The Weekend Kickoff: Plenty of playoff scenarios for football

It took a couple of years, and a bit of tweaking, but the final two weeks of the football season have to be what the NHIAA hoped for when it made the change to three divisions for the start of the 2013 school year.

Going into the weekend, 37 of 57 football teams in the state have either clinched or are still alive for postseason play. Two of those teams - St. Thomas and John Stark in Division II - have a bye this week, so that means 35 teams will be playing in a game that means a whole lot when it comes to their playoff future.

While there were some good postseason races under the old format, there weren't this many teams competing for the postseason in the final weeks of the regular season. There were the same number of playoff spots - six divisions with four playoff teams is the same as three divisions with eight playoff teams.

In 2012, the final year of the six-division format, the race for the playoffs was decided in half the divisions before the regular season ended. In Division II, III and IV, the fourth place team finished at least two games ahead of the next best team.

Maybe there are more one-sided games with the three-division format than there had been in the past, but there wasn't this kind of drama to end a regular season either.

Here's a look at each team in each division that still has a shot at the postseason.

Division I

East Conference

• Exeter (7-0): The Blue Hawks have already clinched a playoff spot and first place in the conference. They'll get the No. 1 seed in the cluster with a win in one of their final two games.
• Winnacunnet (4-3): The Warriors need some help to get into the postseason, needing to win out and have either Salem or Timberlane lose twice, or have Pinkerton lose once.

South Conference

• Salem (5-2): The Blue Devils will clinch a playoff spot with a win in one of their final two games, and can still win the conference. They cannot be the No. 1 seed in the cluster.
• Timberlane (5-2): Like Salem, the Owls will also clinch a playoff spot with a win in one of their last two games, and could still end up winning the conference. Timberlane can also not finish as the No. 1 seed.
• Pinkerton (5-2): Despite the two-game skid, the Astros could end up winning the conference and the top seed in the cluster, or miss the playoffs entirely. That will most likely come down to the regular-season finale at Exeter, a game the Astros will need to win, unless Winnacunnet loses one of its two final games.
• Merrimack (4-3): The Tomahawks remain alive, but their chances are slim, considering at the moment, they hold none of the tiebreakers with the teams they're chasing. The easiest scenario is if Merrimack wins out - beating Exeter and Timberlane - and finishes in a tie with just the Owls for the final spot.
• Londonderry (3-4): The Lancers chances are less likely than Merrimack's. Londonderry would need to beat Winnacunnet this week and Salem next week, and have both of those teams lose their other remaining game. Merrimack would also have to lose at least one of its two remaining games, while Timberlane and Pinkerton would have to win at least one of their remaining games.

North Conference

• Goffstown (7-0): The Grizzlies have already clinched a playoff berth and would win the conference - and the No. 1 seed in the cluster - with one more win, or with a Bishop Guertin loss to Nashua South, or a Bedford loss.
• Bedford (6-1): The Bulldogs are also already in, and would need Goffstown to lose both its remaining games, plus win out, to win the conference.
• Manchester Central (4-3): The Little Green would need to finish with a better record than Nashua North, since the Titans hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. That means Central would have to beat either Nashua South and Bedford, and hope for North loss, or win at least one of those games, and hope North loses both its games.
• Concord (3-4): The Crimson Tide need to win out, plus have both North and Central lose out to finish ahead of them. Or, if North finishes ahead of Bishop Guertin, and the Cardinals lost both their remaining games, Concord would win the tiebreaker over Bishop Guertin.

West Conference

• Bishop Guertin (5-2): A win in either of its games against Goffstown and Nashua South not only gets the Cardinals into the postseason, but wrapups up the conference. Bishop Guertin would be the No. 1 seed if it wins out, and if Goffstown and Bedford both lose their remaining games.
• Nashua North (4-3):  The Titans hold the tiebreakers over Central and Concord, so they just need to keep pace with those two teams to get into the playoffs. North could still win the conference if it wins out and Bishop Guertin loses both its games.  The Titans cannot be the No. 1 seed in the cluster.
• Keene (3-4): The Blackbirds need to win out, which means beating Concord and North, while also having Central lose out.

Division II

East Conference

• St. Thomas (7-0, 13.71): The Saints have a bye this week and have already wrapped up the conference championship. St. Thomas would likely need to beat Trinity in the finale and have Windham lose one of its final two games to take the No. 1 overall seed.

North Conference

• Kennett (5-1, 12.67): Not only do the Eagle lead the conference, they've got wins over the teams chasing them, which will help their rating if those teams keep winning. Beating Laconia this week would go a long way toward helping Kennett get a home game in the quarterfinals.
• Lebanon (4-2, 10.00): The Raiders were in a similar spot last year, when a few late-season losses knocked them out of the playoffs. Lebanon could end Kearsarge's playoff hopes this week, which would also boost the Raiders' rating.
• Kearsarge (4-2, 9.67): The Cougars are in a similar boat as Lebanon, especially after falling to Plymouth last week. A win over Lebanon this week would likely wrap up a playoff spot, but a loss could knock Kearsarge out.
• Laconia (4-3, 7.43): This is a tough call, since the Sachems spent their bye week losing to Monadnock in a game that no one seems to be certain if it counts or not. We're assuming right now that it does, and if so, Laconia needs to beat Kennett and Kearsarge in the next two weeks to have any shot.
• Plymouth (2-4, 6.33): Feels like the Bobcats are going to come up short, but their two wins are over Kennett and Kearsarge, which are better wins than Lebanon and Kearsarge have. Plus Plymouth has two winnable games against Merrimack Valley and Hanover to end the season. Would be interesting if a 4-4 teams ends up in the playoffs after a system was put in place to prevent that.

South Conference

• Windham (6-0, 15.33): If the Jaguars win Saturday's game against Milford, they will most likely be the No. 1 seed again. If not, there's a chance they could fall as far as fourth or fifth in the seeding. Either way, Windham is a lock for the postseason.
• Souhegan (5-1, 13.67): The Sabers finish with ConVal and Pelham, meaning they should pick up two wins,  but it won't help their rating. Souhegan would get a lot of help if Windham lost to Milford and Monadnock to finish the season, and if Trinity can win out.
• Milford (5-1, 12.67): Like the previous two, Milford should be in the postseason, regardless of what happens Saturday at Windham. The Spartans still have Manchester West in the finale, and will be rooting for John Stark, Lebanon and Trinity to win some games.
• Trinity (3-3, 5.67): The Pioneers seem to be in the same boat as Plymouth after two straight losses, and with St. Thomas in the finale, a playoff spot feels unlikely. But, you never know, especially when football rating is involved.

West Conference

• Monadnock (4-3, 8.57): As of right now, the Huskies hold the lead in the conference, thanks to that "controversial" win over Laconia during their bye week. Monadnock also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with John Stark. But if that Laconia win doesn't count, the Huskies would likely need to beat Hollis Brookline and Windham in their final two games to get in the playoffs.
• John Stark (4-3, 8.33): The Generals go into their bye having won three straight after losing three of their first four. That includes a seven-point loss to Milford and a six-point loss to Windham. John Stark ends the year with Sanborn, but even with a win, the Generals might need help from other teams, and the NHIAA.
• Sanborn (2-4, 5.33): Like Plymouth and Trinity, this feels unlikely to happen, but the Indians could end up in a good spot if they finish the season with wins over Pelham and John Stark.

Division III

North Conference

• Newport (6-0): The Tigers have already clinched a spot, and need to win just one of their final two games to be the No. 1 seed out of the conference.
• Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough: (5-1): The Lakers could lose to Mascoma Valley this week and still get the second seed as long as they beat Franklin in the finale. Or if Franklin loses to Newport this week, ILM would take the second spot.
• Stevens (4-2): The Cardinals could finish as high as second or as low as fourth, but right now, they're third.
• Franklin (4-2): Last week's win over Mascoma (2-4) wrapped up a playoff spot, but the Golden Tornadoes finish the regular season against the top two teams in the conference.

South Conference

• Bow (6-0): The Falcons will be in the playoffs again this year, with the winner of Saturday's game against Winnisquam getting the conference's top seed.
• Winnisquam (6-0): If the Bears fall to Bow on Saturday, they've got a potentially key game against Bishop Brady to end the season, but only if the Giants beat Campbell this weekend.
• Bishop Brady (4-2): The Giants missed out on a chance to wrap up a playoff spot last week against Somersworth, but would do so with a win over Campbell on Saturday. A loss leaves the door open for the Cougars or Epping-Newmarket to sneak into the postseason.
• Somersworth (3-3): The Hilltoppers need a win this week against Epping-Newmarket with Bow lurking in the regular-season finale. Plus, a loss to the Blue Devils would mean Somersworth loses the tiebreaker with Epping-Newmarket and Campbell.
• Campbell (2-4): If the Cougars beat Bishop Brady and Raymond, and Bishop Brady loses its finale to Winnisquam, or Somersworth drops one game, Campbell gets into the playoffs. Worth noting that Epping-Newmarket holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cougars.
• Epping-Newmarket (2-4): The Blue Devils also have to win out against Somersworth and Farmington-Nute, but Epping-Newmarket would be pulling for Bishop Brady this weekend.