Playoff Picture: Division III football (Oct. 2)
It's that point in the football season where all of Division III takes a week to rest up and take stock of what the chances are of making a push to the playoffs. All 16 teams have a bye for Week 6 and four teams head into it with a 5-0 record.
It's that point in the football season where all of Division III takes a week to rest up and take stock of what the chances are of making a push to the playoffs.
All 16 teams have a bye for Week 6 and four teams head into it with a 5-0 record.
Those four teams - Newport, Monadnock, Somersworth and Campbell - have won each game by an average of 40.5 points, and of those 20 games, only one has been decided by single digits. That was Newport's 14-12 win over Kearsarge opening weekend.
While the two big matchups have yet to take place - Somersworth and Campbell play Oct. 13, Newport and Monadnock play Oct. 20 - some of those one-sided wins have come against teams currently in, or fighting for, a playoff spot.
Since 2013, D3 has alternated between a dominant team winning the title and a surprise team pulling off a couple of upsets. This year, it looks like there could be a couple of really good teams battling it out for the championship.
Here is a look at what the postseason field would be like if the D3 playoffs started this week.
Note: Standings based off results reported to NHIAA.org and other media outlets. These are not official pairings.
North Conference
- x-Newport (5-0), 13.6000
- x-Monadnock (5-0), 13.2000
- x-Stevens (3-2), 8.0000
- x-Kearsarge (3-2), 7.6000
- Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough (2-3), 4.8000
- Newfound (1-4), 2.4000
- Mascoma Valley (1-4), 2.4000
- Fall Mountain (1-4), 2.0000
South Conference
- x-Somersworth (5-0), 13.6000
- x-Campbell (5-0), 13.6000
- x-Epping-Newmarket (3-2), 7.2000
- x-Bishop Brady (3-2), 6.4000
- Franklin (2-3), 4.0000
- Raymond (1-4), 2.0000
- Farmington-Nute (0-5), 0.0000
- Winnisquam (0-5), 0.0000
Playoff teams: Newport, Monadnock, Stevens, Kearsarge, Somersworth, Campbell, Bishop Brady, Epping-Newmarket.
Top seeds
- Newport is the top seed in the North Conference.
- Somersworth is the top seed in the South Conference.
Tiebreakers
- Somersworth wins the tiebreaker with Campbell for the top seed in the South Conference thanks to a better quality of wins against tournament teams.
- Somersworth wins the tiebreaker with Newport for the No. 1 overall seed thanks to a better quality of wins against tournament teams.
Quarterfinal matchups: No. 8 Bishop Brady at No. 1 Somersworth; No. 7 Epping-Newmarket at No. 2 Newport; No. 6 Kearsarge at No. 3 Campbell; No. 5 Stevens at No. 4 Monadnock.
Games to watch this week: All Division III teams are on a bye for Week 6.
