UNION LEADER/WGIR/WMUR FOOTBALL POWER POLL Oct. 12, 2014
 

The top 11 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 6, with first-place/points in parentheses:

1. Pinkerton, 6-0 (6/60)

2. Bedford, 6-0 (54)

3. Salem, 5-1 (47)

4. Londonderry, 5-1 (42)

5. Concord, 5-1 (33)

6. Windham, 5-0 (28)

7. Exeter, 4-2 (24)

8. Portsmouth, 4-2 (11)

9.(tie) Alvirne, 4-2 (9)

9.(tie) Kennett, 5-0 (9)

9.(tie) Memorial, 4-2 (9)

Others receiving votes: Bow, 5-0 (2); Goffstown, 3-3 (2).

Here's how I voted...

1. Pinkerton...I saw coach O'Reilly the other night at the Goffstown/Bedford game.  Presumably he was scouting a potential playoff opponent as the Astros are all but assured a spot in the postseason with 3 regular season games to go vs Timberlane, Keene and Merrimack who have a combined record of 4-14 thru week 6.
 

2. Bedford...after a stretch of blowouts to open the season, 2 close wins over Exeter and Goffstown the last 2 weeks for the Bulldogs is probably just what the doctor ordered for Kurt Hines and company heading into a North conference showdown vs Concord on Friday night.  We'll have the NH Sportspage video camera in the house for our "Game of the Week" coverage.

 
3. Salem...is it Halloween Night yet?  The Blue Devils would never admit it, but they HAVE to be at least thinking about the October 31st regular season finale vs Londonderry at Grant Field in Salem that should determine the other playoff team besides Pinkerton in D1 South.  But first the Blue Devils have to take care of business vs Merrimack and Nashua North to set up a potential win or go home game vs Londonderry.

4. Windham...the Jags were on a bye last week so some voters might have moved them down.  You know how the saying goes, out of sight out of mind.  I actually almost moved Londonderry up into 4th and dropped the idle Jaguars down, but thought better of it.  Windham plays host to local rival Pelham this weekend before finishing the regular season with games at Milford and vs Monadnock.

5. Londonderry...I honestly don't think there's much separation at all from the teams I have ranked 2nd thru 5th.  I think Pinkerton is a notch above the rest of the state, but on any given Friday or Saturday I bet the high scoring Lancers could beat any of the teams I have listed ahead of them.  Real tough finish to the regular season for Londonderry as they finish with 4-2 Alvirne on Friday, a still tough Nashua South onOctober 24th and then that Salem game on Halloween.

 
6. Concord...looking forward to seeing coach Eric Brown, QB Robert Law, RB Leo Sudieh and the rest of the defending champion Crimson Tide in Bedford on Fridaynight.  Concord is 5-1 on the season and they've come through in the clutch most of the year rallying in the 4th quarter to win in 4 of their 5 victories so far.  

7. Exeter...it's hard to believe, but the Blue Hawks hadn't scored more than 17 points in a game all season long until they put up 4 touchdowns in a 28-17 win over Portsmouth on Friday night.  They did it with a combo of power running and timely passing from newly inserted sophomore QB Kyle Ball who showed the ability to throw the ball hitting on 4 of 5 passes for 62 yards and a TD.

8. Portsmouth...the Clippers were the exact opposite of Exeter on Friday night with basically zero running game while Connor DiCesare was slinging it all over the field a whopping 54 times on his way to 32 completions for 249 yards and 2 TDs to go along with 3 picks.  The loss to Exeter may have cost Portsmouth a shot at hosting the East conference Championship game on November 8th, but the Clippers should still be in the postseason despite a couple of tough match ups the next 2 weeks vs Winnacunnet and at Concord before the regular season finale against Dover.

9. Goffstown...with all due respect to Alvirne, Kennett and Manchester Memorial who tied for the last 3 spots in the poll this week, I still have the Grizzlies on my ballot instead of any of those teams.  With the 3-way tie at the bottom of the poll there are actually 11 teams in this week's rankings, and Goffstown isn't one of them.  I guess some of the other voters don't see what I see in Goffstown, a 3-3 team who lost by 6 to my #6 team Concord, by 6 to my #8 team Portsmouth and by 7 to my #2 team Bedford.  The Grizz also have a 28-14 win over my #7 team Exeter.  4-2 Memorial probably has the best case to be in my Top 10, with a win over Concord and a 7 point loss to Portsmouth, but they got crushed 41-7 by Bedford back on opening night.  4-2 Alvirne's best win came last weekend against Nashua South, but they are hurt in my eyes by playing in a really weak conference.  Kennett, despite being 5-0 in D2 doesn't have enough of a resume to make my Top 10.  That may change in 2 weeks if they can get by both Lebanon and Laconia.  

10. Bow...Do I think Bow beats Memorial or Alvirne head to head?  No, I don't.  It's hard to say, but I doubt the Falcons would beat Kennett or any of the other really good D2 teams.   But as I've said before, I'd rather "reward" an undefeated and dominant lower division team with the 10th spot on my ballot than give it to an upper division team with multiple losses.  Kennett probably has the biggest beef for not making my Top 10 and maybe they can win me over after I get to watch them on film when we send Dave Haley and Jen Chick to Lebanon on Friday with the NH Sportspage video camera for our 2nd Game of the Week.