the right arm of Inghao Veasna to thank for it. The former ‘run first/pass second’ signal caller has thrown for 368 yards and three touchdowns in the first two weeks in the pair of close wins. The running game is still a work in progress as Clint Felch and Jon Flagg split the bulk of the carries and in Exeter they face the best run defense they’re likely going to see all year.

Exeter has given up only 9 points in two games and controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides. Jay Inzenga (144 yds. on 22 carries) has found the end zone four times already, one coming on a blocked punt, for an offense that already looks in mid-season form. All of which leads up to a premier game that is going to be won in the trenches. The team that wins on the line of scrimmage likely walks off the field 3-0.

 Winner here takes over first place in the division and earns the all-important tie-breaker for home field advantage come playoff time. You can rest assured both teams will be going 100% Saturday afternoon in a game Pete Tarrier, The great Jon Kesty & I will be covering with video, highlights and post-game interviews.

Bedford (2-0) at Londonderry (2-0)
The coverage of Bedford is sponsored by Bedford Dental Care Associates & H.K Photography

 When you’re sitting around arguing over who has the best running attack in the state make sure you don’t laugh too hard at the guy who throws ‘Londonderry’ out there...he just might be right.

 Through two games the Lancers already have two runners who have gone for over 250 yards on the season in Dennis Bishop (260 yards on 26 carries) and Eric Fairweather (262 yards on 15 carries for a tidy 17 yard per carry average). Quarterback Aaron Gaudet is also averaging more than 10 yards per carry and the Lancers, down as a program the past three years, are in the conversation for a playoff spot in a sub-division full of teams that can light up the scoreboard.

 Kurt Hines’s Bulldogs put up 61 in a rout of Manchester West last Friday afternoon (remember when that was going to be the next great rivalry?) but would be more than happy to pump the brakes Friday night and win another low scoring slugfest like they did in week one. The Lancers have shown they can score but they also have a defense that gave up 34 points to Goffstown last Saturday night. They may not be capable of winning games of the 17-14 variety, they’ll look to get Bishop & Fairweather loose Friday night and turn this into another shootout. It is a game Pete Tarrier and Jon Kesty will be covering with play by play, highlights and post-game interviews Friday night.
 
Keene (1-1) at Bishop Guertin (1-1)

 A pair of very good teams dealing with some key injuries on offense early in the season. The popular opinion on both squads is that if they’re putting their best 11 guys on the field come November they’re going to be a very tough out.

 The question is; are both teams getting in? With Nashua South to contend with that answer might be no. So this rivalry, one of the best in the state in recent years, once again has playoff implications. And yes it’s only September 19th.

 The health of C.J Boykin (not Boykins as I love referring to him on the radio) and Blackbirds QB Hunter Massucco plays a very big role in how this will play out. Both teams have been good on defense but inconsistent on offense. Tom Hurley (209 yards & 3 touchdown passes) is joined in the backfield by a talented group that includes Mike Devereaux & Kelvin Rivera. Keene slowed down a very good Exeter rushing attack last Saturday and if they can force Hurley to sit in the pocket and make throws it pushes Travis Cote’s team out of their comfort zone.
 
Division II
Lebanon (1-1) at Trinity (2-0)
The coverage of Trinity high school is sponsored by The Auburn Pitts

 Steve Burns’ and his team finally get their home opener after two very impressive road wins over Portsmouth and Milford. The win over Portsmouth was easier than expected while the win over Keith Jones and Milford was a lot tougher (Milford led in the 3rd quarter) than expected. Welcome to Division II..there is a reason all the ‘experts’ are hovering around .500 with their picks.

 After putting on his Aaron Rodgers cape in the opener Carmen Giampetruzzi let a very good running game do the heavy lifting as lounge member Brad Rhoades went over the 100 yard mark for the first time in his career and Austin Chambers continued to make an early case for Player of the Year honors.

 Before we get ahead of ourselves a Lebanon team coming off a very physical loss to Monadnock last Friday night comes to Manchester in search of some consistency on offense. A running attack that pounded Con-Val in week one was ground to a halt against Monadnock as Ethan Perkins and Lucas Gerow never got going. They’ll face a very tough test Friday night against a defense led by Lounge member Ian Landry and Nick Perdue.
 
Merrimack Valley (2-0) at Portsmouth (1-1)

 It’s very simple; everyone seems genuinely happy to see what is happening over at Merrimack Valley and how can you not like a kid like Ivan Niyamugabo? We’re all agreed on this.

 What we do not know is how good Merrimack Valley really is? Beating John Stark and Kearsarge is not beating Portsmouth or Plymouth so Friday nights test should answer a lot of questions. The Clippers are still hoping to get Donovan Phanor (ankle) and Nate McFarland (neck) back at quarterback but while they recuperate junior Connor DiCesare gets more comfortable at the position. The book on DiCesare is that he is very good throwing the ball in the pocket, it’s the adventure that begins when he is forced to leave that pocket that his coaches keep a watchful eye on. Coordinators like John Iafolla and head coach Brian Pafford have a lot of recent experience prepping the ‘next guy in line’ and DiCesare has stepped in & looked prepared.

 Tucker Burt and Niyamugabo will run the football against a Portsmouth defense led by Justis Mattis-Clark (the kid is a beast..) and lounge member Mikey Toar, their level of success in that endeavor tells you a lot about how this one plays out, and how good Merrimack Valley really is.

 Division III
 Stevens (1-1) at Bow (1-1)

 Two former Division V rivals renew acquaintances in a non-sub-division game. (I just wanted to write non-division-game..I’m getting punchy here at the end). Stevens will look to get the football in the hands of Donald Pellerin as often possible while the Falcons spread the ball among Matt Ehrenberg, Alex Reitze and Chris Robbins.

 Of the three divisions it is this race that still has the most to reveal. These are teams that haven’t seen each other in years in most cases (when is the last time Mascoma played Stevens?) and therefore it’s the most difficult division to try and forecast.

The early returns point towards Pelham, Stevens, Bow, and Somersworth but a lot is going to be fleshed out in the next three weeks. Teams like Campbell, Mascoma and Gilford are former division VI teams that could surprise.