The Auburn Pitts Presents Pete Tarrier's Power Poll Ballot
2015-10-27
Hunter Long and Exeter remain near the top of the poll
UNION LEADER/WMUR/ESPN NEW HAMPSHIRE FOOTBALL POWER POLL Oct. 27, 2015 ( Week 8 )
The top 10 high school football teams in New Hampshire, as voted by the staffs of the New Hampshire Union Leader, WMUR-TV and ESPN New Hampshire, with record, first-place votes/points in parentheses, plus previous week's ranking:
1. Goffstown, 8-0 (6/60), 1st
2. Bedford, 7-1 (53), 3rd
3. Exeter, 7-1 (46), 2nd
4. Salem, 6-2 (41), 4th
5. Timberlane, 6-2 (35), 5th
6. Pinkerton, 6-2 (27), 6th
7. Winnacunnet, 5-3 (24), 7th
8. St. Thomas, 7-0 (19), 9th
9. Bishop Guertin, 5-3 (13), 8th
10. Merrimack, 5-3 (10), NR
Also receiving votes: Milford, 6-1 (1), NR; Souhegan, 6-1 (1), NR.
HERE’S HOW I VOTED…
1. Goffstown…the Grizzlies held off a tough Bishop Guertin team on Saturday to stay undefeated and clinch the top spot in Division 1 North Conference. The win didn’t come without any negative impact however as senior quarterback Casey Gervais reportedly had to leave the game with an injury. Hopefully Gervais will be OK to play in the regular season finale vs winless Manchester Memorial on Friday night or at least be available for the playoffs.
2. Bedford…the Bulldogs have quietly righted the ship after losing the game in Goffstown a couple weeks ago. Because of that Bedford doesn’t have to worry about having to beat Manchester Central in the season finale this Friday night to get into the playoffs. The Bulldogs’ seniors on the team remember well what happened to them 2 years ago when Jesiah Wade and the Little Green went to Bedford and shocked the entire state dashing Bedford’s playoff dreams.
3. St Thomas…maybe my constant pontification about how the other voters in this poll don’t give the Saints enough respect is actually starting to take affect? I say that because after a bye week, St Thomas actually moved up a spot in the overall poll to number 8. Still, considering that I have St Thomas ranked 3rd on my ballot this week shows I still have work to do. If the other voters want to get an up close and personal look at St Thomas they should pay a visit to Gill Stadium in Manchester this Friday night as the Saints close the regular season against Trinity.
4. Exeter…count me as one of the people who thought Exeter had Merrimack beat after Mason Wallace ran in a short touchdown run to give the Blue Hawks a 28-27 lead with 2:27 to play, rallying Exeter all the way back from a 13 point 2nd half deficit. But this time the Blue Hawks were on the other end of a game-winning FG in the final seconds as Merrimack’s Kyle Newman put one thru the uprights with :18.4 ticks left. The loss didn’t effect Exeter’s playoff standing as they were already in having won D1 East Conference. That’s a good thing considering there’s a hungry Pinkerton team heading into Bill Ball Stadium this Friday night in need of a win.
5. Pinkerton…I took a pretty good beating last week from Dave Haley and Justin McIsaac on the NH High School Football Show on ESPN NH because of where I had this 6-2 Pinkerton team ranked on my ballot. I still think they are better than Salem who they beat 34-20 early in the season. My ranking of Timberlane 2 spots behind Pinkerton is a little hard for some people to understand simply because the Owls beat Pinkerton head to head and they both have the same exact record. But Salem is also 6-2 and they beat Timberlane 17-7 tough for (despite a 3 point head to head loss to the Owls). I’m not going to let a little heckling make me change my mind. We’ll have the NH Sportspage video camera in Exeter on Friday night…and because it’s Halloween Weekend I’ll be covering the game in costume. Click the following links to see what I wore the last 2 seasons…
Londonderry @ Salem 10/31/14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Manchester Central @ Bedford 11/1/13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
6. Salem…the Blue Devils have already clinched a playoff spot in the still muddled D1 South. It’s Salem’s 1st playoff appearance since the Jack Gati coached team of 2011. Salem finishes the regular season against Londonderry this Friday night in a game with far less hype than the match-up between these two teams a year ago.
7. Timberlane…the Owls have a HUGE game in Merrimack on Friday night. I don’t have enough space in this column to try and explain the various playoff scenarios which are tied to this game and the other games involving the teams from the D1 East and South Conference postseason cluster. Tune into ESPN New Hampshire Radio if you want to follow the action LIVE from Merrimack on Friday night because Nick Anastos and coach Mike Belliveau will have the play-by-play.
8. Bishop Guertin…BG gave Goffstown their toughest battle all year outside of the Bedford game, but it came at a cost. QB JT Hiscoe went down with an ankle injury and he may have to sit out the regular season finale against Nashua South on Friday night. Sophomore Sam Raitt is the backup.
9. Winnacunnet…Dave Haley mentioned during our radio show the other day that teams like Winnacunnet and Concord could make up a pretty good NH High School Football NIT field. The Warriors are widely considered as one of the teams no one wants to see come playoff time. The problem for Winnacunnet is they might not even make it there. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out this weekend.
10. Merrimack…Much to the dismay of several Merrimack supporters that have told me they don’t want the “Tarrier Kiss of Death” bestowed upon their team, I am giving the Tomahawks my vote this week after their big win at home last Friday against Exeter. Merrimack can thank D2 Milford for knocking Windham off on Saturday to pave the way for the Tomahawks to grab the 10th spot on my ballot.
Just missing the cut…D2 logjam teams Kennett, Windham, Milford & Souhegan who are all sitting on just 1 loss heading into the final week of the regular season.
1. Goffstown, 8-0 (6/60), 1st
2. Bedford, 7-1 (53), 3rd
3. Exeter, 7-1 (46), 2nd
4. Salem, 6-2 (41), 4th
5. Timberlane, 6-2 (35), 5th
6. Pinkerton, 6-2 (27), 6th
7. Winnacunnet, 5-3 (24), 7th
8. St. Thomas, 7-0 (19), 9th
9. Bishop Guertin, 5-3 (13), 8th
10. Merrimack, 5-3 (10), NR
Also receiving votes: Milford, 6-1 (1), NR; Souhegan, 6-1 (1), NR.
HERE’S HOW I VOTED…
1. Goffstown…the Grizzlies held off a tough Bishop Guertin team on Saturday to stay undefeated and clinch the top spot in Division 1 North Conference. The win didn’t come without any negative impact however as senior quarterback Casey Gervais reportedly had to leave the game with an injury. Hopefully Gervais will be OK to play in the regular season finale vs winless Manchester Memorial on Friday night or at least be available for the playoffs.
2. Bedford…the Bulldogs have quietly righted the ship after losing the game in Goffstown a couple weeks ago. Because of that Bedford doesn’t have to worry about having to beat Manchester Central in the season finale this Friday night to get into the playoffs. The Bulldogs’ seniors on the team remember well what happened to them 2 years ago when Jesiah Wade and the Little Green went to Bedford and shocked the entire state dashing Bedford’s playoff dreams.
3. St Thomas…maybe my constant pontification about how the other voters in this poll don’t give the Saints enough respect is actually starting to take affect? I say that because after a bye week, St Thomas actually moved up a spot in the overall poll to number 8. Still, considering that I have St Thomas ranked 3rd on my ballot this week shows I still have work to do. If the other voters want to get an up close and personal look at St Thomas they should pay a visit to Gill Stadium in Manchester this Friday night as the Saints close the regular season against Trinity.
4. Exeter…count me as one of the people who thought Exeter had Merrimack beat after Mason Wallace ran in a short touchdown run to give the Blue Hawks a 28-27 lead with 2:27 to play, rallying Exeter all the way back from a 13 point 2nd half deficit. But this time the Blue Hawks were on the other end of a game-winning FG in the final seconds as Merrimack’s Kyle Newman put one thru the uprights with :18.4 ticks left. The loss didn’t effect Exeter’s playoff standing as they were already in having won D1 East Conference. That’s a good thing considering there’s a hungry Pinkerton team heading into Bill Ball Stadium this Friday night in need of a win.
5. Pinkerton…I took a pretty good beating last week from Dave Haley and Justin McIsaac on the NH High School Football Show on ESPN NH because of where I had this 6-2 Pinkerton team ranked on my ballot. I still think they are better than Salem who they beat 34-20 early in the season. My ranking of Timberlane 2 spots behind Pinkerton is a little hard for some people to understand simply because the Owls beat Pinkerton head to head and they both have the same exact record. But Salem is also 6-2 and they beat Timberlane 17-7 tough for (despite a 3 point head to head loss to the Owls). I’m not going to let a little heckling make me change my mind. We’ll have the NH Sportspage video camera in Exeter on Friday night…and because it’s Halloween Weekend I’ll be covering the game in costume. Click the following links to see what I wore the last 2 seasons…
Londonderry @ Salem 10/31/14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Manchester Central @ Bedford 11/1/13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
6. Salem…the Blue Devils have already clinched a playoff spot in the still muddled D1 South. It’s Salem’s 1st playoff appearance since the Jack Gati coached team of 2011. Salem finishes the regular season against Londonderry this Friday night in a game with far less hype than the match-up between these two teams a year ago.
7. Timberlane…the Owls have a HUGE game in Merrimack on Friday night. I don’t have enough space in this column to try and explain the various playoff scenarios which are tied to this game and the other games involving the teams from the D1 East and South Conference postseason cluster. Tune into ESPN New Hampshire Radio if you want to follow the action LIVE from Merrimack on Friday night because Nick Anastos and coach Mike Belliveau will have the play-by-play.
8. Bishop Guertin…BG gave Goffstown their toughest battle all year outside of the Bedford game, but it came at a cost. QB JT Hiscoe went down with an ankle injury and he may have to sit out the regular season finale against Nashua South on Friday night. Sophomore Sam Raitt is the backup.
9. Winnacunnet…Dave Haley mentioned during our radio show the other day that teams like Winnacunnet and Concord could make up a pretty good NH High School Football NIT field. The Warriors are widely considered as one of the teams no one wants to see come playoff time. The problem for Winnacunnet is they might not even make it there. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out this weekend.
10. Merrimack…Much to the dismay of several Merrimack supporters that have told me they don’t want the “Tarrier Kiss of Death” bestowed upon their team, I am giving the Tomahawks my vote this week after their big win at home last Friday against Exeter. Merrimack can thank D2 Milford for knocking Windham off on Saturday to pave the way for the Tomahawks to grab the 10th spot on my ballot.
Just missing the cut…D2 logjam teams Kennett, Windham, Milford & Souhegan who are all sitting on just 1 loss heading into the final week of the regular season.