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Pete Tarrier's Power Poll Ballot after Week 6

By Pete Tarrier, 10/11/16, 7:00PM EDT

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Bedford & Merrimack still 1 & 2 in the poll

Apologies to Portsmouth & Hanover for just missing out on my Top 10

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 now 6-0 Bulldogs had their closest game since the 24-20 season opening win over Merrimack when they held off a tough Manchester Central team 24-16 last Friday night at Gill Stadium.  Bedford has a realistic shot at going undefeated in the regular season with winless Manchester Memorial up next, followed by a 1 win Concord team on the 21st.  The regular season finale at Salem won't be easy however.   
  2. Merrimack...despite Bedford's win over Merrimack in Week 1, if the 2 teams played again right now I would probably pick Merrimack to win.  I just think the Tomahawks are an unstoppable force on offense and their defense is a lot better than people are giving them credit for.  They'll be tested over the final 3 weeks of the season with road games at Pinkerton & Timberlane, followed by a potentially huge game at home against Goffstown on Friday October 28th.
  3. Windham...62-3.  That was the final score between Windham and Trinity last Saturday.  It probably could have been a lot worse if coach Bill Raycraft wanted it to be.  I shudder to think of what the score will be in 2 weeks when the Jags play host to Manchester West.  The bottom line is this Windham team is definitely good enough to be ranked in the Top 3 regardless of division.  Lebanon is next up on the schedule this weekend.  Interesting game in the regular season finale as Windham travels to Peterborough to face ConVal in a game we will cover on video at NHSportspage.   
  4. Goffstown...I think some Grizzly fans that checked the NHIAA website over the weekend might have been surprised to see that Concord had beaten Goffstown 54-33 at Memorial Field.  Fortunately for Goffstown, there was a mistake made and the score was entered incorrectly with the wrong team credited with the win.  So the defending champs are 5-1 and looking good for the playoffs at this point.  They'll have to earn it though with one of the toughest closing schedules of any team in the state as they host Central & Salem prior to their finale at Merrimack.  
  5. Exeter...I was really impressed with Exeter when I saw them in person for the 1st time at Nashua North last Friday night.  The 42-6 beatdown at Stellos Stadium was classic Exeter Blue Hawk football with a dominating offensive line and multiple ball carriers pounding it down the field all game long.  After the game you could tell how the team was emotionally spent following the tragic death of one of their friends and classmates just days before the game.   
  6. Salem...the 5-1 Blue Devils are another team that is going to have to earn their way into the playoffs as their 3 game closing stretch features a home game vs Londonderry this weekend, a trip to Goffstown next weekend & the aforementioned regular season finale at home against Bedford.   
  7. John Stark...I've had this weekend's game vs Plymouth circled on the calendar ever since I saw the Generals romp over Lebanon in Week 3.  At that point I made a prediction that both teams would be 6-0 heading into the game on October 15th.  That's exactly what happened and now we get to see the ground and pound of Garrett Macomber of Plymouth against the spread attack of Drew McQuarrie and John Stark. 
  8. Bishop Guertin...BG made me look good after I picked them to beat Portsmouth in what turned out to be one of the best games of the year.  The 39-38 come-from-behind win over the Clippers on Saturday gave the Cards a big boost to their playoff hopes and sole possession of 1st place in Division 1 West with 3 games to go.  BG takes on 1-5 Alvirne this weekend and then finishes with tough games at Exeter and vs Nashua North. 
  9. Plymouth...have I told you how much I'm looking forward to covering the game at John Stark on Saturday?  We'll have the NHSportspage video camera in Weare to bring you all the highlights.  The Bobcats BIG junior RB Macomber is far and away the leading rusher in D2 with 1353 yards and 17TDs in the 1st 6 games.  That's an average performance of 225.5 yards/game!
  10. Monadnock...no offense to the Huskies who were on a bye with the rest of Division 3 last weekend, but I almost dropped them off my ballot in favor of 6-0 D2 Hanover or 4-2 Portsmouth of D1.  They will stay in this position if they can run the table over the final 3 weeks of the season...on the road the next 2 weekends at Kearsarge & Newport, followed by a good one on Friday October 28th vs Stevens in Swanzey.   

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