Remember to listen LIVE to The New Hampshire High School Football Show Saturday morning on ESPN NH on 900 AM & 1200 AM or simply by clicking the button to listen live right here on our homepage of this website.

Plymouth head coach Chris Sanborn and Timberlane head coach Kevin Fitzgerald will be Pete Tarrier & my guests. Justin McIsaac also makes his weekly appearance at 10:30.

 Remember coaches or parents can email game statistics to me at davehaley@nhsportspage.com. 


Division I

Salem (2-1) at Timberlane (2-1)

The coverage of Salem is sponsored by Merrimack Valley Sports

 There will be a lot on the line Friday night and we will be there to bring you all the coverage as one of our two games of the week.

 Salem took on defending champion Pinkerton last weekend in Derry and found out they were good enough to hang around for four quarters but just not quite good enough to win. Pinkerton only outgained the Blue Devils 276-175 on the ground but The Astros capitalized on their opportunities, as they usually do, and put themselves in their familiar pole position in the South Conference race.

 Timberlane no doubt went to Exeter in Week 1 to win, in a game we covered, but even in defeat they had to walk out knowing the line between themselves and the elite teams in the division (and I’m ready to call Exeter that) wasn’t that far apart. Jake Post gives this team a home run threat, Tyler Furey a very tough runner between the tackles and QB Jason Hughes understands how to move the chains and avoid big miscues. Head coach Kevin Fitzgerald has done a very nice job coaching this team and these are the type of big time games they have worked hard to create.

 Rob Pike’s team is comfortable spreading the carries between running backs Charles Sibanda, Johnny Bartose or James LaBlond while Matt Saldono has been very solid at QB.

 Winner here puts themselves in very good shape heading into the second half of the year.
 
 Winnacunnet (2-1) at Exeter (3-0)

 The coverage of Exeter is sponsored by Chad Fletcher at Blue Water Mortgage

 Every year we seem to look back on a Week 1 result that may have seemed like any other at the time but at the end of the season, played a big part in which team got into the post-season and one that did not. Are we going to look back on Salem’s close win in Week 1 over Winnacunnet the same way?

 The Warriors can have a big say in that with a win here against their arch-rivals. This is one of those rivalries that people outside of the seacoast probably don’t understand in terms of how big of a game this is every year. Last season Ron Auffant’s team was inexperienced at too many positions and injuries ultimately crippled their season while Exeter was a final four team before being eliminated by Bedford.

 This time around both teams look like they will be playing in November and on Saturday Winnacunnet comes in with two big time backs in Mike Lewis (388 yards rushing) and Brian Auffant (298) to state their case. Logan Keene has been a very good target down the field while sophomore Pat MacDougal has stepped in and played well at quarterback. Winnacunnet can take some shots down the field as they have in the past with QB’s like Inghao Veasna while Exeter head coach Bill Ball has found success rolling out his signal caller Kyle Ball and finding all-state tight end Hunter Long.

 Portsmouth and Spaulding, also hooking up this weekend, look to be a step behind after three weeks. That makes this one, already big within the hallways of both schools, even bigger on Saturday afternoon.
 
 Division II

 St. Thomas (3-0) at Plymouth Regional (2-1)

  You would imagine Plymouth got a little bit of their swagger back after beating Kennett 41-26 in their home opener last Saturday. Kennett all-state quarterback Will Pollard threw four touchdown passes without an interception but in the end it wasn’t enough. The task remains just as difficult this weekend for Chad Merrill and the Plymouth defense when Steven Hedberg (510 passing yards & 9 touchdowns) rolls in with an offense averaging 49 points per game. Yes 49……

 The Saints are going to go no huddle and look for mismatches created by wide receivers like Liam Middleton, Nate Grunbeck and Trevor Martin (one of the most underrated football players in the state by the way..) out in space. Plymouth has to try and limit yards after the catch and keep St. Thomas from hitting the 60 yard home run play.

 The Bobcats will run the ball with Garrett Macomber (509 yards rushing) and Sammy Slaughter (244) to try and wear St. Thomas down and keep their offense on the sidelines. This was something Plymouth wasn’t able to do a year ago in Dover. How they respond after a big win last weekend will tell you how close they are to championship form. Expect Chris Sanborn’s team to play well in front of what promises to be a big home crowd.

 Justin McIsaac will bring you all the coverage along with Jennifer Chick Saturday afternoon from the ‘Land of Lenahan’.
 
Monadnock (2-1) at John Stark (1-2)

 The John Stark Generals hung with defending champion Windham all game long behind an incredible performance by junior quarterback Drew McQuarrie (14 for 20 275 yards and 4 touchdowns) and now have a chance to take control of their post-season destiny against a very good Monadnock team led by River Fish.

 McQuarrie has a talented group of playmakers, allowing him to spread the ball amongst Cooper Gorski (6 catches for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns last week), Leif Mailloux (7 catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns) and running backs Cody Ledoux & Kyle Booker. Stark has dropped two one score games to Milford & Windham, teams picked to finish near the top of their conference. Now you have a conference game where tie-breakers come into play and they will have the game on their home field in Weare.

 The anticipation should be pretty high for one of the biggest home games in recent years.
 
 Division III

 Newport (3-0) at Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (3-0)

 If you are anywhere near the Lakes Region this weekend this is the game to get to.

 Both of these teams are going to be in the post-season, what may be at stake here is who will be the #1 seed in the North Conference. Newport has been here before. The Tigers were in the championship game all the way until the fourth quarter at UNH last November while Jon Francis’s Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough team was a young team that lost to Gilford in the first round of the playoffs.

 ‘The Brothers brothers’ have been productive on both sides of the football with Nick leading the team in rushing at 380 yards and brother Andrew next at 178. The player people are often overlooking is RB/S Malik Carter (148 yds.), a three year starter who calls out Francis’ defense.  His job Saturday is to keep Tigers all-state back Noah Wade (leading Division III in rushing at 547 yards) from breaking a long touchdown run.

 The Tigers own wins over Mascoma, Campbell & Gilford and all three were blowouts. This will be their toughest test and a win on the road makes them the clear favorite in the North (apparently Bow is still pretty good in the South..) as teams will begin to separate after Week 4.
 
 Franklin (2-1) at Stevens (3-0)

 Battle of two football teams who knew they were a year away last season and now are looking to cash in with post-season appearances.

 Few coaches around the state are doing a better job than Paul Silva is with Stevens. Silva had to change the offense when freshman QB Henri Bourque, who got off to a great start, was lost for the year with an injury. Richard Bell has taken over at quarterback as Silva and his coaching staff adjusted on the fly.

 Chris LaFont has played very well on an undersized line that has held their own in their season opening wins.  On both sides of the line The Cardinals have gotten very good production out of Aidan Cahill, able to run down ball carriers from the backside, and NT Joe Desilets, who Silva calls one of his most underrated players.

 Their task on Friday night will be to contain Golden Tornados QB Kenny Torres. Franklin feels like they are a post-season team, and nothing in the first three weeks would lead you to believe otherwise. Friday night one of these two teams takes a very big step in that direction.