Fall Sports

Breakdown of the Division I football schedule for 2016

Here's a look at the schedule for Division I football.

The high school football season will kickoff in New Hampshire in less than a month, but there’s no need to wait until then to take a look at what is in store for this year.

All this week, we’ll be taking a look at the schedule in each division, breaking it down week by week to highlight what should be the biggest matchups of the season.

In Division I, there were no changes to the number of teams or the format for the season. Each team plays nine games again in the regular season, with the scheduling clusters going back to East/West and North/South.

The top team in each conference will make the postseason, with the next two best teams from each cluster also advancing, regardless of conference.

Here's a look at the regular-season schedule in Division I.

Week 1

Friday, Sept. 2

Merrimack at Bedford, 7 p.m.: A huge game right out of the gate, as both teams return a good portion of their nucleus from last season.
Alvirne at Nashua North, 7 p.m.
Bishop Guertin at Winnacunnet, 7 p.m.: Both teams are coming off solid years, but are in need of some inexperienced players to fill some big shoes.
Pinkerton at Concord, 7 p.m.: A rematch of the 2013 D1 championship game, won by Concord. The teams met twice that year, with the Crimson Tide winning both games.
Portsmouth at Keene, 7 p.m.
Timberlane at Manchester Memorial, 7 p.m.
Exeter at Dover, 7 p.m.
Salem at Manchester Central, 7:15 p.m.: Two teams that have a lot of potential this season, but will have a tough road to climb to get to the postseason.

Saturday, Sept. 3

Spaulding at Nashua South, 1 p.m.
Londonderry at Goffstown, 1:30 p.m.: The defending champs will open at home against a Londonderry team that will be looking to bounce back from a losing season last year.

Week 2

Friday, Sept. 9

Bedford at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.
Goffstown at Pinkerton, 7 p.m.: The division's two most recent champions meet for the second time as D1 opponents. The Astros won 56-21 back in 2013.
Nashua North at Keene, 7 p.m.
Winnacunnet at Alvirne, 7 p.m.
Nashua South at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.: The Cardinals will be looking for their third straight win over the Panthers, as the last two wins have helped Bishop Guertin wrap up a playoff spot.
Manchester Central at Londonderry, 7 p.m.
Concord at Salem, 7 p.m.: First meeting between the two teams since 2013, and the Crimson Tide has won four in a row against the Blue Devils.
Manchester Memorial at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
Dover at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.: These two used to meet on Thanksgiving, and have split the last two games as Division I opponents.
Spaulding at Exeter, 7 p.m.

Week 3

Friday, Sept. 16

Nashua North at Dover, 7 p.m.
Nashua South at Alvirne, 7 p.m.: South has won two of three meetings with Alvirne over the last three seasons. Last year's win was just one of two for the Panthers.
Bishop Guertin at Spaulding, 7 p.m.
Londonderry at Bedford, 7 p.m.: The teams have met just once before, with Bedford grabbing a 19-0 win in 2013.
Concord at Manchester Memorial, 7 p.m.
Salem at Pinkerton, 7 p.m.: Since losing to Salem in the playoffs in 2009, Pinkerton has won eight in a row against the Blue Devils, including two quarterfinal games.
Keene at Exeter, 7 p.m.
Merrimack at Manchester Central, 7 p.m.
Winnacunnet at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17

Timberlane at Goffstown, 1:30 p.m.

Week 4

Friday, Sept. 23

Nashua North at Nashua South, 7 p.m.: A big rivalry weekend in the division kicks off with a battle between Gate City teams. The Titans won both of last season's games, after South had won four in a row and eight of the previous nine.
Alvirne at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.
Pinkerton at Londonderry, 7 p.m.: Pinkerton has won 16 games in a row over Londonderry, it's Mack Plaque rival, with the Lancers last win in the series coming in 2003.
Bishop Guertin at Keene, 7 p.m.
Manchester Memorial at Manchester Central, 7 p.m.: These Queen City rivals have split the last six meetings, including two wins by Memorial in 2014.
Exeter at Winnacunnet, 7 p.m.: Exeter has won the last three meetings, two of them by just one point, including last year on a last-second field goal.
Dover at Spaulding, 7 p.m.: The oldest rivalry in the state, the first game between these two was played in 1906. Dover leads the all-time series 66-46-8.

Saturday, Sept. 24

Merrimack at Concord, 1 p.m.
Timberlane at Salem, 2 p.m.
Goffstown at Bedford, 7 p.m.: The weekend finishes up with another big rivalry game, which went to another level last year after two close Goffstown wins, including one in the semifinals.

Week 5

Friday, Sept. 30

Manchester Central at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.
Bedford at Pinkerton, 7 p.m.: A rematch of the 2014 D1 championship game, which Pinkerton won 37-0. Bedford won the only other meeting between the teams to open the 2013 season.
Spaulding at Alvirne, 7 p.m.
Concord at Londonderry, 7 p.m.
Keene at Nashua South, 7 p.m.: The Blackbirds have won three of four meetings with the Panthers since moving up to D1 in 2013. The first of three games at Stellos Stadium this weekend.
Salem at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth at Exeter, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1

Manchester Memorial at Goffstown, 1:30 p.m.
Winnacunnet at Nashua North, 2:30 p.m.: These two teams have played three previous times, with Winnacunnet holding a 2-1 series advantage.
Dover at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.: Since meeting in the 2011 D2 championship game, Bishop Guertin has won 22 games while Dover has won just seven.

Week 6

Friday, Oct. 7

Pinkerton at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.: The Owls shocked the Astros, and the state, when they handed Pinkerton its second loss in a row in the middle of last season. The Astros got their revenge with a quarterfinal win over Timberlane.
Goffstown at Concord, 7 p.m.
Exeter at Nashua North, 7 p.m.: A matchup of two playoff teams from a year ago who return some key players on both sides of the football.
Alvirne at Dover, 7 p.m.
Keene at Spaulding, 7 p.m.: The last time these teams met in 2013, they finished a combined 14-7, and the Blackbirds won 40-0.
Salem at Manchester Memorial, 7 p.m.
Nashua South at Winnacunnet, 7 p.m.
Londonderry at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
Bedford at Manchester Central, 7:15 p.m.: Since getting knocked out of the playoffs by Central in 2013, Bedford has beaten the Little Green in two straight games by a combined 96-28.

Saturday, Oct. 8

Portsmouth at Bishop Guertin, 5 p.m.: This is the first meeting between these two programs since 2005, when both were in Division II.

Week 7

Friday, Oct. 14

Concord at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.
Nashua North at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.: This will be the first meeting between these two teams.
Bedford at Manchester Memorial, 7 p.m.
Alvirne at Bishop Guertin, 7 p.m.: When these two played on Oct. 25, 2014, Alvirne had a record of 4-3 and was in first in the West Conference, while Bishop Guertin was 2-5. The Cardinals won that game, went on to win the conference and beat the Broncos in the playoffs. Since that game, Alvirne is 1-11 while BG is 9-5.
Merrimack at Pinkerton, 7 p.m.
Spaulding at Winnacunnet, 7 p.m.: Winnacunnet has won eight of the last nine games between the two, with the lone Spaulding win coming in 2013.
Nashua South at Exeter, 7 p.m.
Londonderry at Salem, 7 p.m.: The Blue Devils exacted a bit of revenge for the field goal game in 2014, beating the Lancers 35-8 last year.

Saturday, Oct. 15

Dover at Keene, 1 p.m.
Manchester Central at Goffstown, 1:30 p.m.: After losing to the Little Green by a point in 2013 and 2014, the Grizzlies steamrolled Central last season, 53-7.

Week 8

Friday, Oct. 21

Merrimack at Timberlane, 6:30 p.m.: With a playoff spot on the line in last year's regular-season finale, Timberlane picked up a 24-0 win. It was the 10th win in a row for the Owls in the series.
Spaulding at Nashua North, 7 p.m.
Concord at Bedford, 7 p.m.: Three of the four meetings between these teams has been decided by eight points or less.
Keene at Alvirne, 7 p.m.
Bishop Guertin at Exeter, 7 p.m.: From 1997-2008, these teams played in the D2 final six times, with each winning three, and over that 12-year stretch, they combined for nine championships.
Pinkerton at Manchester Central, 7 p.m.
Manchester Memorial at Londonderry, 7 p.m.
Winnacunnet at Dover, 7 p.m.: Two of the three teams in D1 who have not made the playoffs under the new format (Merrimack is the other).
Nashua South at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22

Salem at Goffstown, 1:30 p.m.: The last time these teams met was in 2013, with Goffstown getting a 28-22 victory.

Week 9

Friday, Oct. 28

Goffstown at Merrimack, 7 p.m.: Potentially a game with big playoff implications going into the final week of the regular season.
Bishop Guertin at Nashua North, 7 p.m.: The history between the two teams is short. In 2013, North defeated Bishop Guertin 14-7 to knock the Cardinals out of the postseason. In 2014, a 28-0 win by Bishop Guertin helped turn its season around. Last year, the Cardinals won 54-14.
Bedford at Salem, 7 p.m.: The Bulldogs' 30-0 win in 2013 was part of a shutout streak that spanned four games and saw Bedford outscore its opponents 160-0.
Exeter at Alvirne, 7 p.m.
Manchester Central at Concord, 7 p.m.
Manchester Memorial at Pinkerton, 7 p.m.
Keene at Winnacunnet, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth at Spaulding, 7 p.m.
Timberlane at Londonderry, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29

Dover at Nashua South, 1 p.m.

Thanksgiving

Wednesday, Nov. 23

Nashua South at Nashua North, 6 p.m.: The Turkey Bowl gets a big change, moving to the night before Thanksgiving. It's the 12th time North and South meet in the annual game, with South leading 8-4.