UNION LEADER/WGIR/WMUR FOOTBALL POWER POLL Oct. 20, 2014
 

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 7, with first-place/points in parentheses:

1. Pinkerton, 7-0 (6/60)
2. Bedford, 7-0 (54)
3. Salem, 6-1 (47)
4. Londonderry, 6-1 (42)
5. Concord, 5-2 (30)
6. Exeter, 5-2 (28)
7. Windham, 6-0 (27)
8. Portsmouth, 5-2 (21)
9. Kennett, 6-0 (9)
10. Memorial, 5-2 (8)
Others receiving votes: Alvirne, 4-3 (2); Bow, 6-0 (2).

Here's how I voted...

1. Pinkerton...this is a team that has to be counting down the days until the postseason begins.  The Astros have known since the middle of the season that they will be hosting the survivor between Londonderry and Salem come playoff time so you can bet Brian O'Reilly and his coaching staff have been doing a lot of Lancer and Blue Devil scouting lately.

2. Bedford...another big time win for the Bedford program when they beat defending champs Concord in overtime last Friday night.  That victory locked up home field in the D1 North conference Championship Game likely against either the Crimson Tide or Manchester Memorial.

3. Salem...Rob Pike's team has been methodically going about their business this season on their way to a 6-1 record.  Now the Blue Devils are only 2 weeks away from the much ballyhooed Halloween Night monster mash with Londonderry.  At this point even if the Lancers(vs South) or Salem(@North) or both were to lose this weekend, next weeks game is still a winner gets in and the loser goes home scenario.

4. Windham...I must love me some Windham a lot more than the other poll voters do because I have the Jaguars ranked 4th, and they ended up 7th overall in the Power Poll this week.  I'm looking forward to seeing them in person on Friday night in Milford as the march towards an unbeaten season continues.

5. Londonderry...the Lancers have been a lot more explosive than Salem has on the way to 6-1 record with just 2 games to go in the regular season.  Eric Fairweather and the Lancers offense are lighting up the scoreboard for 38 points a game, but I have Londonderry ranked lower because they are giving up twice as many points(17.6 ppg) as the Blue Devils(8.8 ppg) who are scoring at a more modest 28.3 ppg.

6. Concord...tremendous football game in Bedford last week as the Concord Crimson Tide once again found themselves in need of a 4th quarter rally for the 5th time in 7 games.  The only problem was they couldn't come up with a win this time and now they are going to need some help if they want to make the playoffs and defend their title.  They also need to take care of their own business with 2 really tough games vs Portsmouth and @ Exeter to close the regular season.

7. Exeter...speaking of the Blue Hawks, their playoff spot and the opponent is secure and now it's simply a matter of where that D1 East Conference Championship Game will be played on November 8th, in Exeter or in Portsmouth.  Exeter has Manchester Memorial at Bill Ball Stadium on Friday night before finishing with Concord in Exeter so earning home field won't be easy.

8. Portsmouth...the Clippers meanwhile have to go to Concord this Friday night before wrapping up the regular season slate at home vs Dover.  Hopefully Portsmouth can get a little more healthy over these next 2 weeks knowing they are already in as last week they played without lineman Justis Mattis-Clark and saw Joey Auger and Mikey Toar leave the Winnacunnet game with injuries.

9. Kennett...Congratulations Eagles, you have earned my Power Poll vote!  Like I said to Dave Haley, you can thank Manchester Central for knocking off my previous #9 team Goffstown on Saturday night opening the door for me to put Kennett on my ballot.  Trust me, I knew the Eagles were good, after all Kennett and Windham are the only 2 unbeaten teams in D2.  That said it won't be easy to stay that way as Laconia heads to North Conway Friday.

10. Bow...with apologies to Manchester Memorial and St Thomas, I'm sticking with D3 Bow in this spot as a show of support for the little guy.  Yeah, I think both Memorial(5-2 in D1) and the Saints(6-1 in D2) could probably beat Bow head to head, but since neither matchup is gonna happen why not give the undefeated and dominating small school the nod?