UNION LEADER/WGIR/WMUR FOOTBALL POWER POLL The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, as voted by the staffs of the New Hampshire Union Leader, WGIR AM and FM, and WMUR-TV after Week 4 of the 2013 NHIAA season, with first-place votes/points in parentheses:
 

1. Concord, 4-0 (5/59)

2. Bedford, 4-0 (1/55)

3. Nashua South, 4-0 (47)

4. Pinkerton, 3-1 (40)

5. Exeter, 3-1 (37)

6. Bishop Guertin, 3-1 (28)

7. Winnacunnet, 3-1 (26)

8. Plymouth, 4-0 (20)

9. Keene, 2-2 (8)

10. Trinity, 3-1 (5)

Also receiving votes: Portsmouth, 3-1 (4), St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-0 (1)

Here's how I voted and why I voted that way...

1.  Concord...I've been talking up the Tide all season long as a legit "team to beat" for the D1 Championship.  Now they are #1 on my ballot and, more importantly in the Power Poll overall.  The 41 they gave up against Memorial on Saturday was a little alarming, but you can get away with that when your offense puts up 69.  Looking ahead, Concord's top billing should be safe for at least a week with Londonderry next up on the schedule, but the real tests come back-to-back with Pinkerton on the road in 2 weeks before a home game with Bedford after that.

2.  Bedford...3 straight shutouts after a season opening win vs Pinkerton and the 4-0 Bulldogs have reached their highest ever ranking.  Hard to believe that it was just 6 years ago that Bedford played their 1st varsity season, starting the program from scratch.

3.  Exeter...I find it kind of harsh that the other voters would drop the Blue Hawks so far down their ballots, which ultimately sent them all the way to #5 in the poll on the heels of an overtime loss to a good BG team.  I mean nobody punished Winnacunnet for losing to Exeter in OT the week before.  No time for the 2-time defending champs to feel sorry for themselves because they have to make a 2nd straight trip to Stellos Stadium for a Friday night game @ Nashua South this week.

4.  Nashua South...are the Purple Panthers title contenders?  We'll find out one way or the other on Friday night.  We'll have the NHSportsPage.com video camera in the house for this one as our "Game of the Week".  Can't wait to see the video highlights!

5.  Pinkerton...just like I thought they would, the Astros have rebounded quite nicely from that 1st game loss @ Bedford.  Manny Latimore continues to put up crazy numbers and coach O'Reilly has found himself a QB in Jack Hanaway.  After a trip to Manchester Memorial this weekend, Pinkerton hosts Concord on Friday October 11th in another must-see match up.

6.  Plymouth...the Bobcats mauled the Trinity Pioneers in Manchester on Saturday serving notice  that they are the team to beat in D2.  Something tells me Trinity coach Steve Burns really meant it when he told me after the game that coach Lenahan sure picked a good team to go out with!

7.  BG...I've had the Cards in my Top 10 all season and they certainly proved they belong with the "statement" win over mighty Exeter.  Former BG assistant Mark Phillips and Alvirne are up next this weekend followed by Spaulding and then a big one with the long awaited renewing of the rivalry with the Purple Panthers of Nashua South on Friday October 18th.

8.  Winnacunnet...I'm not big on style points for blowing out a weaker opponent to earn my vote, but their tighter than expected win over Alvirne last week must have been a big let down game for the Warriors after expending so much energy in their OT clash with Exeter in Week 3.  Couple that with another close call against winless Nashua North earlier this season and I had to move Winny down.

9.  Keene...the only 2 loss team in my Top 10, but when the 2 losses were really close, hard fought games against the likes of Exeter(13-3) and BG(14-12) I have to keep them in there.  The problem for the Blackbirds is they now have an uphill climb for the playoffs in D1's West conference with at least 2 really tough games remaining against the likes of Winnacunet and South.

10. Trinity...thanks to the spanking by Plymouth I have come to the realization that I had the Pioneers WAY too high at #4 over the last couple of weeks.  I got blinded by the offensive fireworks show Trinity put on in an impressive 58-37 thrashing of a good Portsmouth team in Week 1.  Plus, after seeing in-person the depth the big boys of D1 have, I just don't see any team(even Plymouth) being able to hang with the top teams on my ballot week in and week out.