Bedford hangs on to top spot in the Union Leader/ESPN NH power poll

Here is the Union Leader/ESPN New Hampshire football power poll for Week 2 of the 2016 season.

These are the top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, with record, first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus last week’s ranking:

1. Bedford, 1-0 (5/68), 1st
2. Merrimack, 1-1 (58), 2nd
3. Exeter, 2-0 (1/56), 3rd
4. Goffstown, 2-0 (1/48), 5th
5. Salem, 2-0 (40), 6th
6. Windham, 2-0 (30), 7th
7. Pinkerton, 1-1 (28), 4th
8. Timberlane, 1-1 (16), 9th
9. Bishop Guertin, 2-0 (15), NR
10. Nashua North, 2-0 (9), 8th

Also receiving votes: John Stark, 2-0 (8), 10th; Portsmouth, 1-1 (5), NR; Manchester Central, 1-1 (2), NR; St. Thomas, 2-0 (2), NR.

Voters are:

• Roger Brown, Union Leader
• Alex Hall, Union Leader
• Chris Duffy, Union Leader
• Nick Anastos, ESPN New Hampshire
• Pete Tarrier, ESPN New Hampshire
• Dave Haley, New Hampshire Sports Page
• Joe Marchilena, NH-HighSchoolSports.com

And here is how I voted in the poll:

1. Exeter, beat Spaulding, 42-13
2. Bedford, beat Timberlane 38-32
3. Merrimack, beat Manchester Memorial 56-14
4. Salem, beat Concord 25-7
5. Windham, beat Milford 42-6
6. Goffstown, beat Pinkerton 37-33
7. Nashua North, beat Keene 41-22
8. Bishop Guertin, beat Nashua South 41-28
9. Timberlane, lost to Bedford 38-32
10. John Stark, beat Gilford-Belmont 40-0

So why did I flip Exeter and Bedford in my poll this week? Seems a little strange that I'd move a team with two wins over other top 10 teams down a spot, but I'm going off who I feel is the best team in the state this week of the season. While Bedford's wins are impressive, I think, right now, Exeter might be the more complete team. Time will tell.

I kept Merrimack at third in my poll after the thumping the Tomahawks handed Manchester Memorial, while moving Salem up to fourth. The Blue Devils picked up a nice win over Concord, but their win in Week 1 might before more impressive, holding a Manchester Central team that scored 41 points against Londonderry to just 13.

Windham stayed at No. 5 for me after it ran over Milford, which is I still feel is going to be a good team in Division II. The Jaguars are talented enough, big enough and have enough depth that they'd be competing for the playoffs in Division I this season.

Goffstown is at No. 6 after pulling off an upset of Pinkerton that not many saw coming, given the Grizzlies were down one of their best players in Andrew Duval. North comes in at No. 7 in my poll after struggling to pull away from Keene until the second half, and after its big win over Nashua South, I've moved Bishop Guertin in at No. 8.

Of the seven Division I teams at 1-1 that aren't Merrimack, I've got Timberlane in at No. 9 because the showing the Owls had against Bedford last Friday. John Stark, which had a 42-0 lead over Gilford-Belmont at halftime Saturday, is in at No. 10 in my poll.