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Rankings Remix: Sabers still the one

Rankings Remix New Hampsire

Salem, the No. 1 team in Division I, needed overtime to defeat Division II Timberlane on Friday night.

By FRANK COPPOLA
CoachesAid.com New Hampshire content coordinator

It was a wild weekend of high school football in New Hampshire. A small sampling:

* Salem, the top-ranked team in Division I, needed overtime to defeat Division II Timberlane, 35-34.

* Unbeaten Nashua North outlasted Division I rival Nashua South, 56-49, in a shootout at Stellos Stadium.

* Plymouth beat Laconia in a battle for first place in Division IV despite not throwing a single pass in the game.

* Milford toppled previously unbeaten Souhegan in Division III for the upset of the year (so far).

Now that the dust has settled, here is a look at this week's Rankings Remix for football. Souhegan, despite the surprising loss, is still the team to beat in Division III.

Division I
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Salem 6-0 Beat Timberlane, 35-34 at Nashua North
2 (2) Nashua North 6-0 Beat Nashua South, 56-49 vs. Salem
3 (3) Pinkerton Academy 4-2 Beat Concord, 35-10 vs. Brockton, Mass.
4 (4) Nashua South 3-3 Lost to Nashua North, 56-49 at Manchester West
5 (—) Londonderry 3-3 Beat Manchester Central, 31-20 at Manchester Memorial

NOTES: Get your popcorn ready: No. 1 Salem vs. No. 2 Nashua South on Saturday at Stellos Stadium. The Blue Devils have some defensive concerns after allowing 35 and 34 points the last two weeks. ... Defending champ Nashua South has allowed 105 points in its last two games and dropped three in a row. ... Big win for Londonderry against Manchester Central last Friday.

Division II
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Bishop Guertin 6-0 Beat Winnacunnet, 35-6 vs. Catholic Memorial (Mass.)
2 (2) Exeter 6-0 Beat Keene, 27-14 vs. Timberlane
3 (4) Alvirne 4-2 Beat Dover, 20-19 vs. Winnacunnet
4 (3) Timberlane 3-3 Lost to Salem, 35-34 at Exeter
5 (5) Winnacunnet 3-3 Lost to Bishop Guertin, 35-6 at Alvirne

NOTES: A pair of big games for playoff positioning this week: Exeter vs. Timberlane and Alvirne vs. Winnacunnet. ... Timberlane nearly upset top-ranked Division I team Salem before falling in overtime. Can the Owls hand Exeter its first loss? ... Alvirne has won three straight games, all on the road. Friday's game is a key one for Winnacunnet, which is 1-3 within the division.

Division III
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Souhegan 5-1 Lost to Milford, 23-8 at Pembroke
2 (2) Portsmouth 5-1 Beat Pembroke, 41-7 vs. Hollis-Brookline
3 (4) Milford 3-3 Beat Souhegan, 23-8 at Goffstown
4 (3) Goffstown 3-3 Beat Bedford, 31-14 vs. Milford
5 (5) Hollis-Brookline 3-3 Beat Sanborn, 27-0 at Portsmouth

NOTES: The state is still buzzing about Milford's stunning, 23-8 upset of Souhegan on Friday night. The Sabers had won their previous five games by an average of 33 points, including a 49-6 rout of No. 2 Portsmouth. The loss ended an 18-game win streak for Souhegan that dated back to Thanksgiving Day 2007. ... This is the only division in New Hampshire without an undefeated team. ... Tough task for Pembroke this week, facing an angry Sabers team coming off a loss.

Division IV
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Plymouth 6-0 Beat Laconia, 13-7 at Merrimack Valley
2 (2) Laconia 4-2 Lost to Plymouth, 13-7 vs. Kingswood
3 (3) Kennett 4-2 Beat Monadnock, 33-6 at John Stark
4 (5) Merrimack Valley 4-2 Beat Lebanon, 30-24 vs. Plymouth
5 (—) Kingswood 3-3 Beat Hanover, 33-12 at Laconia

NOTES: Hanover drops out of the top five after losing to Kingswood at home. ... Plymouth extended its state-record winning streak to 50 games with Saturday's 13-7 win over No. 2 Laconia. ... Tough schedule for Kingswood the rest of the way: at Laconia, vs. Division III Portsmouth, vs. Kennett. ... Kennett has outscored its last two opponents (Merrimack Valley and Monadnock) by a margin of 67-16.

Division V
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Trinity 6-0 Beat Newfound, 42-21 at Epping-Newmarket
2 (2) Bow 6-0 Beat Epping-Newmarket, 48-6 vs. Somersworth
3 (3) Pelham 4-2 Beat Kearsarge, 24-23 vs. St. Thomas
4 (4) Kearsarge 3-3 Lost to Pelham, 24-23 at Bishop Brady
5 (—) Bishop Brady 4-2 Beat St. Thomas, 18-16 vs. Kearsarge


NOTES: There are big playoff implications in Friday's game between Kearsarge and Bishop Brady, with the winner taking a huge step toward the postseason. ... Big win for two-time defending champion Pelham against Kearsarge last weekend. ... Trinity and Bow, who meet in the regular-season finale, have seemingly locked up playoff berths. ... St. Thomas damaged its postseason hopes with its 18-16 loss to Brady. The Saints are 2-3 in the division and still have road games at Pelham and Trinity on their schedule.

Division VI
Rank (last week) Team Record Last week This week
1 (1) Winnisquam 6-0 Beat Farmington, 48-14 vs. Inter-Lakes
2 (2) Inter-Lakes 6-0 Beat Newport, 31-12 at Winnisquam
3 (3) Newport 4-2 Lost to Inter-Lakes, 31-12 vs. Stevens
4 (4) Newfound 4-2 Lost to Trinity, 42-21 at Franklin
5 (—) Campbell 3-3 Beat Franklin, 28-12 at Raymond


NOTES: Huge game on Saturday between unbeatens No. 1 Winnisquam and No. 2 Inter-Lakes. The Bears have won their five division games by an average of 30 points. The Lakers have won their six games by an average of 26 points. ... Don't look now, but 2008 finalist Campbell is finally starting to meet preseason expectations. The Cougars have won three straight, including last week's victory over defending champion Franklin.

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