Every week after I cast my ballot for the Union Leader/ESPN New Hampshire Power Poll I will reveal my personal Top 10...and why I voted that way.

1. Bedford…the Bulldogs built a 17-0 lead on Merrimack heading into the 4th quarter last Friday night and then held on to win 24-20 as Justin Grassini & company rallied back and had a chance to win before time ran out on them at the Bedford 12 yard line.  QB Connor Robert had a good game throwing the ball to big WRs Noah Chaberek & Liam Greene and the Bulldogs D led by Caleb McDonald, Kyle Jalbert & Nick Cannone did a nice job containing the potent Merrimack offense.  Next up for Bedford is a road game against the Timberlane Owls on Friday night.

2. Merrimack…it took the Tomahawks a while to get it going vs Bedford, but once they did it showed just how explosive this Merrimack team can be.  Senior QB Grassini threw the ball 55 times on opening night and he has a bevy of weapons to distribute the ball led by Tyler DeNeill, Joe Eichman, Danny McKillop & Justin Weiser.  Merrimack looks to even their record at 1-1 this Friday at home against Manchester Memorial.

3. Goffstown…the Grizzlies struggled in their 1st game as defending champs, but found a way to win when Londonderry fumbled with their backs to the Goffstown goal line while holding a 14-13 lead with just over a minute to play.  GTown defensive lineman Adam Moses pounced on the football in the end zone to give the Grizz the lead in an eventual 19-14 win.  This is definitely not the same type of team that went undefeated last season for the school’s 1st ever football Championship, but with some really good returning players like Andrew Duval, Frankie Castillo-Diaz & new quarterback Nik Moquin Goffstown should not be overlooked in what appears to be a wide open Division One.

4. Exeter…an opening night 41-14 thumping of Dover was not unexpected, but you have to be impressed with a program that consistently just reloads every year.  Coach Bill Ball always has tremendous numbers and this year is no different.  It starts with 3rd year QB Kyle Ball(no relation to the coach) and a loaded back field that is led by returning starter Cam Flanagan who scored 3 touchdowns vs the Green Wave. 

5. Pinkerton…you could see longtime head coach Brian O’Reilly beaming with pride about some of the things his young team had done in their season opening 19-7 win at Concord during his postgame interview with Dave Haley on the NH Sportspage highlight video for the game.  The Astros, like Exeter will always have good numbers, but this year those numbers include a ton of underclassmen.  That said, one of the Pinkerton veterans who looks like he’s ready to break out in his senior season is senior RB Nico Buccieri.  Watch for him to develop into the next great back from Pinkerton. 

6. Salem…speaking of great running backs, Salem has one in junior Josh Sibanda.  Sibanda is small, but strong and fast…kind of a combination of former Blue Devil runners Max Jacques & Jerickson Fedrick(now playing at UNH).  Sibanda hits the hole HARD and he gave Manchester Central all kinds of problems totaling 209 yards on 19 carries with 3 TDs in a season opening 28-13 win at Gill Stadium. 

7. Timberlane…when you’re talking about the best running backs in the state the conversation has to include Timberlane junior running back Jake Post.  Post burst onto the scene 2 years ago as a freshman, but played more of a supporting role on the Owls playoff team last year that was led by QB Jason Hughes & running back Tyler Furey.  But this year’s Timberlane team will go as far as Post can take them…and if a 258 yard, 4 TD output in a 48-20 win at Manchester Memorial is any indication, it could be another postseason march for the Owls.

8. Windham…ask anybody who knows Division 2 football and Windham is usually the 1st name that comes up when the talk is about who the best team will be this season.  No matter how you say it, Wind-Um or Wind-Ham(I’ve always been a Wind-UM guy), the Jaguars are back with another loaded team looking to reach their 3rd straight State Championship Game.  I’m looking forward to seeing them in person for the 1st time this coming Saturday afternoon when they host Milford in a big game that NH Sportspage will cover on video. 

9. John Stark…another team to be reckoned with in D2 this year are the Generals of John Stark.  Yes, John Stark is in the conversation as a legitimate title contender for the 1st time in program history and a big reason why is senior quarterback Drew McQuarrie.  The 6’5” 220lb McQuarrie is the most physically imposing QB in all of NH High School football and he has a talented/veteran cast of teammates that are primed for a big year. 

10. Bishop Guertin…I don’t think a lot of people thought the Cardinals would be a Top 10 team this year after losing a lot of talent to graduation.  So in Week 1, BG goes out to the seacoast and knocks off a pretty good Winnacunnet team 32-28 on opening night.  New QB Sam Raitt led the charge with nearly 300 yards combined passing and on the ground.  Raitt also showed a flair for the dramatic rallying his team from behind on a game-winning drive & TD pass with 11.7 seconds left.