Pinkerton, BG, Goffstown get top seeds in football playoffs

The high school football playoffs will begin on Saturday for Divisions I, II and III, and there were no surprises when the NHIAA released the pairings on Monday.

Pinkerton Academy is the top seed in Division I for the second straight year, while Bishop Guertin is the top seed in D2 once again. Goffstown is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and is the No. 1 seed in D3 for the first time. Missing from the Division III postseason are Souhegan (first time in 15 years) and Milford (first time since 2003).

Division I

Pinkerton finished the regular season 8-0 in the division and the top-seeded Astros will host No. 4 Salem (5-3) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Pinkerton won at Salem during the regular season, 49-14.

Exeter (7-1) is back in the playoffs after going winless a year ago. The No. 2 Blue Hawks will play host to No. 3 Nashua South (5-3) on Saturday, also at 1 p.m. Exeter won the regular-season meeting, 45-7, one of two straight losses for the Panthers to end the season.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 12 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: A Nashua team has played in the final in each of the last four seasons, while Pinkerton has been to six of the last seven finals, winning four.

Division II

Bishop Guertin (7-1) is the No. 1 seed, despite losing its regular-season finale at Keene, and the Cardinals will host No. 4 Timberlane (4-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stellos Stadium. Timberlane finished in a tie with Keene (4-4), but won the tiebreaker thanks to its win over the Blackbirds during the regular season. BG defeated Timberlane 27-6 on Sept. 10. The Owls got into the playoffs despite losing their final two games to Spaulding and Dover by a combined 101-29.

Speaking of Spaulding and Dover, the two teams will meet in the other semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dover. The No. 3 Red Raiders (5-3) are one of the best stories of the football season, having won five straight division games after an 0-3 start to the season. One of those loses was to No. 2 Dover, 19-0, on Sept. 24.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: BG has played in seven straight championship games, winning six, including the last three. All of those games have been against either Exeter or Winnacunnet. The last team that wasn't from that trio to make the final was Dover, which lost to Exeter in 2002. Since 1996, only five different teams have played for a D2 title - Exeter (11 appearances), BG (10), Winnacunnet (five), Dover (two) and Timberlane (two).

Division III

Goffstown (7-1) is the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, but the Grizzlies will have to host No. 4 Portsmouth (6-2), the only team to beat them this season. The Clippers won that game at home, 49-7, on Oct. 14, but the rematch will be at Goffstown at 1 p.m. Saturday.

No. 2 Bedford (6-2) will make its first postseason appearance when it hosts No. 3 Hollis/Brookline (6-2) also at 1 p.m. Saturday. It will be the third time the Cavaliers play at Bedford High School, and H/B lost both games, including last Saturday's loss to Goffstown. Bedford also defeated the Cavs at home, 14-7.

The winners will meet in the championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 at the home of the higher seed.

Of note: There will be a new champion in the division for the first time since 2007. Souhegan, which beat Porstmouth for the last three titles, had played in the championship game in eight of the last nine seasons. Since the 2002 season, only four teams had played in the championship game - Souhegan (eight appearances), Plymouth (seven), Portsmouth (four) and Milford (one).