The Bedford Dental Care Thursday Thoughts for 10/17/2013 by Dave Haley
2013-10-17
Trey Scott and Spaulding plays for first plave this weekend
Photo by Tammy Fowler at AJ Inspiration of Rochester
Division I
Bedford (6-0) at Concord (6-0)
The coverage of Bedford is sponsored by Bedford Dental Care Associates and HK Photography
Six weeks into the 2013 season it’s clearly time to differentiate the big games from the meaningful big games. Exhibit A in big games is Pinkerton vs. Concord; an entertaining match-up between two playoff teams from different sub-divisions but with ultimately nothing really at stake. Astros head coach Brian O’Reilly said as much to Pete Tarrier in his post-game interview following a 21-14 overtime loss on Friday night and he was right on the money. That loss and even their season opening loss to Bedford isn’t going to hurt Pinkerton and if it does it won’t be until we’re very late in the postseason. Exhibit B is your match-up here; the victor will win the North sub-division and host the second place team in the first round of the playoffs. There are real implications at stake in this game, the other ‘big games’ are fun but ultimately meaningless. Throw in any appropriate or otherwise metaphor to compare but there is our reality.
Bedford has a tremendous defense, possibly the best in the state. Concord has a tremendous offense, possibly the best in the state. Robbie Law proved last week that when the running game bogs down (Pinkerton’s run defense was excellent for most of the night) he can win a game with his arm. The Bulldogs also were showing another facet to their attack across the state when their quarterback Dan Collela threw for over 300 yards in a win over Manchester Memorial.
The game plan against Kurt Hines’s team has been to blanket players like Nick Vilas and make other people beat you. Other players have stepped up but is this an offense that can score with Concord? Do we have another 21-14 overtime type game in store at Memorial field Friday night?
Pete Tarrier and our newest contributor Jennifer Chick will have all the coverage Friday night in our game of the week.
Exeter (4-2) at Spaulding (3-3)
The coverage of Exeter is sponsored by Chad Fletcher at Blue Water Mortgage
Another meaningful big game as the winner here owns first place in the Eastern sub-division.
Both teams will pound it on the ground behind two very good running backs. The Blue Hawks will give the ball to Jay Inzenga (788 yards on 106 carries) between the 20’s and to Ryan Kelly (398 yards on 85 carries) in the redzone. The Red Raiders counter with Trey Scott (947 yards on 131 carries) and the underrated Tyler Snow (505 yards on 74 carries). Look for Exeter linebacker Zach Adler to spy Scott everywhere he goes from the backfield, it will be his job to make the tackle if Scott breaks through the line because if he gets past Adler there is a good chance no one is getting him once he gets loose.
Neither team is a real threat to throw the ball and Spaulding has been very up & down defensively. The defending champs have had their pride hurt a bit with losses to Bishop Guertin and Nashua South but they are still undefeated in their sub-division. Who is playing the best football in November is what it always comes down to and the champs still have a very good chance to be the last one standing again. Taking care of business Friday night would be a good place to start..
Bishop Guertin (5-1) at Nashua South (6-0)
A long awaited match-up and first place is on the line Friday night.
C.J Boykin only carried the ball twice for three yards in his return from an elbow injury suffered in the Queen City Jamboree but he made a huge difference with his play on special teams with two huge punt returns. The shorter the field the more frequent the scoring chances for BG and that’s a big factor considering how good this Nashua South defense has been.
QB Trevor Knight has been as good as advertised this season, he ranks 6th in Division I in rushing and probably would lead it in passing if he had been healthy all year. He also has the perfect mix of confidence and experience to lead his team into a rivalry game like this. Both teams will play on their home field and if the rivalry has cooled due to inactivity in recent years it won’t take long to ratchet back up Friday night. At stake is first place and the right to wear your dark colors in a playoff game, as both teams that call Stellos Stadium home, where the playoffs will likely begin (can’t we create a wild card to get an excellent Keene team in the playoffs?) in November.
Division II
Portsmouth (5-1) at Plymouth Regional (6-0)
Whether it translates into a win on the road Saturday afternoon (and there is no better venue for a Saturday afternoon game in New Hampshire than Plymouth) or not falling behind 14-0 to St. Thomas last week was the best thing that could have happened to Portsmouth. The Clippers have gotten healthier and rolled through their previous four games over Kingswood, Laconia, Merrimack Valley and Souhegan with ease, they needed to be tested going into their biggest game of the year and the Saints presented that challenge.
We’ve seen an excellent Plymouth defensive line win the line of scrimmage all season long but can they cover a team as fast as Portsmouth in space? My guess is they will adjust just fine (Coach Lenahan’s teams are legendarily well prepared) but for cornerbacks like Collin Sullivan the Clippers big set of wide-outs; Jake Becker, Jack Landry and Ian MacDonald, will pose the toughest challenge Plymouth has faced all year.
Trinity tried beating Plymouth at their own game earlier this year with negative results, the Clippers are not going to follow suit. They will run the ball up the middle with big Mikey Toar (418 yards on 58 carries and about 120 broken tackles) to keep players like Kyle Resiert and Jared Kuehl honest defensively but spreading Plymouth out is how they will attack. Donovan Phanor is a championship winning quarterback and his ability to both read the defense and make plays with his feet will be a huge factor.
On the other side Collin Sullivan is having another terrific season (his interception last week against Laconia was the first of his career…yes…career and he’s a three year starter) and isn’t going to give up the football. Plymouth will pound the ball with Kuehl and Resiert and try and get the underrated Justin Robinson out in the flat. It should all make for a terrific afternoon in Plymouth Saturday.
Division III
Somersworth (3-2) at Mascoma (3-2)
Nice out of sub-division match-up between two tough, very well coached teams.
The Hilltoppers are a regular attendee of the post-season but they find themselves in the toughest sub-division in Division III (which I covered last week with everything short of a slide show presentation). Mike Paquette has taken over for the graduated Drew Francouer at quarterback and has played very well behind an offensive line that is anchored by Hunter Kretschmar. Colin Breckmeyer has produced at tight end and also served as maybe the team’s best defensive back while running back Elijah Dejoie gives this team a home run threat they may have lacked last year.
Mascoma has a very good running attack of their own behind Kyle Kosiorek (486 yards on 77 carries) and Shane Pierce (325 yards on 48 carries). Justin Marsh runs the offense from the quarterback position and has thrown for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. The offense hasn’t been the problem, it is a defense that allowed 78 points in a pair of losses to Stevens and Winnisquam. Both teams have work to do if they are going to make it to the post-season, a game like this helps put the winner in the right frame of mind as the season winds down.
Bedford (6-0) at Concord (6-0)
The coverage of Bedford is sponsored by Bedford Dental Care Associates and HK Photography
Six weeks into the 2013 season it’s clearly time to differentiate the big games from the meaningful big games. Exhibit A in big games is Pinkerton vs. Concord; an entertaining match-up between two playoff teams from different sub-divisions but with ultimately nothing really at stake. Astros head coach Brian O’Reilly said as much to Pete Tarrier in his post-game interview following a 21-14 overtime loss on Friday night and he was right on the money. That loss and even their season opening loss to Bedford isn’t going to hurt Pinkerton and if it does it won’t be until we’re very late in the postseason. Exhibit B is your match-up here; the victor will win the North sub-division and host the second place team in the first round of the playoffs. There are real implications at stake in this game, the other ‘big games’ are fun but ultimately meaningless. Throw in any appropriate or otherwise metaphor to compare but there is our reality.
Bedford has a tremendous defense, possibly the best in the state. Concord has a tremendous offense, possibly the best in the state. Robbie Law proved last week that when the running game bogs down (Pinkerton’s run defense was excellent for most of the night) he can win a game with his arm. The Bulldogs also were showing another facet to their attack across the state when their quarterback Dan Collela threw for over 300 yards in a win over Manchester Memorial.
The game plan against Kurt Hines’s team has been to blanket players like Nick Vilas and make other people beat you. Other players have stepped up but is this an offense that can score with Concord? Do we have another 21-14 overtime type game in store at Memorial field Friday night?
Pete Tarrier and our newest contributor Jennifer Chick will have all the coverage Friday night in our game of the week.
Exeter (4-2) at Spaulding (3-3)
The coverage of Exeter is sponsored by Chad Fletcher at Blue Water Mortgage
Another meaningful big game as the winner here owns first place in the Eastern sub-division.
Both teams will pound it on the ground behind two very good running backs. The Blue Hawks will give the ball to Jay Inzenga (788 yards on 106 carries) between the 20’s and to Ryan Kelly (398 yards on 85 carries) in the redzone. The Red Raiders counter with Trey Scott (947 yards on 131 carries) and the underrated Tyler Snow (505 yards on 74 carries). Look for Exeter linebacker Zach Adler to spy Scott everywhere he goes from the backfield, it will be his job to make the tackle if Scott breaks through the line because if he gets past Adler there is a good chance no one is getting him once he gets loose.
Neither team is a real threat to throw the ball and Spaulding has been very up & down defensively. The defending champs have had their pride hurt a bit with losses to Bishop Guertin and Nashua South but they are still undefeated in their sub-division. Who is playing the best football in November is what it always comes down to and the champs still have a very good chance to be the last one standing again. Taking care of business Friday night would be a good place to start..
Bishop Guertin (5-1) at Nashua South (6-0)
A long awaited match-up and first place is on the line Friday night.
C.J Boykin only carried the ball twice for three yards in his return from an elbow injury suffered in the Queen City Jamboree but he made a huge difference with his play on special teams with two huge punt returns. The shorter the field the more frequent the scoring chances for BG and that’s a big factor considering how good this Nashua South defense has been.
QB Trevor Knight has been as good as advertised this season, he ranks 6th in Division I in rushing and probably would lead it in passing if he had been healthy all year. He also has the perfect mix of confidence and experience to lead his team into a rivalry game like this. Both teams will play on their home field and if the rivalry has cooled due to inactivity in recent years it won’t take long to ratchet back up Friday night. At stake is first place and the right to wear your dark colors in a playoff game, as both teams that call Stellos Stadium home, where the playoffs will likely begin (can’t we create a wild card to get an excellent Keene team in the playoffs?) in November.
Division II
Portsmouth (5-1) at Plymouth Regional (6-0)
Whether it translates into a win on the road Saturday afternoon (and there is no better venue for a Saturday afternoon game in New Hampshire than Plymouth) or not falling behind 14-0 to St. Thomas last week was the best thing that could have happened to Portsmouth. The Clippers have gotten healthier and rolled through their previous four games over Kingswood, Laconia, Merrimack Valley and Souhegan with ease, they needed to be tested going into their biggest game of the year and the Saints presented that challenge.
We’ve seen an excellent Plymouth defensive line win the line of scrimmage all season long but can they cover a team as fast as Portsmouth in space? My guess is they will adjust just fine (Coach Lenahan’s teams are legendarily well prepared) but for cornerbacks like Collin Sullivan the Clippers big set of wide-outs; Jake Becker, Jack Landry and Ian MacDonald, will pose the toughest challenge Plymouth has faced all year.
Trinity tried beating Plymouth at their own game earlier this year with negative results, the Clippers are not going to follow suit. They will run the ball up the middle with big Mikey Toar (418 yards on 58 carries and about 120 broken tackles) to keep players like Kyle Resiert and Jared Kuehl honest defensively but spreading Plymouth out is how they will attack. Donovan Phanor is a championship winning quarterback and his ability to both read the defense and make plays with his feet will be a huge factor.
On the other side Collin Sullivan is having another terrific season (his interception last week against Laconia was the first of his career…yes…career and he’s a three year starter) and isn’t going to give up the football. Plymouth will pound the ball with Kuehl and Resiert and try and get the underrated Justin Robinson out in the flat. It should all make for a terrific afternoon in Plymouth Saturday.
Division III
Somersworth (3-2) at Mascoma (3-2)
Nice out of sub-division match-up between two tough, very well coached teams.
The Hilltoppers are a regular attendee of the post-season but they find themselves in the toughest sub-division in Division III (which I covered last week with everything short of a slide show presentation). Mike Paquette has taken over for the graduated Drew Francouer at quarterback and has played very well behind an offensive line that is anchored by Hunter Kretschmar. Colin Breckmeyer has produced at tight end and also served as maybe the team’s best defensive back while running back Elijah Dejoie gives this team a home run threat they may have lacked last year.
Mascoma has a very good running attack of their own behind Kyle Kosiorek (486 yards on 77 carries) and Shane Pierce (325 yards on 48 carries). Justin Marsh runs the offense from the quarterback position and has thrown for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns on the season. The offense hasn’t been the problem, it is a defense that allowed 78 points in a pair of losses to Stevens and Winnisquam. Both teams have work to do if they are going to make it to the post-season, a game like this helps put the winner in the right frame of mind as the season winds down.