In the final Thursday Thoughts column of the season we take a look at the biggest games of the weekend in all three divisions.

 We’ll be back next week with a preview of every playoff game across all three divisions.

 We also want to remind you of the open house that will be taking place at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth on Saturday November 5th from 9 to 11.

 If you are a student or a parent exploring your options this is a great opportunity to see the newly expanded campus and learn more about degree programs, transfer pathways, the admissions process and more.

Click here for information and to visit the Great Bay C.C website

 

 Division I

 Dover (6-2) at Nashua South (5-3)

 The Green Wave were the easy pick for Justin McIsaac and I when we named our biggest surprise team of the 2016 regular season on our weekly podcast You can listen to it here.

 The shocking win at Portsmouth in Week 2 didn’t seem so shocking after Ken Osbon’s team beat Nashua North the following week and as we sit here in late October it seems downright predictable. Dover doesn’t have the depth or the big time playmakers like the other eight teams still in contention for the Division I title but they have played as a unit and the dismissal of several popular coaches last week only seems to have brought them closer together as a team.

 John Cantwell, Dillon Russell, Chance Champagne & Seth Clark have each made plays on both sides of the ball for a team that relies on a lot of production from their starters.

 There is still one more step to take and one of the best offenses in Division I stands in their way Saturday afternoon in Nashua. This is a Purple Panthers team that took their lumps last season and apparently learned from the experience.

 Scott Knight has done another terrific job with a team that has played just enough defense to back up a potent offense. QB Sean Holland went over 2,000 yards from scrimmage last weekend against Portsmouth (1,389 passing & 782 rushing) and has weapons galore in Max Osgood (395 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns) and Myles Johnson (680 yards and 7 touchdowns).

 You can listen to the game live on the McIsaac on sports Network right here on our website.

 

 Bishop Guertin (6-2) at Nashua North (6-2)

 I’m waving the white flag here…honestly….math has never been my strong suit…my favorite math teacher at Gilford high school Mr. Girardin (loved Bobby G) used to look at me with a look that was a mix of perplexed and disappointment, with a sprinkle of concern thrown in. We ended up just talking about the Red Sox most of the time (Bobby G was not a Wade Boggs fan let me tell you..)

 Does the winner here essentially host the other team in a battle for the right to wear darker colors? Both of these teams, and Nashua South, share Stellos Stadium. Are they battling for the home locker room?

 Is the home locker room nicer?

 Or does the loser of this game plunge into a 6-3 abyss with Dover and South (if South is able to win on Saturday oh my lord my head is beginning to hurt already...) in a tie-breaker that could break four different ways?

 I get the impression, from afar, that BG walked out of that game with Exeter last weekend thinking they could get to Durham even if meant going through Bill Ball Stadium.

 What we know is the winner here is in and the #2 seed on their half of the bracket. The winner hosts a home game next weekend, possibly against a team that shares the same zip code or locker room with them, and that team will rest easy on Friday night.

 The loser better go find Mr. Girardin.

 

 Goffstown (7-1) at Merrimack (7-1)

 We will carry this game LIVE…check back here Friday night and watch the game right here as our partners at NSN will have this one for you in HD.

 This game will look like an all-star game at times. Two terrific quarterbacks in Nik Moquin & Justin Grassini (click and give their player profiles a look) along with a group of big time receivers in Justin Weiser, Joe Eichman, Franklin Castillo-Diaz and Andrew Duval (welcome back..)

 Tyler DeNeil, Danny McKillop, Jake Brown, Adam Moses and Joey Poisson will be flying around hitting people. Justin Hufft and his staff versus Kip Jackson and his coaches. Come on,,,this game is an easy sell.

 What I want to expand on is a comment I made about Goffstown on Twitter after their come from behind win over a really good Salem team on Saturday.

 How you defend your title really does impact your team’s legacy. In high school that can be an unfair bar to reach because of graduation losses but for the program itself, how you defend your title says a lot about the culture of the team.

 We’ve all seen sequels that almost ruined our enjoyment of the original ( I’ll never forgive the writers for throwing into Major League II that the Indians ended up getting swept in the ALCS after they beat the Yankees…that was cold) and don’t get me started on Rocky V or Fletch Lives,,,

 This Goffstown team has shown tremendous character and resiliency. They have plugged new starters into key roles and even played without big time players like Duval for most of the season, and here they sit today at 7-1.

 Goffstown was a special story last season. Being one of the smallest programs in Division I, that championship meant something to players & coaches outside of Goffstown.

 The level they have maintained the following season proves again how much that respect was rightly earned.

 

 Division II

 Plymouth (6-2) at Milford (6-2)

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth and I will be in the house Friday night when the Spartans take on the Bobcats.

 I love games like this where two good programs, with very good players and very smart coaching staffs just line up and try to push the other guy off of his spot.

 Keith Jones and Chris Sanborn have teams worthy of the post-season, only the winner though will be guaranteed a spot.

 Two weeks ago Plymouth was playing John Stark for the top seed and home field, Bow and Lebanon had other ideas, and after a 7-6 win by the Raiders that kept Chris Childs Lebanon team alive Plymouth is facing the very real possibility of missing the playoffs for a third straight season.

 Injuries have been a cause of a lot of angst in Plymouth but this isn’t a team that makes excuses. To beat Jones’ Spartans it will be a steady diet of Garrett Macomber (1,579 rushing yards) and a defense that has been led by Rowan Drew in Nolan Farina’s absence.

 

 John Stark (7-1) at Hanover (8-0)

 We will bring you highlights of this game as one of our new videographers Mike Miezejeski (continuing our Keene State pipeline) will be on hand to bring you coverage.

 Sam Cavallaro’s Marauders are one win away from an undefeated regular season. So why are we not ready to throw them in the conversation of Division II favorite yet?

 No one is questioning whether this is a good football team, the defense is elite and the offense is only going to get better when Reed Winter (683 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns) returns. Alex Mosenthal (561 yds.) and Caleb Putnam (410) will combine for over 1,000 yards rushing and Connor Stafford has been rock solid at QB. The pieces are there and it’s a defense we featured in our column two weeks ago.

 But John Stark will be their toughest test of the season and it will be an angry football team that arrives in Hanover Friday night. The Generals dropped a messy senior night game to a very good Bow team, a Bow team we probably undersold in recent weeks.

 This will be Hanover’s opportunity for the marque win they seem to lack. That’s not their fault, they can only play the schedule they are given but without a big time win there will be whispers that Hanover is a second tier contender. All of which could immediately change with a win tomorrow night.

 Stark wants to pull off their biggest road win of the season and then hope Lebanon can continue its late season magic against Bow on Saturday.

 A win by Hanover guarantees them a pair of home playoff games.

 Windham (8-0) at Con Val (6-2)

 Pete Tarrier and the great Jon Kesty will be in Peterborough Friday night for a big Division II showdown

 St Thomas (your ‘the lower seeded team no one really wants to see in their bracket’ of 2016) was physical with a talented Con Val team last Saturday night on the turf in Portsmouth. Expect Windham to be every bit as tough as a defense led by 2015 NHsportspage player of the year Victor Pizzoti has depth and a track record of shutting down high octane offenses.

 Paul Landau’s Cougars have proven they can beat you in a track meet, as Hollis-Brookline will attest, but can they win a 17-14 grind it out affair? That’s what they’re going to need to do advance in the playoffs, and only a win against the Jaguars guarantees they’ll be there.

 Con Val has to protect Dan Spezzaferri in the pocket and find ways to get big wide receivers Isaac Bacon and Liam Baldwin in one on one coverage where they can use their size and athleticism.

 Windham is going to try and plug up the running game and force Spezzaferri to do what Eric Cumba and St Thomas did to him, make him try to win the game by dropping back to throw fifty plus times.

 Windham feels like their secondary and their ability to turn you over will tilt the balance in front of what should be a big crowd on senior night in Peterborough.

 I mean come on…………Pete Tarrier will be in town!

 

 Division III

 Stevens (6-1) at Monadnock (7-0)

 I’ve been pretty vocal about the fact that Division III looks like a countdown to Monadnock vs Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough in three weeks ..although to be fair I’m pretty vocal about just about everything..

 Stevens gets a second crack to prove that theory wrong.

 Paul Silva’s defense had trouble matching up with the double tight end looks the Lakers gave them with Jayden Lara & Zach Swanson. To be fair every team has struggled against arguably the two best tight ends in the division lining up together but the Stevens defense could not get Inter-Lakes-Moultonborough off the field.

 In Monadnock they face a decidedly different style but just as potent an offense. Inter-Lakes Moultonborough beats you with speed, accuracy and by throwing different looks at you. The Huskies beat you by pounding you at the line of scrimmage for four quarters, to the point where those tackles late in the game seem like a near impossible chore.

 Monadnock clinches the top seed in Division III and a pair of home games with the win. A Stevens loss makes them the 3 seed and likely sends them to Campbell next week.

 A Stevens win would mean a three way tie at 6-1 between the Huskies, Lakers and Cardinals…a tie-breaker broken by ..oh lord here comes the popsicle headache again…..

 Just check back with us Monday morning…I promise we’ll have it straightened out by then..

 

 Tune into The New Hampshire High School Football Show on ESPN NH hosted by Pete Tarrier & Dave Haley every Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am.

 Listen LIVE on 900AM (Nashua area) or 1250AM (Manchester area) Saturday mornings from 9-11am to catch up on all the scores from Friday night, plus opinions and coaches interviews...You can also click on the link on our website to listen online or find us on your Tunein Radio app.