Final football rankings for 2016

The statewide rankings end the season the same way they began - with the Bedford High School football team at the top.

The Bulldogs won their first title by beating Exeter 7-0 in the Division I championship game on Saturday, securing their spot at the top of the rankings. Plymouth, which rallied for a 27-24 win over Bow in the Division II title game, came in at No. 2 while the Blue Hawks took the No. 3 spot. Windham and Merrimack, which both lost in the semifinals, took the No. 4 and 5 spots, respectively.

Here are the complete statewide rankings, along with the rankings for each division.

New Hampshire Top 15

Team (record, division), rating (last week)

1. Bedford (12-0, Division I), 24.83 (1)
2. Plymouth (10-2, Division II), 19.42 (10)
3. Exeter (10-2, Division I), 19.33 (3)
4. Windham (10-1, Division II), 17.91 (2)
5. Merrimack (9-2, Division I), 17.09 (4)
6. Bow (9-3, Division II), 16.42 (15)
7. Monadnock (9-1, Division III), 16.00 (6)
8. Stevens (9-2, Division III), 15.82 (NR)
9. John Stark (8-2, Division II), 15.70 (5)
10. Nashua North (8-3, Division I), 15.09 (7)
11. Hanover (9-2, Division II), 14.45 (8)
12. Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (8-3, Division III), 14.00 (NR)
13. Goffstown (7-3, Division I), 13.20 (9)
14. Lebanon (6-4, Division II), 12.90 (13)
15. Bishop Brady (8-2, Division III), 12.60 (NR)

Dropped out: St. Thomas (11), Bishop Guertin (12), Dover (14).

How the rankings are done

We took the NHIAA’s football rating system, and gave it a little tweak. Instead of 10 points for a win, we weighted the wins by division, giving 12 for a win over a D1 team, 10 for a win over D2 and eight for a win over D3. Plus, every team got two points for a win by a beaten opponent. The two point totals were added together and divided by the number of games played.

Division I

1. Bedford (12-0), 24.83
2. Exeter (10-2), 19.33
3. Merrimack (9-2), 17.09
4. Nashua North (8-3), 15.09
5. Goffstown (7-3), 13.20
6. Dover (6-3), 12.44
7. Bishop Guertin (6-4), 12.00
8. Nashua South (6-4), 11.40
9. Salem (6-4), 10.80
10. Portsmouth (5-4), 10.44
11. Manchester Central (5-4), 8.89
12. Pinkerton (4-5), 6.67
13. Keene (3-6), 5.56
14. Winnacunnet (3-6), 4.89
15. Londonderry (2-7), 3.11
16. Concord (2-7), 3.11
17. Timberlane (2-7), 3.11
18. Alvirne (1-8), 1.33
19. Spaulding (0-9), 0.00
20. Manchester Memorial (0-9), 0.00

Division II

1. Plymouth (10-2), 19.42
2. Windham (10-1), 17.91
3. Bow (9-3), 16.42
4. John Stark (8-2), 15.70
5. Hanover (9-2), 14.45
6. Lebanon (6-4), 12.90
7. St. Thomas (7-3), 12.50
8. Hollis Brookline (7-3), 10.70
9. Milford (6-3), 10.44
10. ConVal (6-3), 10.22
11. Laconia (5-4), 7.33
12. Kennett (4-5), 7.11
13. Sanborn (4-5), 6.22
14. Souhegan (3-6), 4.00
15. Pelham (3-6), 4.00
16. Merrimack Valley (3-6), 4.00
17. Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton (2-7), 2.44
18. Trinity (1-8), 1.78
19. Gilford-Belmont (1-8), 1.33
20. Kingswood (1-8), 1.33
21. Pembroke (1-8), 1.11
22. Manchester West (0-9), 0.00

Division III

1. Monadnock (9-1), 16.00
2. Stevens (9-2), 15.82
3. Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (8-3), 14.00
4. Bishop Brady (8-2), 12.60
5. Campbell (6-3), 9.56
6. Kearsarge (5-3), 8.75
7. Newport (5-4), 8.00
8. Winnisquam (5-4), 7.56
9. Somersworth (4-5), 5.78
10. Franklin (3-5), 4.25
11. Epping-Newmarket (3-5), 4.00
12. Newfound (2-6), 2.50
13. Raymond (2-6), 2.00
14. Mascoma Valley (2-6), 2.00
15. Fall Mountain (0-8), 0.00
16. Farmington-Nute (0-8), 0.00