900 Degrees Pizzaria Presents Pete Tarrier's Final Power Poll Ballot
2014-11-25
Kellin Bail and Windham are Division II Champions
UNION LEADER/WGIR/WMUR FOOTBALL POWER POLL (FINAL)
The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, as voted by the staffs of the New Hampshire Union Leader, WGIR AM and FM, and WMUR-TV after Week 12, with first-place/points in parentheses:
1. Pinkerton, 12-0 (6/60)
2. Bedford, 11-1 (51)
3. Londonderry, 8-2 (49)
4. Salem, 7-2 (38)
5. Exeter, 8-3 (37)
6. Windham, 11-0 (31)
7. St. Thomas, 9-2 (23)
8. Concord, 6-4 (18)
9. Kennett, 9-1 (9)
10. Portsmouth, 6-4 (8)
Others receiving votes: Campbell, 9-2 (5), Bow, 9-1 (1)
1. Pinkerton...the prevailing thought all year long was that there was Pinkerton...and then there was everybody else a notch or two underneath them. That ultimately proved to be true on Saturday night at UNH when the Astros capped off their unbeaten season with a totally dominating performance against Bedford in the D1 Championship Game.
2. Bedford...as for the Bulldogs, some will forever wonder how Bedford might have fared against Pinkerton with a healthy Mike Vailas. Vailas was much more to Bedford than just a QB. He was also a standout defensive back and a dangerous special teams returner and he gave the Bulldogs big play potential in all 3 phases of the game. And yes, I do believe Bedford would have had a much better showing with Vailas than the 37-0 outcome, but I still think Pinkerton would have won the game comfortably. It's just too bad we didn't get the chance to see it happen.
3. Windham...I thought about moving the undefeated D2 Champion Jags all the way up to number 2 on my ballot over Bedford which is certainly not the same team now that they were with Vailas. But I kept the Bulldogs 2nd and moved Windham up 1 spot into 3rd because Bedford played a much tougher schedule week to week than Windham did. That said, once again I seem to have a lot more faith in the Jags than the other voters do considering how they ended up 6th overall despite me placing them 3rd.
4. Londonderry...ask Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly what team's offense gave his Astros defense the biggest challenge this season and he'll say it was the Lancers in a heartbeat. The problem for Londonderrry was they were in the same conference as Pinkerton who gave the Lancers their only 2 losses of the year.
5. Salem...the Blue Devils finally get to take the field in a game on Thanksgiving Eve vs Lawrence, Mass...almost a month after their once promising season came to an abrupt end on Halloween night thanks to Londonderry's infamous and controversial field goal. And it looks like they'll be playing that game in a pretty good snow storm according to the weather reports!
6. St Thomas...that's a really good football team that came up on the short end of an entertaining 38-28 D2 Championship Game battle vs Windham. Anyone who was at the game had to think the Saints were going to win after they stormed ahead in the 3rd quarter by scoring 28 unanswered points after falling behind 21-0 just 7 seconds into the 2nd quarter.
7. Exeter...I've fantasized about a Windham/Salem Thanksgiving Day game to see who's the best team from the southern most part of NH this year. How about a Seacoast version of Turkey Bowl Football Fantasy Island featuring Exeter and St Thomas? Talk about contrasting styles that one would be with Exeter's ground and pound vs Saint Thomas' air show!
8. Concord...you can thank the 2013 Crimson Tide for providing the fuel that fired Pinkerton's march to an undefeated title run this year. After the win over Bedford on Saturday, the Astros were quick to point out Concord's 44-14 Championship Game beat down when they were talking about what motivated them to rectify the situation this time around.
9. Kennett...I'm glad the other voters agreed with me that D2 Kennett belongs in the Top 10 over a group of D1 teams hovering around the .500 mark. To go 9-1 overall after finishing undefeated during the regular season in a tough conference featuring good teams like 5-3 Kearsarge and 4-4 Laconia and Plymouth is no easy task.
10. Campbell...no offense to a pretty good Portsmouth team who ended up 10th in the final poll despite my decision to leave the Clippers of my ballot, but I don't see how the D3 Champion Cougars did not do enough to convince all the voters they belong in the Poll. I mean, they ran the table after a 1-2 start and gained playoff revenge against both Somersworth and Bow who had beaten them early in the season.