> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Manchester West football eyeing a playoff spot, $2m prize - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/manchester-west-football-eyeing-a-playoff-spot-2m-prize/ - Published: 2024-11-01T16:30:36.000Z - Updated: 2024-11-01T16:30:36.000Z - Description: Manchester West High School’s football program has a lot to celebrate Friday night. Blue Knights coach Andrew Provencher is hoping for it to be more than just honoring players in pregame festivities on senior night. A win over visiting Hanover (4-4) will help West (5-3) secure its first playoff bert - Author: George Scione - Tags: Division II, Blue Knights, football, Manchester West, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 Manchester West High School’s football program has a lot to celebrate Friday night. Blue Knights coach Andrew Provencher is hoping for it to be more than just honoring players in pregame festivities on senior night. A win over visiting Hanover (4-4) will help West (5-3) secure its first playoff berth since 2007\. The Blue Knights have already locked down their first five-win season since that 2007 postseason appearance. “That’s kind of an important year looking back,” Provencher said. “That’s the year that the last group of Bedford kids left West. It’s been a grind since then, having that large population leave the school and we're fortunate to kind of build on the foundation that other coaches and players have put together. We’re excited to now be in a position where we can be competitive.” It’s all such perfect timing for West, which entered and earned a spot as a Top 16 finalist nationally in T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights program. Senior night will be West’s Friday Night 5G Lights celebration, as the school will be presented a $25,000 grant check for the football team being named a finalist. The entire night will be full of excitement on and off the field, as fans in attendance will be treated to a variety of giveaways, games and unique photo opportunities. It’s also a chance for fans to help a worthy cause, as West and T-Mobile are partnering with Feeding America and asking attendees to donate unexpired, unopened food items in their original packaging that will then be given to New Hampshire Food Bank. This is all just to celebrate the Blue Knights as a finalist. If they win the contest, T-Mobile would provide West students with $2 million worth of cutting-edge technology and new state-of-the-art athletic equipment. Now all they need is a like on their Friday Night Lights Instagram post, which can be viewed at the top of this post. Provencher knows it’s a long shot considering the schools and regions of the country his squad is competing against for this prize, but he’s throwing a Hail Mary to West alumni, friends, family and any Granite Staters, football fans or not, to get out the vote by the Nov. 11 deadline. “I’m calling on anyone and everyone who cares deeply for the success of our community and students to click like and share our Instagram video,” Provencher said. “We need your collective spirit and support in these last days of voting. This is our chance to win big, invest in our students, and show everyone what makes Manchester and New Hampshire high school football so great.” Provencher has leaned heavily on his senior tri-captains Logan Paradis (RB/LB), Ke’Shawn Foster (WR/DB) and Nono Omol (TE/LB) this fall, and the trio has helped spearhead a significant turnaround from finishing 1-8 in 2023 into a playoff contender in 2024. “The program over the last maybe 10 or so years has hovered around 30-35 players,” Provencher said. “There are plenty of D2 teams in that ballpark, but I think in order to be competitive in D2 you’ve really got to be closer to 60\. Last year, my first, we had roughly 13 players committed and got that up to 50\. Now we’re at 60. “We talk to the players about how important it is to have a freshman team, and a JV team, and a varsity team. We are now able to do that. The result is the guys getting to play more football, and that makes them better football players.” The future is looking bright with the numbers increase at West. The freshman team is undefeated this fall, and the junior varsity only has one loss. The team’s motto for this year was “Set The Standard.” It seems as though the seniors are doing just that for the underclassmen. “Every practice, every game, we’re trying to be better, set a new standard,” Foster said in the Instagram contest video. “Set something for us to rise for and compete to.” Even before the outcome of Friday night’s game with Hanover, or the final votes are tallied in the T-Mobile contest on Nov. 11, this group of Blue Knights has definitely set a new standard at West. “I love the community here,” Paradis says in the contest video. “It’s been down for a little bit, but I think with all of us, we’re bringing the community back up.”