Playoff scenarios for this weekend's Division II football games

With the final week of the regular season here, it appears that there are 10 teams in Division II that can say they've still got a shot at the postseason.

Five of those teams have locked up a playoff spot and will be battling for seeding this weekend. Another one is all but in regardless of what it does, which leaves four teams playing for two berths in the D2 tournament.

Three of the four top seeds have been locked up, with Windham, Plymouth and St. Thomas looking like they will be the top three seeds in some order or another. What happens around the division should determine whether the Jaguars or the Bobcats are the No. 1 seed, while the Saints appear to be locked in at No. 3. Conference winners get the top two seeds.

The winner of Hanover and John Stark will most likely end up as the No. 4 seed, while there is a chance that Hanover could slip past St. Thomas for the third seed if the Marauders win. The loser of that game will be on the road for the quarterfinals, but probably won't slip further than sixth.

Souhegan looks to be in, even with a loss to Hollis Brookline, but a win would erase all doubt. The Cavaliers and Pelham have destiny in their own hands - win and get in - while Bow and ConVal not only need to win, but could use a little help.

Here’s a look at what is at stake this week for the teams that are in contention for the postseason.

Playoffs, here they come …

Windham (7-0, 16.2857 rating)

• Hosts ConVal (4-3) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: First place in the South Conference and No. 1 overall seed.
• Wins: Hollis Brookline, Souhegan, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, Milford, St. Thomas, Lebanon, Gilford-Belmont.
• Windham has clinched a playoff spot and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with St. Thomas, so if the two finish tied, the Jaguars win the conference. Windham clinches the conference title with a win, or a loss and wins by any of the following: HDH, Hollis Brookline, Milford, Lebanon, Gilford-Belmont, Manchester West or Kingswood. A win would also give the Jaguars the No. 1 overall seed.
• Predicted finish: No. 1 seed.

Plymouth (7-0, 14.2857)

• Hosts Milford (2-5) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: First place in the North Conference and No. 2 overall seed.
• Wins: Kingswood, Kennett, Laconia, Bow, Merrimack Valley, Gilford-Belmont, Lebanon.
• Plymouth has clinched a playoff spot and will win the North Conference with a win over Milford and a Hanover loss to John Stark. If Hanover wins, Plymouth would also win the conference with a win by Bow or by Merrimack Valley. A loss to Milford, combined with a Hanover win would drop Plymouth to fourth.
• Predicted finish: No. 2 seed.

St. Thomas (7-1, 14.2500)

• Has a bye in Week 9.
• Current position: Second place in the South Conference and No. 3 seed.
• Wins: Sanborn, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, ConVal, Milford, Pelham, Kennett, Souhegan.
• The Saints will finish third unless Windham loses to ConVal and Souhegan, Pelham and Kennett all win. St. Thomas would then finish first or second, depending on what Plymouth and Hanover do in their finales. There is a small chance the Saints finish fourth if Windham, Plymouth and Hanover all win, combined with wins by Hollis Brookline, Manchester West and Kingswood.
• Predicted finish: No. 3 seed.

Hanover (7-0, 12.8571)

• Plays at John Stark (6-1) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Second place in the North Conference and No. 4 seed.
• Wins: Laconia, Gilford-Belmont, Merrimack Valley, Pembroke, Kingswood, Kennett, Lebanon.
• The Marauders have locked up a playoff spot and a win over John Stark would guarantee the Marauders a home playoff game in the quarterfinals. There's a chance Hanover could also move past Plymouth for the top seed in the conference. A loss to the Generals would likely drop Hanover to fifth, although a win by Souhegan over Hollis Brookline, could mean the Marauders finish sixth.
• Predicted finish: No. 4 seed.

John Stark (6-1, 11.7143)

• Hosts Hanover (7-0) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Third place in the North Conference and No. 5 seed.
• John Stark's win over Bow last Saturday locked up a playoff spot for the Generals for the second year in a row. John Stark would get a home playoff game as the No. 4 seed with a win over Hanover, while a loss could drop the Generals down to sixth.
• Predicted finish: No. 6 seed.

Work to do …

Souhegan (5-2, 10.8571)

• Plays at Hollis Brookline (5-2) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Third place in the South Conference and No. 6 seed.
• Wins: John Stark, Milford, Manchester West, Sanborn, Hillsboro-Deering Hopkinton.
• Souhegan would get in with a win over Hollis Brookline, and the Sabers would most likely get in with a loss, too, so long as Pelham or Bow lost. But if both those teams win, and some combination of Gilford-Belmont, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton and Kennett also win, then the Sabers would be on the outside looking in.
• Predicted finish: No. 5 seed.

Hollis Brookline (5-2, 10.0000)

• Hosts Souhegan (5-2) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Fourth place in the South Conference and No. 7 seed.
• Wins: Sanborn, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, Merrimack Valley, ConVal, Manchester West.
• The Cavs' playoff chances took a hit with last week's loss to Pelham, but HB would wrapup a playoff spot, and could finish as high as fifth, with a win over Souhegan. A loss would mean HB would be rooting for Manchester West or Lebanon to pull out a win over Pelham and Bow, respectively. Otherwise, the Cavs would need wins by Merrimack Valley and ConVal to have a shot at getting in.
• Predicted finish: Outside.

Pelham (4-3, 8.8571)

• Plays at Manchester West (1-6) on Oct. 27.
• Current position: Fifth place in the South Conference and No. 8.
• Wins: Gilford-Belmont, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, ConVal, Hollis Brookline.
• With wins over ConVal and Hollis Brookline over the last two weeks, the Pythons have thrown themselves into the playoff field. A win over Manchester West would likely clinch a playoff spot for Pelham, the team's first since 2013 when it was in D3. A loss means the Pythons would need a lot of help to have any shot and would likely eliminate them.
• Predicted finish: No. 8 seed.

Need some help …

Bow (5-2, 8.8571)

• Hosts Lebanon (1-6) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Fourth place in the North Conference and outside the playoffs.
• Wins: Pembroke, Merrimack Valley, Gilford-Belmont, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, Kennett.
• Bow is in a slightly better position than Pelham, as a win would likely get them into the postseason without any outside help. A loss would mean the Falcons would need a loss by Pelham to sneak past the Pythons to get into the playoffs.
• Predicted finish: No. 7 seed.

ConVal (4-3, 7.7143)

• Plays at Windham (6-0) on Oct. 28.
• Current position: Sixth place in the South Conference and outside of the playoffs.
• Wins: Milford, Manchester West, Kingswood, Sanborn.
• ConVal's only hope of making the playoffs is by beating Windham and getting some help from Manchester West, Sanborn and Kingswood.
• Predicted finish: Outside.