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# Top spot in Union Leader/ESPN NH football power poll still belongs to Bedford
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/top-spot-union-leaderespn-nh-football-power-poll-still-belongs-bedford/
- Published: 2016-09-27T13:00:42.000Z
- Updated: 2016-09-27T13:00:42.000Z
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Fall Sports, Division I, Division II, Division III, football, power poll, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Here is the Union Leader/ESPN New Hampshire football power poll for Week 4 of the 2016 season.

These are the top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, with record, first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus last week’s ranking:

1. Bedford, 4-0 (6/69), 1st
2. Merrimack, 3-1 (60), 2nd
3. Exeter, 4-0 (1/57), 3rd
4. Salem, 4-0 (52), 5th
5. Goffstown 3-1 (39), 4th
6. Windham, 4-0 (34), 6th
7. John Stark, 4-0 (19), 8th
8. (tie) Pinkerton, 2-2 (12), 9th
9. (tie) Dover, 3-1 (12), NR
10. Plymouth 4-0 (9), NR

**Also receiving votes:** Nashua North, 3-1 (7), NR; Bishop Guertin, 3-1 (6), 7th; Monadnock, 4-0 (4), NR; Portsmouth, 3-1 (3), NR; Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, 4-0 (2), NR.

**Voters are:**

- Roger Brown, Union Leader
- Alex Hall, Union Leader
- Chris Duffy, Union Leader
- Nick Anastos, ESPN New Hampshire
- Pete Tarrier, ESPN New Hampshire
- Dave Haley, New Hampshire Sports Page
- Joe Marchilena, NH-HighSchoolSports.com

And here is how I voted in the poll:

1. Exeter, beat Winnacunnet 31-28
2. Bedford, beat Goffstown 21-7
3. Merrimack, beat Concord 55-20
4. Salem, beat Timberlane 42-14
5. Windham, beat Souhegan 41-7
6. Goffstown,lost to Bedford 21-7
7. John Stark, beat Kingswood 42-0
8. Bishop Guertin, lost to Keene 32-14
9. Nashua North, beat Nashua South 27-16
10. Monadnock, beat Fall Mountain 40-0

No change in the top six spots for me, as I kept all of those teams where they were from last week.

I could understand arguments to move Bedford over Exeter to No. 1 because its now won two games over other top 10 teams (Merrimack, Goffstown), while the Blue Hawks have yet to play a team with a winning record. But as I discussed with a fellow voter over the weekend, the Bulldogs are still not solid in one area that Exeter always is - penalties - and head-to-head, that could be the difference.

Merrimack and Salem meet at Student Memorial Field in Merrimack on Friday, and a win for the Blue Devils would give them a commanding lead in the South Conference. The further along the season goes, the more I believe that Windham would be competing for a playoff spot in Division I this season.

Goffstown had chances to win that game last Saturday against Bedford, the Grizzlies just couldn't capitalize. John Stark has looked every bit as impressive as Windham this season, outscoring opponents 161-20 this year. The Generals host Plymouth on Oct. 15 and both teams could be 6-0 going into that game.

I kept Bishop Guertin and Nashua North in my poll despite recent losses and felt I had to give Monadnock some recognition for still not allowing a single point through four games this season.