The Weekend Kickoff: Division I football playoffs a contrast in styles

The format changes made to the Division I football playoffs this season drew a distinct line through the middle of the division in a way the NHIAA likely didn't expect.

Sure, the division was divided this season to put the South and East conferences on one side of an eight-team bracket, and the North and West conference on the other. But there's more to it than just that, and it should make for a fascinating tournament and championship game.

On one side are the traditional offenses, the ones that play a ground-and-pound brand of football, and sometimes treat the forward pass like it has the plague. (Although its worth noting that Pinkerton and Exeter combined for over 200 yards passing last Friday).

On the other are four teams that like to spread out the opposing defense and run as many plays as possible. Some times, that means throwing the ball around the field, while other times, it means running the ball and taking advantage of space.

And some times, it means both.

Does the type of offense a team runs serve as some kind of predictor as to who will win a championship?

Not likely. A year ago, Pinkerton's run-first offense got the best of Bedford and its spread, while the year before it was Concord's spread offense beating up on Pinkerton.

While those two championships, and this year's by default, will feature a contrast in styles, the breakdown hasn't gone as deep as it does this year. And again, it just happens to be a fortunate accident.

Division II

Seven of the eight teams participating in the postseason in Division II have faced off against at least twice.

The lone exception? St. Thomas, the division's top seed and the only undefeated team entering the playoffs.

In fact, the Saints didn't play a team that finished with a winning record all season, with their opponents going 22-43 on the season.

Compare that to the four teams that finished a game back from St. Thomas - Windham, Kennett, Souhegan and Milford - and all four played at least two teams that finished over .500 and had at least one win over a team with six or more wins.

Part of that difference comes from their respective conferences. The East Conference, with St. Thomas removed, compiled a record of 7-25, while the five other teams in the North (minus Kennett) went 21-20 and the South was 18-14 with one of the three 7-1 teams removed.

So St. Thomas may enter the playoffs with the best talent, especially on offense, as the Saints scored less than 40 points in a game just once all season.

But are they battle tested? Not compared to the rest of the field. Of course, that might not matter.

Division III

Crossing over between conferences does more than potentially set up a rematch between Winnisquam and Bow in the championship game in Division III.

It also creates a great potential for upsets.

If the quarterfinals stayed within each conference, like it did a season ago, the possibility was great that the top two teams on each side would reach the semifinals.

In the North, Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, the two seed, crushed Stevens, the team that was third, 42-0 during the regular season, while undefeated Newport held off Franklin 14-8. Likewise, in the South, Bow had its way with Bishop Brady, 48-7, and Winnisquam shut out Somersworth 26-0.

But thanks to the crossover, the potential for an upset is greater. None of the teams playing in the first round met during the regular season, and in fact, there were only two regular-season crossover game between teams that made the playoffs - ILM beat Somersworth and Bishop Brady beat Franklin.

The other four - Newport, Stevens, Winnisquam and Bow - beat up on non-playoff teams, although Newport's win over Campbell and Bow's win over Gilford in the second week of the season looked a lot better at the time.

Don't be surprised if one of the road teams gives its higher-seeded opponent a bit of a scare.