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 crazy comeback win over Merrimack on Saturday kept their unbeaten season alive and made Bedford the undisputed #1 team in the state.  With 1 more win over Exeter in the Championship Game this weekend they will get the 1st football title in school history and surely will finish on top of the Power Poll.    

2.       Merrimack...no disrespect to Exeter here, but despite the tough-luck loss, I still think Merrimack is the 2nd best team in the state.  Merrimack really controlled the semifinal game against Bedford and were just 1 first down away from being in the Championship Game before the Bulldogs went on their dramatic game-tying drive and won it in overtime.  I know it hurts, but the Tomahawks players and coaches should be proud to have a part of one of the best Merrimack teams in over 20 years. 

3.       Exeter...the Blue Hawks had to survive an OT scare of their own against Nashua North to get back to UNH for the 2nd straight season.  Even though I think Bedford & Merrimack are the 2 best teams in the state, I really think this Exeter team can give the Bulldogs problems, especially with their powerful running game on offense.  It should be a great game and I don't see either team blowing the other out.      

4.       Nashua North...hats off to the Titans who played a really good game in a tough place last weekend.  I figured their recent success was more about beating up on lesser opponents with weak defenses and I really thought Exeter would handle them, but I was wrong.  It may not be the game they really wanted to play in, but at least the North seniors still have 1 more game left on Thanksgiving Eve against Nashua South.    

5.     Goffstown...the Grizzlies did quite well for themselves this season as defending Champs, going 7-3 overall with their only 3 losses coming to Bedford & Merrimack(once in the regular season & once in the playoffs).  And you can bet Justin Hufft's team will be heard from again next year as they return a bunch of players who were big time contributors this year.

6.       Plymouth...you have to feel good for Plymouth coach Chris Sanborn who replaced a legend in Chuck Lenahan 3 years ago and missed the playoffs in his 1st 2 years as the head man.  As coach Sanborn told me & Dave Haley on our radio show a few weeks ago, It's always hard being the man who replaces "the man", but a huge upset over Windham last week that sent the Bobcats back to the title game for the 1st time in the post-Lenahan era will certainly help.   

7.       Windham...I'm guessing a lot of people in Jaguar nation are wondering where it all went wrong in the 20-18 loss to Plymouth that ended Windham's bid for an unbeaten season in shocking fashion.  It's not that I had no faith in Plymouth, it's just that I didn't think anybody in D2 could touch Windham.  I guess I should've learned my lesson because I felt the same way for the Patriots before the Giants ruined their 2007 bid for perfection.  

8.       Bow...the Falcons are another team no one should underestimate.  They now have a chance at redemption after getting beat by Plymouth 28-12 when they met in Bow back on September 24th.  Garrett Macomber ran wild against the Falcons D that day with 270 yards & 3 TDs on 29 carries.  But this seems like a different Bow team now so I expect a much closer game this time around.

9.       Salem...after leaving them off my ballot last week, the 6-4 Blue Devils are back in my Top 10 thanks to playoff losses by Monadnock & Hanover last week.  As I've said upteen million times, I'd much rather show some love to the small schools with really good records than give the nod to a middle of the road D1 team.  But in this case I had to drop the Huskies & the Marauders out in favor of Salem who I think would beat either team easily head-to-head.  That said, had Monadnock &/or Hanover won last week they would've still been on my ballot

10.   John Stark...that's why John Stark also makes their return to my Top 10 after an early playoff exit.  I said on my radio show before the playoffs started that I would be absolutely shocked if it wasn't John Stark vs Windham in the D2 Championship Game at UNH.  Boy was I wrong on that!  Nevertheless, John Stark only suffered 2 losses this season, both times to Bow...and they beat Plymouth in a classic in mid-October and they blew out Hanover in the last week of the regular season.  I wish Drew McQuarrie still had 1 more game at QB this year.  Is it too late to set up that Thanksgiving Day game against Goffstown?