NHIAA Previews: Division I

By rbrown
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Updated: August 30, 2018

Division I
2018 Preview

Division I South: Londonderry, Pinkerton, Salem, Timberlane and Windham.

Division I North: Bedford, Concord, Goffstown, Manchester Central and Manchester Memorial.

Division I East: Dover, Exeter, Portsmouth/Oyster River, Spaulding and Winnacunnet.

Division I West: Bishop Guertin, Keene, Merrimack, Nashua North and Nashua South.

2017 champion: Winnacunnet. The Warriors completed an unbeaten season by defeating Pinkerton Academy in the Division I championship game.

Top storyline: How good is Pinkerton? The Astros are the preseason favorite, but are they head and shoulders above everyone else?

Players to Watch: Josh Berube (OL/DL) Londonderry, Sr.; Evan Cuddy (OL/DL) Goffstown, Sr.; Bobby DiCicco (FB/DE) Windham, Jr.; Tommy Emrick (RB/DB) Windham, Sr.; Rob Fahey (OL/DL) Pinkerton, Sr.; Gannon Fast (RB/DE) Pinkerton, Sr.; Jordan Fuller (RB/DB) Winnacunnet, Jr.; Tim Galamaga (OL/DL) Bedford, Sr.; Allen Gault (OL/DL) Pinkerton, Sr.; Jack Gillis (QB/LB) Exeter, Sr.; Isaac Gladey (RB/LB) Concord, Sr.; Aiden Goujon (QB/LB) Pinkerton, Sr.; Adam Gray (RB/SS) Exeter, Sr.; Pat Hagearty (OL/DL) Londonderry, Sr.; Alex Hawkom (QB) Manchester Central, Sr.; Austin Hiscoe (WR/DB) Bishop Guertin, Jr.; Isaiah Jubrey (OL/DL) Manchester Central, Sr.; Charlie Keith (QB/DB) Goffstown, Sr.; Jordan Labossiere (OT/DT) Salem, Sr.; Harrison LeGoullon (TE/LB) Bedford, Sr.; Doug Lenihan (OL/DL) Exeter, Sr.; Joe MacDougall (TE/DE) Winnacunnet, Sr.; Gennaro Marra (RB/DB) Pinkerton, Sr.; Zach Miles (QB) Concord, Sr.; Brian Montminy (RB/DB) Nashua North, Sr.; Lucien Mumphini (WR/DB) Bedford; Luc Normandeau (RB/LB) Dover, Sr.; Jack Ogden (OL/LB) Londonderry, Sr.; Nick Olibrice (WR/DB) Manchester Central, Sr.; Austin Ouellette (WR/DB) Nashua North, Sr.; Jaylen Pacheco (RB/LB) Nashua South, Sr.; Dom Pacie (FB/DE) Salem, Sr.; James Phennicie (OL/DL) Winnacunnet, Sr.; Cody Stevens (FB/LB) Windham, Sr.; Adam Thornton (RB/LB) Merrimack, Sr.; Ryan Toscano (RB/LB) Bedford, Sr.; Zach Tucker (RB/DB) Exeter, Sr.; Cooper Varano (RB/LB) Manchester Central, Sr.; Ty Vitko (WR/DB) ) Exeter, Sr.; Jeff Wiedenfeld (RB/DB), Jr.; Josh Wight (OT/DT) Goffstown, Sr.; Tristan Wood (Slot/DB) Merrimack, Sr.

Key game: Pinkerton at Winnacunnet (Oct. 25). Two of the best teams in the division meet on the regular season’s final weekend in a game that could determine the No. 1 seed in the South/East bracket.

Noteworthy: The NHIAA made a few tweaks to Division I in the offseason. Alvirne was moved to Division II, and Windham was elevated from Division II to Division I South. The Jaguars had a 46-6 record in their five seasons as a Division II program. To make room for Windham, Merrimack shifted from Division I South to Division I West. In addition, Portsmouth has formed a cooperative team with Oyster River called the ClipperCats. … Pinkerton returned 15 starters from last year’s runner-up, and added three impact transfers who were starters for the previous schools. … Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly is entering his 41st season and has a career record of 303-114. … Winnacunnet running back Jordan Fuller had offseason knee surgery and has been limited in practice this summer. Fuller ran for 1,182 yards and 14 touchdowns on 162 carries last season. … Besides its usual strong returning cast, Exeter added to multi-sport players who should have an impact this fall in senior tight end/defensive end Ethan Imbimbo (baseball) and sophomore running back/defensive back Spencer Clark (lacrosse). … Teams from the East and South form one half of the Division I bracket this season, and the West and North is the other. … The first-year head coaches in this division are John Trisciani Jr. (Bishop Guertin), Rob Sturgis (Manchester Memorial) and Kevin Hebert (Spaulding). Sturgis inherited a program with a 27-game losing streak. … Former Londonderry coach Jon Rich is now on the staff at Pinkerton. Rich was an assistant coach at Salem last season. … The list of teams that has a realistic shot at the championship this season appears deeper than usual. Besides Pinkerton, that group includes Exeter, Winnacunnet, Bedford and Manchester Central. Central quarterback Alex Hawkom, a senior, passed for 27 touchdowns last season.

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Note: Here are links to the NHFR Top 50 (top 50 players in the state) and the NHFR Preseason Top 10 (top 10 teams in the state). These items are available to XTRA members only.