Every week I will post my Union Leader Power Poll Ballot so everybody can see who I voted for...and why I voted them in my Top 10.  

Here's the latest poll...and don't forget to see below for my ballot!

The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, with record, first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus last week’s rankings. Voters are Union Leader sports writers Roger Brown, Alex Hall and Joe Duball, Union Leader Chief Sports Editor Chris Duffy, Union Leader contributor Joe Marchilena of NH-HighSchoolSports.com and Pete Tarrier, host of the NH High School Football Show(Saturday, 9-11 a.m.) on 99.9 FM & 1370 AM WFEA.

After Week 5

T-1. Salem, 5-0 (3/57), 1st
T-1. Winnacunnet, 5-0 (3,57), 2nd
3. Plymouth, 5-0 (45), 4th
4. Goffstown, 4-1 (42), 3rd
5. Pinkerton, 4-1 (33), 6th
6. Windham, 5-0 (27), 7th 
7. Exeter, 3-2 (24), 8th
8. Bedford, 3-2 (22), 5th
T-9. Nashua South, 3-2 (6), T-10
T-9. Man. Central, 4-1 (6), T-10
Other receiving votes: Campbell (5), 5-0, T-10; Londonderry (4), 4-1, T-10; Bow (2), 4-1, NR.

Here's how I voted...and why...

1. Salem...Winnacunnet may have the better resume right now with wins over Bedford,  Exeter, Goffstown & Dover, but I give Salem the nod over the Warriors because I think they've been the more dominant team thru 5 games, despite playing without their best player Josh Sibanda the last 2 weeks.   

2. Winnacunnet...the Warriors & Blue Devils do not meet in the regular season, but if both teams are able to get thru the rest of the regular season and then the 1st couple rounds of the playoffs they could meet in the Division 1 Championship Game to decide who's number 1 when it really counts.

3. Plymouth...I think defending D2 Champs Plymouth should also be getting some consideration for 1st place votes after yet another impressive victory last weekend that extended their unbeaten record to 5-0.  I don't see that changing any time soon either as the Bobcats host winless Gilford-Belmont on Saturday followed by a bye week.  It does get tougher in the last 2 weeks of the regular season when they finish with games against Lebanon on the road & Milford at home.

4. Goffstown...the Grizzlies were on the verge of knocking off Winnacunnet on Saturday afternoon as they were up 6-0 very late in the game.  But faced with a 4th down situation near their own goal-line with a little over a minute to go, Goffstown elected to take a safety instead of punting the ball away(or going for it) and then had the Winnacunnet offense finally break through with a game-winning touchdown drive snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat.  

5. Pinkerton...the Astros have bounced back nicely after the 35-20 loss at Salem a few weeks ago.  Coach Brian O'Reilly was not happy with the way his team was beaten at the line of scrimmage that day, but he has to be pleased with how his team has responded ever since.  In last week's win over BG, Pinkerton showed people they can move the ball through the air as well as on the ground which is scary for opposing defenses.

6. Windham...just like last week, I feel kind of bad ranking this Windham team as low as I am at number 6 on my ballot.  I mean, they did just take down a previously unbeaten St. Thomas team 25-16 on the road in Dover heading into their bye week.  This Jags team may not be as explosive as recent Windham teams have been on offense, but they are still a true Championship contender in D2.  

7. Exeter...the Blue Hawks made me eat my words after I brazenly proclaimed "Bedford will handle Exeter" on the NH High School Football radio show this past Saturday.  Boy I was wrong, as Exeter was able to slow down the Bulldogs offensive attack and put enough points of their own up to win it on a last second FG that sent the Bedford fans home with their 2nd loss of the season.  

8. Bedford...it's hard to believe Bedford now has 2 losses on the season, and they've still got some really tough games on the schedule including at Goffstown this Saturday at 3pm and against Manchester Central to end the regular season, not to mention a game against a pretty good 3-2 Dover team.  

9. Bow...I thought about dropping Bow out of my Top 10 in favor of  5-0 Hanover or even 4-1 St. Thomas or Manchester Central.  But despite a humbling loss against Plymouth 2 weeks ago, I really feel the Falcons will come back refreshed after a bye last week & will finish strong against the likes of Kennett, Merrimack Valley,  John Stark & Lebanon.  

10. Campbell...how the Cougars can be 5-0, having outscored the competition 289-18 after they beat a pretty good Bishop Brady team 81-9 on Saturday night and only get one other vote besides mine is somewhat perplexing.  I realize D3 is very top heavy and close games are hard to come by so it might be hard for people to take Campbell or any Division 3 team too seriously.  At least we get to see a quality match-up in 2 weeks when the Cougars take the show on the road to Somersworth to face the also undefeated Toppers.