Division I  Nashua South (7-0) at Keene (5-2)  It’s a must win game for Keene who might be able to avoid the ‘Best team in the state not to make the playoffs’ tag with a win here…at least for a few weeks. A Keene win would tie Bishop Guertin, South and Keene ... 
 

 Division I
 Nashua South (7-0) at Keene (5-2)

 It’s a must win game for Keene who might be able to avoid the ‘Best team in the state not to make the playoffs’ tag with a win here…at least for a few weeks. A Keene win would tie Bishop Guertin, South and Keene at the top of the standings in the west sub-division with each team finishing 1-1 against the other. It is too early and frankly too confusing to try & breakdown who would be in and who would be out but if that does become the case the explanation handed to the odd team out is going to be tough to swallow.

 Trevor Knight and the Purple Panthers are getting better by the week and it seems a weekly twitter campaign has begun from fallen opponents for his Player of the Year credentials. On Friday night Knight will go over 1,000 yards rushing and passing on the season (remember he missed a game in week two) and what he has provided for this veteran team is a balance between running & passing the ball in a year where teams that don’t have it have begun to get exposed.

 Keene has their own do everything but lead the band at halftime performer in QB/RB/LB Alex Parentau who took over quarterbacking duties in the first half of the season. Emmett Kiernan and Nicholas Hume have served as viable targets from the wide receiver position but make no mistake; Keene is a grind it out between the tackles, out hit you on defense kind of a team.  They will become the latest team to try and make someone besides Trevor Knight beat them Friday night in a game that has the season hanging in the balance.
 
Division II
Trinity (6-1) at Windham (6-1)
The coverage of Trinity is sponsored by The Auburn Pitts

 This game is unofficially for the top seed in the sub-division and the health & whereabouts of Trinity all-state QB Carmen Giampetruzzi promises to be a major topic before kick-off. Giampetruzzi has been sidelined the last three weeks and in games against John Stark, Kearsarge and Souhegan a loaded Pioneers offense has had enough to get by without him.

 Brad Rhoades, Saikou Bah, Zack Poole and Austin Chambers may be able to carry that load once again against a team as good as Windham but I’m not sure you want to find out in a game of this magnitude. Trinity can put Rhoades (who threw a touchdown pass last week) or Chambers back in the wildcat formation and get by but they become decidedly one dimensional. Again, we are seeing those kinds of teams getting picked off every week.

 Windham features four running backs that have gone for over 250 yards on the season as well as a quarterback in Brendan McInnis (38 for 76 for 650 yards and 5 touchdown throws) who is getting more comfortable by the game. It will be up to Trinity defenders like Ian Landry (a Division high 45 tackles on the season), Ryan Boldwin (2 sacks a week ago), Zack Poole and Tristan Theroux to shut that attack down. Don’t discount the loss of Giampetruzzi at safety either as he has served as a traffic cop in the Trinity secondary for three years.

 The defense on the other side of the field will be the unit to watch; can Windham hold Trinity in the 20’s? If we get into 30’s then we’re in shoot-out mode and that’s a game Trinity likely wins.
 
Merrimack Valley (6-1) at St. Thomas (6-1)
 
 Winner here gets the second playoff spot in the East sub-division and travels to Portsmouth for round one of the playoffs on November 2nd.  Two dynamic offenses square off as Pride signal caller Ivan Niyamugabo (1,148 yards passing and a division high 11 touchdown passes) and Saints QB Trevor Martin (1,105 yards passing and a division high 11 touchdowns) are two underclassman signal callers to keep an eye on.

 The Pride escaped with a 32-29 win over Hanover last weekend and now faces a tough test against Eric Cumba’s Saints team, a talented group that fully expects to be in the playoffs every November. We’ve sung the praises of St. Thomas playmaker Jake Geppert all season long and after an injury suffered in the Portsmouth game he was unable to go a week ago. His return to the lineup will be crucial this weekend but in addition to Gepper the 6-1 Saints are getting good production from Ryan Bennett (437 Yards and 6 TD) and Ryan Mitchell (17 Catches 235 yards 3 tds).

 Merrimack Valley has to prove they can stop a good offense, it’s simply come down to that in week 8. If they can make stops they have enough firepower between Niyamugabo, Cole Martin and Division II rushing leader Tucker Burt to earn the one of the biggest wins in program history.
 
Division III
Pelham (6-0) at Campbell (5-1)

The best offense in Division III squares off against the best defense in Division III in a game we’ll feature as our game of the week.

The Pythons are back in the mix after a few down years and a lot of jumping around (they’ve been bounced from division to division so often it’s hard to keep track) and can go a long ways toward earning a top seed with a win Friday night. Pelham will pound the ball behind a good offensive line and the majority of the carries will go to running back Chris Medeiros and quarterback Joe Slattery. No team has been as stingy defensively in giving up only 33 points all season (Manchester West gave up 60 in the first half last week...) and Friday night this unit gets their biggest test of the season.

 Christian McKenna’s ability to throw the football (1,265 yards passing and 16 touchdowns on the season) has made this a more balanced offense and if you expected Campbell to win 14-10 slugfests without Jesiah Wade (now plying his trade at Manchester Central) you were mistaken. McKenna has as good a pair of receivers to throw to as anyone in the division and has built very good chemistry on the field with both Cody Alward (468 yards receiving on the season) and Kyle Manning (416). That is a good weapon to bring into this one because no team has been able to run the football with much effectiveness against Pelham. Campbell’s strategy Friday night is to spread the Pythons out and keep their defense off the field and subsequently worn out by Pelham’s up the gut attack.

 Pete Tarrier and our new videographer Jennifer Chick will bring you all the coverage in our Game of the Week.
 
 Stevens (4-2) at Newport (5-1)

 The standings may have Newport in first place in the west sub-division but the eye ball test would tell you Stevens is actually the best of the lot. We’ll find out for certain this weekend when Stevens tries to go into one of the toughest places to win in the state and come away with a win, a win that would firmly put them in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the playoffs.

 The Cardinals have played three games against teams from the south sub-division this season (going 1-2 against Campbell, Bow and Somersworth) so they come in significantly battle tested. That is not a claim Newport can make as they’ve only beaten one team (Gilford in the opener) with a winning record all season.

 Stevens, already with a win over a good Mascoma team that is still very much in the chase, wins the sub division with a victory. A Newport loss would set up a win or go home match-up with Mascoma next weekend.