3 weeks left

Sorry for the lack of posts. . . sometimes life gets in the way!

The playoff picture is becoming clear and foggy at the same time. . . I like NHsportsfan's idea of adding our playoff teams, so I will do that at the bottom as well.

BG @ Alvirne-- BG is good at football. They have been putting up a boat load of points, but also allowing a boat load of points. BG will fling it around tonight and light up the scoreboard though. . . BG wins.

South @ Exeter-- Exeter is in post season form. . . they proved they are the top of the conference with an impressive win over North. South is striding in the right direction, unfortunately they are running into the Blue Hawk buzz saw. Exeter wins.

Bedford @ Memorial-- Bedford wins, why because they are really good at football.

Merrimack @ Pinkerton-- UPSET CITY!!! We all know I am an Academy guy, so I have to pick my boys from Derry. Also, Pinkerton is playing for their playoff lives. . . they cannot afford another loss or else it will be the first time in. . . . what 15 years, that Pinkerton doesn't make the playoffs. Hopefully they will be able to get some pressure on Grassini and force some mistakes. . . if they can't get pressure on him, well. . . there is a reason he is the top QB in the state it will be a long night for the Astros. PA wins a nail biter.

North @ Portsmouth-- North will need to control the clock and win the front to win this game. After last week's loss at the hands of Exeter, I have a feeling the boys from the Northside will be ready to go. North wins.

Salem @ Londonderry-- Has Londonderry officially announced that they are looking for a new coach yet? Feel bad, Lauzen, or however you spell it, is a good coach, but Londonderry has proved time and time again it is not the quality of the coach, but rather Wins and Losses. Tonight, they will get another loss. The Blue Devils are starting to look towards the playoffs with eager eyes. Salem wins

Concord @ Timberlane-- Timby has been a tough luck loss team all year. Tonight they finally get to celebrate in Plaistow. Timberlane wins.

Spaulding @ Winnacunnet-- Tough season for the boys from the beach. . . at least for one night they will have something to be happy about. Winny wins.

Central @ Goffstown-- Another loss and Central looks to be on the outside looking in on the 2016 playoffs. Goffstown is a team that just keeps finding a way to compete and they do again. . . Goffstown wins.

Playoffs. . . .

Here are my teams with seeding

North/South
1- Bedford
2- Merrimack
3- Goffstown
4- Salem

It breaks my heart, but the Academy loses too many tie breakers

East/West
1- Exeter
2- North
3- Portsmouth
4- BG

BG over Alvirne and pretty easily in my opinion. Raitt, Fagan and Shafian-Rad have been on fire for most of the year and I think that it will continue. BG needs this one as they prepare for North and Exeter the final two weeks.

Exeter over South- Exeter wins. Ball and Co are too much especially with Ball now playing both sides of the ball. I feel like he has a pick every week.

Merrimack over PA- This is not the same PA team. Merrimack scores a ton of points. I expect more of the same and this loss for the Astros will essentially eliminate them from playoff contention much to the dismay of NH12345

Bedford over Memorial- The Bulldogs are too much this year and are poised to make a deep playoff run this year

Portsmouth over North- Portsmouth is a tough place to play and I think they are a little salty after the last second loss to BG last week.

Salem over Londonderry- Salem has a very good run game and I expect them to run all over the Lancer defense

Timberlane over Concord- Traveling to Timberlane is tough and they draw a good crowd for their games. Post has been a beast this year and will need to have a monster game....I think the Owls win

Winny over Spaulding

Goffstown over Central- Goffstown has rebounded nicely after their loss to Bedford......chalk up another W this week too

North/South
1.Bedford
2. Merrimack
3. Goffstown
4. Salem

East/West
1. Exeter
2. BG
3. Portsmouth
4. North

How can Portsmouth and North both get in - especially when they have to play each other and one will end up with at least 3 losses.

If North wins that, then Portsmouth will have lost to Dover, BG, and North w/ South, Spaulding still to play
If Portsmouth wins that, then North will have lost to Dover, Exeter, and Portsmouth w/ BG, Spaulding still to play

Dover lost to BG and Exeter and has Keene, Winni, and South - seems to me they control their destiny
South lost to BG and North with Exeter, Portsmouth, and Dover still to play - they too control their destiny

If I were laying odds - Dover seems to have the best chance of the current 4-2 teams of landing a spot - lord only knows what/how the "ratings" will affect things though! If South wins 2 of 3, then they have a shot, but that'll be tough to do.

The loser of BG and Exeter is also in a precarious position - Exeter perhaps more so since they would have lost to BG and Portsmouth (other possible playoff teams)... In any case, nice to see the BG/Exeter rivalry have some importance - they've had some great games during their shared D2 years. It's certainly one thing I missed when Exeter landed in D1 (as they should have with their enrollment at the time, but that's a different issue).

JAF you are absolutely right. . .

It looks like Dover will be the 4th team there. . . unless they lose both, even with 1 more loss they would still hold the tie breaker over Portsmouth and North if they all have 3 losses. . .


When is the last time that Pinkerton and Central weren't in the playoffs? That may have never happened before.