The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, as voted by the staffs of the New Hampshire Union Leader, WMUR-TV and ESPN New Hampshire, with record,first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus previous week's ranking:

1. Goffstown, 7-0 (6/60), 1st

2. Exeter, 7-0 (54), 2nd

3. Bedford, 6-1 (48), 3rd (tie)

4. Salem, 5-2 (38), 5th

5. Timberlane, 5-2 (33), 6th

6. Pinkerton, 5-2 (31), 3rd (tie)

7. Winnacunnet, 4-3 (21), 7th

8. Bishop Guertin, 5-2 (17), 10th

9. St. Thomas, 7-0 (15), 8th

10. Windham, 6-0 (10), 9th

Also receiving votes: Merrimack, 4-3 (2), NR; Nashua North, 4-3 (1), NR. 

HERE'S HOW I VOTED...

1. Goffstown...just 2 weeks before Halloween, the Grizz got a monster performance from RB Connor Bourque who ran for 7 TDs in a 53-7 blowout of Manchester Centralon Saturday at Gill Stadium.  Interesting match-up on Saturday in Goffstown as 5-2 Bishop Guertin brings their high scoring offense into town. 

2. Exeter...despite a 7-0 record, the Blue Hawks have pretty much been flying under the radar in the "Who's the best team in the state?" conversation.  That should change over the final 2 weeks of the regular season as Exeter plays at 4-3 Merrimack this Friday night before closing the season at home against Pinkerton in a game the Astros might need to win just to get into the playoffs.   

3. Bedford...the Bulldogs overcame any residual affects from the loss to Goffstown 2 weeks ago with a bounce back win in Concord on Saturday.  Now it's all about playoff positioning as Bedford takes their 6-1 record into the final 2 weeks with home games against Alvirne and Manchester Central. 

4. St. Thomas...I'm absolutely stunned that the Saints are ranked 9th in this week's Power Poll.  How on earth does a team that has outscored it's opponents 100-0 over the last 2 weeks actually fall 2 spots in the rankings?  And that's with me voting them 4th on my ballot!  What it tells me is that the other voters simply don't have much respect for Division 2.  It's too bad because I really do believe St. Thomas is a Top 5 team in the state regardless of division.  Maybe coach Cumba can coax Bill Ball of Exeter or Ron Auffant of Winnacunnet into playing a Thanksgiving Day game so we can see how St. Thomas really stacks up?

5. Pinkerton...the big question for me when I filled out my ballot this week was how far to drop Pinkerton?  To quote a song from Miss Janet Jackson, in this "What have you done for me lately?" world, yes, the Astros have lost 2 straight games for the 1st time since 2009.  But they still beat Salem head to head earlier this year, so with both teams at 5-2 I couldn't put the Blue Devils ahead of Pinkerton. Timberlane is also 5-2 and they just beat Pinkerton, but the Owls lost to Salem.  And I'm not putting a 3 loss Winnacunnet team ahead of Pinkerton even though they beat the Astros head to head.  

6. Salem...the Blue Devils have a game at struggling Portsmouth on the road this week so they should be 6-2 before finishing the regular season with Londonderry in 2 weeks.  By virtue of their Week 1 win over Winnacunnet which helps them in a head to head tie-break scenario with the Warriors, Salem only needs to win in Portsmouth to secure a playoff spot.   

7. Bishop Guertin...BG left no question who the best team in Division 1 West is after a 54-14 bludgeoning of Nashua North last week.  That sets up the Cards with 2 chances to clinch the conference title no matter what North does the rest of the way.  I'm very intrigued how the BG offensive attack will far against a tough Goffstown defense this weekend.

8. Windham...we had a lot of fun on the NH High School Football Show this past weekend with the debate over how to pronounce Windham.  Some people in town call it Wind-HAM, while others call it Wind-UM.  I've always called it Wind-UM personally.  One thing's for certain, the Jags are playing some good football and they've got a big home game this Saturday against 5-1 Milford.

9. Timberlane...It had to be the biggest win in the Kevin Fitzgerald era at Timberlane when the Owls shocked Pinkerton in Derry 31-28 last Friday night.  Now the Owls can turn their attention to Spaulding who they host on Friday night in Plaistow.  A win vs the winless Red Raiders(aka The Fighting McIssac's) puts Timberlane in the playoffs regardless of the outcome of the regular season finale at Merrimack on the 30th. 

10.Winnacunnet...the Warriors may be the team that is bemoaning the NHIAA's playoff format this year even if they run the table and finish 6-3 in the regular season with wins in their final 2 games vs Londonderry in Hampton and on the road in Rochester against Spaulding.  Winnacunnet will be watching very closely at what happens with D1 South teams Pinkerton, Salem and Timberlane over the last 2 weeks.  If those teams all win out, Winnacunnet is out. 

Just missing the cut...Kennett...I had a great time up in the White Mountains on Friday night when I saw the now 5-1 Eagles beat Lebanon 14-7.  QB Will Pollard is fun to watch and he has some good weapons on offense.  I also love the chip Kennett seems to have on their shoulders when I asked them about the lack of respect D2 teams get from the "southern NH media".  Souhegan and Milford should be mentioned in this spot as well.