Football seedings set for top three divisions

Exeter, Winnacunnet and Souhegan will be the top seeds when the football playoffs begin for New Hampshire's top three divisions on Saturday.

Exeter (Division I) and Souhegan (D3) both enter the postseason undefeated in their respective divisions, while Winnacunnet (D2) won the head-to-head tiebreaker with Bedford to earn that division's top spot.

Division I

Exeter (8-0 in division) will open its title defense by hosting a semifinal game for the second-straight year. The No. 1 Blue Hawks will host No. 4 Manchester Central on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bill Ball Stadium. Exeter won the regular-season meeting, 49-0, on Sept. 14. The Little Green (5-3) had lost three of four before ending the regular season with a 50-6 win over Salem last Friday.

Pinkerton (7-1) is the No. 2 seed and will host a semifinal game against No. 3 Nashua South (5-3), also on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Derry. The Astros defeated the Panthers, 40-20, last Friday to earn the right to host the playoff rematch. Since beating Pinkerton in the 2008 championship game, South has lost its last four games against the Astros.

The winners of each game will meet in the final at the home of the higher seed at 12 p.m. on Nov. 17.

Division II

No. 1 Winnacunnet (7-1) will play host to No. 4 Bishop Guertin (5-3), which has won the last four division titles and seven of the last eight. The Warriors defeated the Cardinals last Friday, 28-14, the first time since 2010 that Bishop Guertin has lost back-to-back games. The teams, which will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. in Hampton, also met in the division title game in both 2009-10.

No. 2 Bedford (7-1) will host its third playoff game in school history at 1 p.m. on Saturday against No. 3 Keene (6-2). The Bulldogs won the regular-season meeting, 25-24 on Sept. 21, part of a seven-game winning streak for Bedford.

The winners of each game will meet in the final at the home of the higher seed at 1 p.m. on Nov. 17.

Division III

No. 1 Souhegan (8-0) returns to the playoffs after missing the postseason last year, earning the top seed for the fourth time in the last five years. The Sabers will host Goffstown (5-3) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, in a rematch of last week's season finale, which Souhegan won . The Sabers are riding a nine-game winning streak, while the Grizzlies have lost two in a row.

No. 2 Milford (6-2) will host a playoff game for the first time since 2006, when the Spartans take on No. 3 Portsmouth (6-2). The teams played in Milford on Oct. 26, with the Spartans winning 24-6 for their first win over the Clippers since 2007.

The winners of each game will meet in the final at the home of the higher seed at 1 p.m. on Nov. 17.