As we all know, Power Polls are silly- some of the voters don’t even watch any games! But people love lists, which is why Buzzfeed is a thing, so here’s Justin McIsaac’s TOP TEN!
 

10. OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER

That’s right, the Derek Jeter retirement love fest has FINALLY come to a close. Twitter will no longer be littered with writers telling me, from atop their high horses, that I HAVE TO LOVE AND RESPECT Jeter like he is my own son. And as long as I’m on the subject, who the hell were the Sox fans chanting “Der-ek Jeet-er” at Fenway? Give the guy a standing O, fine. But throwing yourself at his feet? Have SOME dignity! You didn’t see the people of Atlanta showering William Tecumseh Sherman with love when HE retired, did you?

9. THE SPOTTED TURTLE TROHPY

Epping/Newmarket and Raymond have played 4 times, so I’m not quite sure we can give this one rivalry status, BUT, the two teams play for the coolest sounding trophy in NH (as far as I know), the aforementioned Spotted Turtle Trophy. I need to get my hands on this bad boy at some point. Alex Toribio ran for 3 scores and 217 yards, as the E/N Blue Devils retained the trophy.

8. BOW KEEPS RIGHT ON CHUGGING 

Bishop Brady had scored 35 and 39 points heading into what looked like a showdown with the Falcons, but Bow kept the Giants off the scoreboard completely, while hanging up a 60 burger in a 62-0 win. The defending D3 Champs show no signs of slowing up.

7. IS THE OAKLAND RAIDERS COACH FIRED OR NOT?

After the once proud  Raiders were handed their lunch in jolly ol England, the AP had a report saying Dennis Allen would be having an extended, unplanned vacation. Adam Scheffter retweeted the report to his 3 MILLION followers, only to have the AP guy rescind his tweet. Allen, evidently is still drawing a paycheck from the Raiders. For now. I mean it’s just a matter of time, right?

6. DAQUAN HENCLEWOOD MUST NEED SOME OXYGEN

A 95 yard TD run Friday against Dover, and 3 TD’s to get Peter Colcord’s team back to .500 in a 42-21 in at Dunaway field. The Crusaders are a heartbreak loss to Portsmouth away from being 3-1, don’t be surprised if they are able to hand Concord loss #1 this week.

5. SICK DAYS BECOME FAR LESS FUN WHEN YOU HAVE KIDS

As I’m writing this, not one but BOTH of the McIsaac children are home sick, and I’m watching Teen Titans with them. In this episode, the only thing the characters are saying is “Waffles”. I’d pay $1000 for them to be at school.

4. EXETER SAYS “SHUT UP, NHSPORTSPAGE STAFF”

Every single one of us took Winnacunnet to win in the staff picks. I know my theory was “It’s usually a toss up game, and I think everyone else will pick Exeter”. That’s probably what EVERYONE ELSE was thinking too, as we all bit the dust in the Blue Hawks lunch pail 15-3 win over the rival Warriors. Exeter has a measuring stick game vs Bedford coming up before taking on Portsmouth in a game that could determine who hosts who in round 1 of the playoffs.

3. HOW DO YOU DEFEND ST THOMAS?

Maybe by flattening the tires on their team bus? The Saints took 1 quarter to find a rhythm on Saturday night against a good Plymouth defense, but after that it was off to the races. 4 Stephen Hedberg TD passes, a rotating crew of RB’s that have get away from the cops speed, and even an O-Lineman with a TD from the FB position (Josh Carlisle, Rochester guy). Eric Cumba is going to be cursing me for saying it, but this Saints offense is really, really good (oh and you can’t score on their D either. Good luck, rest of D2).

2. THE BEST RUNNING BACK YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF…
…. is Elyjah Dejoie of Somersworth. Over 1600 yards and 27 TD’s last year, at Somersworth’s opening practice this year he told me he was gunning for 2000 yards. In an 8 game schedule. And the thing is, HE MIGHT DO IT. 228 total yards, all 3 Somersworth TD’s, a 2 point conversion, 2 int’s on defense, and then he mowed the grass and sold hotdogs too.  Keep your eye on #4 for Somersworth.

1. I’M CALLING OUT ALL THE KICKERS IN NH

At the radio stations I work for (WTSN AM 1270 and 98.7 The Bay FM), we held a contest called the “Flatbed FG Challenge”, where 3 listeners could win a new pickup truck by kicking a 30 yard FG into the bed of the truck. I gave a demonstration on what methods were allowed to be used (punt, kick with the simulated holder, and kick with a human holding it), and with a live human holder, I NAILED IT! Crowd went bananas. Was I surprised? Not one bit. And that’s why I’m challenging any place kicker in NH, any time, anywhere, to a FG showdown. Mitchell Cyr? Kieran Lombard? Isabelle Pafford? ANYONE! COME AT ME BRO!!!

ALSO RECIVING VOTES: Big win for Portsmouth over Goffstown, New Orleans can’t win on the road, My fantasy team is 0-4 in Dave’s league, Josh Reddick please put that away, LOL STEELERS