Division III playoff preview

DIVISION III QUARTERFINALS
CAPSULE PREVIEWS

Somersworth vs. Monadnock

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) in Swanzey Center.
Team records: Top-seeded Monadnock is 9-0. Eighth-seeded Somersworth is 4-5.
Regular-season result: Monadnock won 46-0 in Swanzey Center.
Noteworthy: Monadnock’s defense dominated the regular-season game between these teams. The Hilltoppers had minus-12 yards of offense and trailed 24-0 after one quarter. It was 38-0 at halftime. … Somersworth rebounded from an 0-4 start to make the playoffs. The Hilltoppers won four games in a row before they finished the regular season with a 48-19 loss to Trinity. Somersworth scored 12 points during its 0-4 start. … Monadnock has won eight of its nine games by at least 22 points. … Chandler Matson (seven carries, 107 yards) and Tim Hart (seven carries, 60 yards) led the Monadnock rushing attack in the first meeting with Somersworth. … The winner will face either fourth-seeded Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton or fifth-seeded Lebanon in the semifinals.

Lebanon vs. Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton

When and where: Saturday (4:15 p.m.) at Exeter High School.
Team records: Fifth-seeded Lebanon is 6-3. Fourth-seeded H-D/H is 6-3.
Regular-season result: H-D/H won 14-7 in Lebanon.
Noteworthy: Both of these programs dropped from Division II to Division III after the 2017 season. H-D/H is making the first playoff appearance in the program’s short history (three seasons). … Lebanon has won five of its last six games, but the loss during that stretch came against H-D/H at home. The Redhawks led 14-0 thanks for a 53-yard TD fun from Colby Quiet and a 3-yard TD run by Caleb Yianakopolos. Quiet gained 126 yards on 19 carries in the game. … Lebanon scored on Wade Rainey’s 1-yard run. Rainey ran for 101 yards on 23 rushing attempts, but the Raiders failed to score on three of their four trips to the red zone.

Stevens vs. Trinity

When and where: Saturday (7 p.m.) at Manchester’s Gill Stadium.
Team records: Seventh-seeded Stevens is 5-4. Second-seeded Trinity is 7-2.
Regular-season result: Trinity won 39-6 in Claremont.
Noteworthy: Stevens won its first five games, but enters the postseason on a four-game losing streak. The only playoff team the Cardinals have beaten is eighth-seeded Somersworth. … After not fielding a varsity team last season, Trinity earned the No. 2 seed by winning its last four games. Trinity’s losses came against top-seeded Monadnock (18-13) and third-seeded Campbell (30-18). … Trinity scored 23 points in the second half when it beat Stevens during the regular season. John Thibault got things started by returning the second-half kickoff 65 yards for a TD. Thibault ran for 119 yards on 10 carries in the victory. … Baylor Rozzell had a team-high 81 yards rushing for Stevens in the regular-season meeting. … The winner will face either third-seeded Campbell or sixth-seeded Laconia in the semifinals.

Laconia vs. Campbell

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) in Litchfield.
Team records: Sixth-seeded Laconia is 6-3. Third-seeded Campbell is 7-2.
Regular-season result: Campbell won 48-27 in Laconia.
Noteworthy: It was a strange end of the regular season for Campbell, which won last year’s Division III title. The Cougars improved to 6-0 by picking up a forfeit victory over Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, but then suffered back-to-back losses against Monadnock (36-14) and Lebanon (17-16). … Laconia, which competed in Division II last season, got off to a 2-2 start, but has won four of its last five. The Sachems have one of the top backs in the division in Jacob Steele. … Campbell’s Keegan Mills scored three touchdowns and Adam Breton tossed three TD passes during the regular-season meeting between these teams. It was 27-19 at halftime, but Connor Sweeney returned the second-half kickoff for a TD.

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