We finish our high school football previews with a look at Division III
 

 Division III ceded control of the stage to the two larger divisions on the first weekend of September as a later start date coincides with a new North & South format as opposed to last season’s conference set-up. That format saw several deserving teams left out, the idea between the two conference set-up is less constriction on who is In & who is Out come November.

 Bow high school is your defending champion and they are back along with our 2013 Player of the Year Matt Ehrenberg. Today we take a look at some familiar faces in new places with our final high school preview: Division III.
 
 North predicted order of finish
 

1. Gilford
2. Stevens
3. Mascoma
4. Franklin
5. Newport
6. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough
7. Fall Mountain
8. Newfound

 
 Shawn Garrett moves over from a coordinator role to head coach of the GilfordGolden Eagles. That transition is helped not only by his prior experience with the kids he’ll be coaching but by the fact Gilford returns six of its key playmakers from a playoff run of a year ago. “When the kids know what they are running, the terminology, the responsibilities of it, from day one, that’s a huge advantage,” said Garrett of his team that features 14 seniors. “That allows you to really jump right in.”

 Leading the rush will be two way all-state performer Max Troiano who put up big numbers a year ago and is expected to be among the most productive players in the division in 2014. Carter Mercer takes over at quarterback from Shrine Bowl participant Jack Athanas and the loss of an all-state talent doesn’t change Garrett’s offensive approach. “We’ll still throw the ball quite a bit. We’ll still feature our passing game with Carter behind center.”

 David MacDonald (‘He’s a beast..playing really well,” said Garrett), Zach Poisson, Spencer McEvoy and Jackson Spooner will all see carries for a deep backfield unit. Injuries have slowed the Golden Eagles a bit in the pre-season but the depth provided by a receiving core of Beck Stretcher, Brandon Lacroix and Max’s younger brother Dominic Troiano allows the offense to be balanced. Mike Madore will anchor the offensive & defensive lines alongside Spencer McEvoy, Sean Mulcahey and Ethan Ormes. The Troiano brothers will start at cornerback while Kyle Gaudet and Brandon Lacroix lead a good linebacking corps. “The kids know we have a good team, “said Garrett. “ We take every game one at a time, this group has been together playing for a long time and they want to do something special.”

 Stevens has been one of the most consistent football programs in the state under head coach Paul Silva and may just be your favorite in 2015 for the Division III title. What Silva gets out of a young nucleus in 2014 will be fun to watch. “We’re very young so things tend to come along a little slower,” said Silva. “They are working hard though and there is potential there for some pretty good development.”

 Bryar Rouillard returns at quarterback and heads a backfield that includes sophomores Richard Bell and Brandon Bell along with senior Devin Porter. Freshman Joe McArdele will also have an opportunity to play right away in a new look backfield. “Richard showed us a lot last year and his workload will greatly increase with the graduation of (all-state RB) Donald Pellerin,” said Silva. “Pellerin was such weapon for us and leader off the field as well, for several years, so that is a hole for us. Other players will have to step up.” Richard and Brandon Bell will also lead the linebacking unit as well for Stevens.

 Parker Smith is yet another member of a loaded sophomore class and will line up at tight end and safety. The lines will be anchored by Collin Bell, Robby Knight and Cody Wirkkala. Depth will be an issue as new players get accustomed to playing on both sides of the ball for four quarters at a varsity level. “We as a coaching staff need to rotate younger guys in,” said Silva. “Not only for experience but to keep the upper-classman fresh. I’d rather have a player fresh and inexperienced than experienced and exhausted out there.”

 A proud Franklin football program went through an uncharacteristic 0-8 campaign a year ago playing a group made up of predominantly underclassman. One year later Head coach Jeff Kaplan sees some signs that those struggles may not have been in vain. “We were just too young last year, almost like a JV squad,” said Kaplan. “Now those sophomores have become juniors and they also matured physically and that should bring with it better results.”

 Kenny Torres and Garrett Flemming are a pair of lefties that will both see snaps at quarterback and lead a backfield that includes Bruce Corey, and Lucas Gagne. Franklin will benefit from one of the best lineman in the state as opponents will have to specifically game plan for OG/DT Patch Kaplan. “We’ll be better defensively this year in our 4-3,” said Kaplan. “Patch anchors that line and opens up the defense for a good group of linebackers.” Those backers include Gagne, Corey and Isaac Muniz.

 After an upset win in last season’s Division III playoffs Inter-Lakes Moultonborough head coach Jon Francis has a rebuilding job ahead but with enough pieces to be in the conversation again as his under-classman gain experience. “When you have young players part of it is the obvious individual development but it is also about how they work as a group and a unit,” said Francis. “Right now I’d say our defense is coming together and the offense is a little behind.”

 Josh Blundo will run the Wing T offense from the quarterback position after coming on late last season to contribute. Nick Brooker and Malik Carter will get a bulk of the carries out of the backfield. Nick Alayetta anchors the lines while Manson Phu returns at Linebacker and will provide leadership for the Lakers.
 
 South predicted order of finish
 

1. Somersworth
2. Campbell
3. Bow
4. Winnisquam
5. Epping-Newmarket
6. Bishop Brady
7. Raymond
8. Farmington-Nute

 
 One year after wearing the dreaded  ‘One of the best teams in the state not to make the tournament’ labels Somersworth enters 2014 with a veteran head coach, an elite running back, one of the best lineman in the state and a group ready to win. It’s post-season run or bust for Dan Hodgdon’s crew, “ I still see us as very much a work in progress but there are certainly a lot of guys coming back who have proven themselves,” said Hodgdon.

 It all starts with running back Elyjah Dejoie who found the end zone 27 times a year ago running behind a line anchored by all-state offensive tackle Hunter Kretschmar. Splitting carries from the running back spot will be Matt Menz, Nate Levesque and Ray Mills. “We want to take the pressure off of Elyjah by having other players become bigger contributors. He (Elyjah) could have a 2,000 yard season, but where would that leave us as a team? We need balance.”

 Drew Colbert will be a leader from the linebacker spot while Darion Strumlauf will shuffle between CB/RB/S/TE.

 Taking the snaps at quarterback will be first year’s starter Hakim Pone, a new student from Georgia, who is learning the offense, “He has a lot of ability and done some good things. Right now it’s about learning our offense and getting up to speed as our quarterback. We have a veteran crew around him so that makes the transition a little easier.”

 You hear coaches say all the time that they see big athletic kids in the hallways every day and say to themselves, ‘Why can’t we get that kid out for the football team?’ Well maybe it was the charm of head coach Greg Gush but at Campbell they actually listened. Four first year seniors join the Cougars and all four are set to make an immediate impact. “Those kids have put in the work and stepped right in so we’re excited about that, “said Gush of his new arrivals. Kyle Manning was neck & neck a year ago with all-state QB Christian McKenna for the job in the pre-season but with McKenna graduated its Manning’s job as he moves over from wide receiver. “He’s got more speed than we had last year and a quick release as well,” said Gush. “If he makes good decisions we should be good offensively.”

 Tyler Walton, who ran a 4.4 in the pre-season, leads a wide receiver group that includes newcomer Harrison Vedrani, Andrew Smarse, Austin Baker and Justin DiBenedetto. “Harrison has a chance to play at the next level someday, he has all the tools.”

 Alex Minichiella (6’0 265 lbs.) will anchor a solid offensive line that hopes to provide more options for a running game that was inconsistent a year ago. “We relied a little too much on the passing game last year and I’d like to see us dedicated more to the run.” Kevin Moreau has a chance for a breakout year in the backfield while Kyle Kopaczynski could be an elite cover man in the secondary.

 Bow will defend their title behind a loaded rushing attack and a new signal caller as Sean Stewart takes over for Derek Polish. Matt Ehrenberg returns as the reigning Player of the Year in a very deep backfield. Casey Iasillo, Chris Robbins and Kyle Barrington will get carries behind an offensive line that includes Nate Alford at tight end.

 Franklin and Winnisquam are only separated by 2.7 miles but are also a conference apart as The Bears moved over to the (some would say much tougher..) South conference. “We were asked to go and that’s just how it fell I guess,” said Winnisquam head coach Pat Riberdy.

 The Bears will come in loaded, as the brothers backfield of Christian and Andrew Serrano will be a nightmare for opposing defenses. In an effort to keep the Serrano brothers (not to be confused with the Scoleri Brothers from Ghostbusters 2..different guys altogether) from staring back at eight guys in the box Riberdy wants to open the offense up more under quarterback Greg Hunt. “We’ve passed a lot more in this pre-season than we have in recent years. We have enough speed and athletes at skill positions that we want to be able to spread them out.” Tim Harmon will lead the receiving group and has the potential to be a game changer at the position.

 Dicky Mills will anchor the offensive line along with 6’4 260 lb. Richard Scatheri and sophomore Jake Snow. “This group just needs to be consistent, that has been our issue. If we can execute and play four quarters every game we have a chance to be pretty good.”

 The Epping-Newmarket Blue Devils made the post-season a year ago and even with the loss of all-state linebacker/tackling machine Jake Valinski, should contend again for one of the four postseason berths in the conference. Quarterback Alex Hackett leads a group that includes RB Alex Souvannaseng and guard/linebacker Alex Santos.