UNION LEADER/WGIR/WMUR FOOTBALL POWER POLL
 

Nov. 2, 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 9, with first-place/points in parentheses:
1. Pinkerton, 9-0 (6/60)
2. Bedford, 9-0 (54)
3. Londonderry, 8-1 (48)
4. Salem, 7-2 (40)
5. Exeter, 7-2 (36)
6. Windham, 8-0 (26)
7. Concord, 6-3 (23)
8. Kennett, 8-0 (20)
9. Portsmouth, 6-3 (9)
10. (tie) St. Thomas, 7-1 (4)
10. (tie) Bow, 8-0 (4)
Others receiving votes: Bishop Guertin, 4-5 (3); Goffstown, 5-4 (1).

Here's how I voted...

1. Pinkerton...they got thru the regular season unscathed and now we know it will be Londonderry in the Conference Championship Game on Saturday in Derry.  Should be another fine atmosphere like the regular season meeting in Londonderry won by Pinkerton.

2. Bedford...Dave Haley was right when he said Bedford was "quietly undefeated".  The Bulldogs will have to get by defending Champion Concord if they want to advance in fulfilling their own title aspirations.

3. Londonderry...the Lancers wouldn't have it any other way than to go head to head against their rivals for a spot in the D1 Final Four.  This is the playoff game I will be at this weekend!

4. Windham...the Jags are riding high as the favorites in D2.  Milford goes to Windham this weekend with a 41-0 thumping a couple of weeks ago still fresh in their memory.   Potential later round match ups with Kennett or St Thomas are very appealing.

5. Salem...I feel bad for Salem.  It was an old school ABC's Wide World of Sports "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" scenario for the Blue Devils vs Londonderry on Friday.  It's a story that people will be talking about in Salem for a long time.

6. Exeter...don't look now but the Exeter Blue Hawks are quickly vaulting into dark horse status.  You know Bill Ball's team is going to do 2 things very well.  Run the football and play solid defense.  That's a recipe for success in the postseason.  The Blue Hawks will have to deal with the aerial assault of Portsmouth this weekend.

7. Kennett...surprise, surprise...Kennett's playoff opponent is Kearsarge!  The Cougars vaulted past Laconia and Lebanon for the right to take on the high-flying Eagles in the Division 2 North Championship Game.

8. Concord... Concord owes a Thank You card to Goffstown for knocking off Memorial on the final day of the regular season which let the Tide roll into the playoffs.  Now it's back to Bedford for the Tide who fell to the Bulldogs in overtime just 3 weeks ago.

9. Portsmouth...it's rematch time at Exeter where the Blue Hawks downed the Clippers 28-17 on a night Portsmouth QB Connor DiCesare threw the ball 54 times.  I expect more of the same from the Clippers offense this time around.

10. Bow...the numbers...or lack thereof are astounding.  The Bow Falcons allowed just 25 total points in 8 regular season games.  That's an average of only 3.125 ppg against, while the Bow offense has averaged 42 ppg.  Talk about domination!