Bedford, Merrimack again at the top of the Union Leader/ESPN NH football power poll
Here is the Union Leader/ESPN New Hampshire football power poll for Week 8 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:
- Bedford, 8-0 (6/69), 1st
- Merrimack, 7-1 (1/63), 2nd
- Goffstown, 7-1 (50), 3rd
- Exeter, 7-1 (49), 5th
- Windham, 8-0 (49), 4th
- Salem, 6-2 (32), 6th
- Bishop Guertin 6-2 (23), tie-7th
- Dover 6-2 (21), tie-9th
- Nashua North, 6-2 (14), tie-9th
- tie Bow, 7-1 (5), NR
- tie Hanover, 8-0 (5) NR
Also receiving votes: Nashua South, 5-3 (4), NR; Monadnock, 7-0 (3), NR; John Stark, 7-1 (1), tie-7th; St. Thomas, 6-2 (1), 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:
- Merrimack, beat Timberlane 32-9
- Bedford, beat Concord 35-0
- Windham, beat Manchester West 64-0
- Exeter, beat Bishop Guertin 29-21
- Goffstown, beat Salem 39-35
- Bishop Guertin, lost to Exeter 29-21
- Salem, lost to Goffstown 39-35
- Dover, beat Winnacunnet 30-14
- Monadnock, beat Newport 28-0
- St. Thomas, beat ConVal 21-6
Again, I'm a lone first-place vote for Merrimack in the power poll. The Tomahawks exercised some demons last Friday AND Saturday against Timberlane, a team they hadn't been able to beat going back to 2004.
Bedford rolled over Concord and will be the No. 1 seed in the North/South Cluster in Division I. That whole side of the division is wrapped up, which is too bad. It would have been nice if Goffstown-Merrimack and Bedford-Salem would have been for something during the regular season. Instead, we'll get a pair of warmup games for the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 5.
Windham could be a playoff team in Division I, in my mind, and I'm not sure why other voters continue to move them back in the poll. The Jaguars travel to ConVal on Friday for a game that means much more to the Cougars than it does Windham.
Exeter looks like the best team in the East/West Cluster, but not by much. What I think sets the Blue Hawks aside is their depth and discipline.
Goffstown got a little closer to full strength with the return of Andrew Duval, who really adds another level to what the Grizzlies can do on offense and defense.
I thought Exeter would beat Bishop Guertin, but the Cardinals kept things close. Had it not been for Friday's weather, maybe Bishop Guertin is able to take advantage of its passing game a little more.
After hosting Bedford to end the regular season this week, Salem will have to visit the Bulldogs for the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils won't be an easy out, especially with Josh Sibanda running on that turf.
Dover's playoffs start this Saturday at Stellos Stadium. The winner of that game with Nashua South gets the final postseason spot in the East/West Cluster.
Monadnock is one win away from an undefeated regular season in Division III, and in seven games, the Huskies have only been scored on by two teams for a total of 25 points. That's just over a field goal allowed per game.
After dropping two in a row midseason, St. Thomas has won three straight, with two of those over Milford and ConVal. The Saints are getting healthy and clicking at the right time.
