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Pete Tarrier's Power Poll ballot REVEALED

By Pete Tarrier, 11/08/17, 9:30AM EST

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Windham falls out of the Top 10 after surprising playoff exit

Bedford moves up in the poll despite losing in the playoffs

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 after the 1st round of the playoffs...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.

T-1. Salem, 10-0 (3/57) T-1

T-1. Winnacunnet, 10-0 (3/57) T-1

3. Goffstown, 9-1 (43) 3rd

4. Pinkerton, 9-1 (42) 5th

5. Plymouth, 9-0 (39) 4th

6. Exeter, 7-3 (29) 6th

7. Bedford, 6-4 (27) 9th

8. Hanover, 9-0 (10) NR

9. Nashua So., 7-3 (8) 8th

10. Campbell, 9-0 (7) 10th

Other receiving votes

: St. Thomas, 8-1 (5), NR; Bow, 7-2 (3), NR; Londonderry, 6-4 (2), NR; Windham, 8-1 (1), 7th

HERE'S HOW I VOTED...

1. Salem…after playing to a 7-7 tie at halftime against Londonderry on Saturday, the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half to beat the Lancers 35-14 and advance to the Division 1 Semifinals against Pinkerton.  Unfortunately for Salem, they will likely have to beat Pinkerton for the 2nd time this season without star running back Josh Sibanda who is expected to be suspended for the next game following his ejection last weekend against Londonderry.   Don’t fret Blue Devils fans, Salem still has enough to win it all without Sibanda, but it sure would’ve been nice to see him play in such a big game.  

 

2. Winnacunnet…the Beach Boys had to stop a potential game-winning 2 point conversion by Bedford to hold on in overtime, 34-33 on the seacoast on Saturday.  Winnacunnet’s thrilling win sets up a rematch with Goffstown in the North/East side of the D1 bracket this Saturday in Hampton.  Winnacunnet snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the regular season game vs Goffstown after the Grizzlies blew a 6-0 lead in the final minute and lost 9-6.     

 

3. Plymouth…Nolan Farina took the 1st play from scrimmage 65 yards for a touchdown and Plymouth rolled over Souhegan 49-21 to advance to the Division 2 Semifinals against St Thomas.   The Bobcats are the #2 seed in D2 and can get back to UNH to defend their 2016 title with a win over the Saints on Saturday afternoon.    

 

4. Goffstown…awesome atmosphere in GTOWN on Saturday as the Grizzlies had to hold off a rare, but very effective Exeter aerial attack to move on with a 22-20 win.  Goffstown got a couple of big plays from their big play guy Andrew Duval including the game-clinching stop of Blue Hawks QB Cody Morissette on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game and probably forced overtime.     

 

5. Pinkerton…I’ve been saying all along that this Pinkerton team is really, really good and they’re probably itching for another shot at Salem who beat them 35-20 back in Week 3.  Well now the Astros have that opportunity with a spot in the State Championship Game at stake.  It’s a shame Salem probably won’t be at full strength without Sibanda.    

 

6. Exeter…Bill Ball’s team saw the need to change from their ground and pound game plan at halftime on Saturday after losing top RB Brayden Lowery to an arm injury.  The Blue Hawks uncharacteristically emptied the backfield for most of the 2nd half and put the game in the hands and the right arm of QB Cody Morissette who threw the ball a career high 25 times for 179 yards and 3 touchdowns and almost pulled off a fantastic finish in the final minutes.    

 

7. Bedford…the defending Champs did not go down without a fight, losing a heartbreaker in OT against Winnacunnet.  Bedford actually led the game late in the 4th quarter before the Warriors scored a TD to send the game to overtime.  I’m not usually the type of voter who rewards D1 teams who have 4 losses on their resume, but this Bedford team gets my vote over lower division teams with better overall records because their 4 losses all came against teams in the Top 6. 

 

8. St Thomas…the Saints took care of business against John Stark on Saturday and now will travel over to Plymouth to take on the Bobcats.  It should be a good test for the defending Champs who probably haven’t played anybody as good as St Thomas up until this point.      

 

9. Campbell…considering how dominant Campbell has been this season was anyone else wondering what went “wrong’ in a 37-6 Cougars win over Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough?  What I mean by that is, I just thought Campbell was going to REALLY do a number on the Lakers…as if a 31 point margin of victory isn’t impressive enough!

 

10. Hanover…like Plymouth, the undefeated Maurauders schedule has been questioned all season long.  Hanover people could care less about that chatter…and after dispatching Hollis-Bookline on Saturday, 4th seeded Hanover now gets to host #8 Bow this weekend after the Falcons shocked #1 Windham 20-15 with a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. 

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Tag(s): Home  Football  NHIAA Division I  South  Pinkerton  Salem  North  Bedford  Goffstown  West  East  Exeter  Winnacunnet  NHIAA Division III  South  Campbell  North  Newport  Stevens  Monadnock  NHIAA Division II  East  St. Thomas  West  Hanover  Plymouth  Bow