Listicles are great- but my weekly listicle is REALLY great. These are the Top 10 things of the week as voted on by the voices in my own head. Dave doesn’t get a vote in THIS power poll, either.

10. THE UNDEFEATED

No, no the site Jason Whitlock nearly ran into the ground before it ever even launched- the three NH State Champs! All three ran the table this year, Goffstown wasn’t really ever challenged, Newport’s only test came without Noah Wade, and STA didn’t face any danger until the final game of the year (and even in that game, they never trailed). It’s tough to go unbeaten no matter what division you’re in, congrats to all three champs!

9. SPOILER ALERT: I’M VOTING FOR NOAH WADE AS D3 POTY AND IT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE

Over 1500 yards heading into the D3 Title Game… and then 275 to cap things off (he had 266 after 3 quarters). Oh, and 5 touchdowns. Other than that, Wade had a pretty pedestrian season. Teams in D3 aren’t exactly crying in their cornflakes to see the Senior RB graduate this year from Newport.

8. AND NOW, A PARAGRAPH OF STEPHAN NIX/STEVIE NICKS PUNS



Get this woman a Newport Championship shirt! 

Stand back, stand back, it’s a Landslide of return yards for a player no longer on the Edge of Seventeen. On kickoffs and punts, Nix said “I Can’t Wait”, and ran like there were Rooms on Fire, leaving defenders looking like they were Blue Denim instead of football uniforms.
In the end, After The Glitter Fades, Newport can look back at Nix’s return yards that set up 2 touchdowns, seeing him break through The Chain of Inter-lakes/Moultonborough defenders… and I got nothing else. Newport’s return game, lead by Nix really set the tone in a huge win for the Tigers.

7. IT’S CONNOR BOURQUE’S WORLD, WE’RE JUST LIVING IN IT

211 Yards on the ground and 3 TD’s in a title game, including the nail in the coffin 33 yard run to seal the deal with 9:32 to go. Bourque has been a monster all year, leading the Grizz to their first State Championship. Congrats to the Grizzlies!

6. CASE KEENUM WAS ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH HIS BRAINS SCRAMBLED



"Anyone seen my keys?"

Still catching up on the NFL from yesterday, but the end of the Ravens and Rams was a complete farce- Case Keenum was thrown to the turf, slamming the back of his head and, pretty obviously, suffering a concussion. There’s supposed to be an independent official that can stop a game and have a player removed if there’s a SUSPICION of a head injury, and this was pretty obvious. Keenum was allowed to “clear the cobwebs” like it was 1974 and continue playing, fumbling two plays later and setting up Baltimore for the winning FG. The NFL does a lot of things wrong, and letting Keenum stay in the game was just the latest.

5. BC’S OFFENSE IS NOT GOOD



BC's defense would beat their offense 4-0

If you get 5 turnovers, you should win the game. Unless your offense is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeealllllllllllly bad. And that was the case Saturday, as Dave Haley’s Fighting Irish escaped Fenway Park with a 19-16 win. I’m actually amazed BC managed to score 16 on the Irish. You might have heard Dave lamenting the Irish’s performance on Sunday if you listened to us at all. It happened a little bit.

4. THE NHSPORTSPAGE STAFF

Allow me to toot our own horn a bit here; From the tireless work of Jen Chick and John Kesty filming (and then staying up until all hours editing) games, to the now iconic “We undefeated” dance of Pete Tarrier, who knows almost every player in the state, to Dave Haley’s manic vision, I love this crew at NHSportspage. Covering sports is a ton of fun, but there’s insane hours and time spent away from loved ones to make it happen, so a shout out to the squad that makes it happen every weekend.

3. JEN CHICK WITH THE QUOTE OF THE DAY

I can’t even remember what Dave and I were ranting about at halftime of the D2 Championship game on WTSN, all I remember was that it was about hour 4 of being on the radio. Dave and I tend to go off the rails, if you haven’t noticed. Whatever it was, Jen asks me, like a mother speaking to a toddler, “Um, when you say these things, do you realize that you are actually on the radio?”, which is a compeletly fair question that I don’t have a good answer for.

2. VICTOR PIZZOTI AND WINDHAM WERE OUTSTANDING

Bill Raycraft and the Jags coaching staff deserve all the credit in the world for doing what I thought wasn’t possible- keeping the STA offense out of the end zone. Dropping 8 and 9 kids into coverage really screwed up what STA was trying to do, and when completions were made, or runs got going, the Jags struck first, and struck often (yes, like Cobra Kai).
Victor Pizzoti was a battering ram on offense and defense, running for 99 yards and a score, and punishing STA ball carriers with brutal hits. The Jags just couldn’t manage enough points to pull off the upset, but the champs left it all on the field and went out like a champ should.

1. HOW FAR TO THE SAINTS FALL IN THE POWER POLL NOW?
I actually heard some people talking about what an awful game the D2 Championship was, which might be the most ignorant thing said by someone that isn’t Donald Trump this year. STA v Windham was a fascinating chess match, filled with the drama of an undefeated team trying to finish off a perfect season, with a defending champ nobody thought could win forcing the game to be played on their side of the street.

Saint Thomas averaged over 45 points a game this year, so it was easy to overlook their defense, which was outstanding all year, and played their best game on Sunday. They allowed one TD, picked off a 2 point conversion that would’ve given Windham the lead, and kept their team in the lead.

When the chips were down and the Saints needed a game sealing drive, they leaned on Sam Andolina, who carried the rock 10 times on the final drive to set up Matt Baker’s 32 yard FG.

It’s a tried cliché- "play well in all 3 phases of the game", but that's what the Saints needed. On Sunday, STA showed why they’re the best team in D2. They were stopped for the first time all year on offense, and they still never trailed against a defending champion. They earned it on Sunday, and although I’m sure the I-93 voters, seeing them live for the first time no doubt, might not agree, they proved why they’re a top team in NH.

ALSO RECIVING VOTES: Newport fans bringing Pete a coffee and not Dave, Savanah Carberry’s photos serving as Instant Replay for Dave and I, UNH Back in the FCS playoffs, HS Basketball starting up which is NHSportspage’s bread and butter 
 
Justin McIsaac is the Sports Director for WTSN AM 1270 in Dover. Follow him on twitter @Justin_McIsaac