New Hampshire Football Report

NHIAA Division III Preview

Division III 
2019 Preview

Teams in the division: Campbell, Epping/Newmarket, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton, Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, Kearsarge/Mount Royal Academy, Laconia, Lebanon, Monadnock, Newport, Somersworth, Stevens and Trinity.

2018 champion: Mondadnock. The Huskies capped an unbeaten season with a 15-12 victory over Campbell in the Division III championship game.

Top storyline: Depth perception. There appear to be five teams — maybe more — capable of reaching the Division III championship game.

Players to Watch: Peter Alisandro (QB/DB) Trinity; Cam Barrett (RB/LB) Campbell; Quentin Bicknell (QB/LB) Stevens; Ryan Dee (QB) Laconia; Joey Drew (DT) Monadnock; Avery Fraser (G/LB) Trinity; Nolan Haley (OT/DT) Kearsarge; Nathan Harris (WR/LB) Kearsarge; Jack Horne (TE/DE/S); Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton; Justin Joslyn (RB/LB) Monadnock; Phil Mason (OT/DT) Stevens; Keaghan McAllister (RB/DB) Stevens; Bryce McCrea (G/DT) Laconia; DeMarco McKissac (OL/DE) Laconia; Philip Mellish (RB/LB) Lebanon; Keegan Mills (RB/LB) Campbell; Josh Mondragon (OL/DL) Lebanon; Andrew Normandin (WR/DB) Kearsarge; Colby Quiet (RB/LB) Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton; Wade Rainey (RB/LB) Lebanon; Tyler Richter (FB/LB) Laconia; Caleb Smith (TE/DE) Lebanon; Conor Sweeney (RB/DB) Campbell; Paul Taraszuk (OT/DT) Campbell; Tre Taylor (RB/CB) Trinity; John Thibault (RB/LB) Trinity; Carter Vedrani (TE/LB) Campbell; Vincent Waddell (G/LB) Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton.

Key game: Campbell at Lebanon (Nov. 1). Two of the top teams in the division will wait until the regular season’s final weekend to tangle. The outcome of this game could determine the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.

Noteworthy: The list of contenders in this division has to start with Campbell, which returns seven starters on each side of the ball from last year’s nine-win team. The returnees include running back/linebacker Keegan Mills, a four-year starter who didn’t play in last year’s championship game because of an ankle injury. Tight end/fullback/linebacker Carter Vedrani and running back/defensive back Conor Sweeney are two other veteran skill-position players who are back. … Lebanon and Trinity each have 17 starters back from teams that each made the playoffs last year. Running back/linebacker Wade Rainey and quarterback/defensive back Jon Willeman give the Raiders experience in the offensive backfield. Trinity has one of the top running backs in the division in senior John Thibault.There are four new head coaches in the division this year: Anthony Nalen (Epping/Newmarket), Cody Anderson (Kearsarge/Mount Royal), John Proper (Newport) and Jeremy Lambert (Somersworth). … Laconia has gone to an option offense and has Ryan Dee back at quarterback. Dee missed last season with an arm injury. … Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton made the program’s first playoff appearance — and won the program’s first playoff game — last year, and may be even better this season. The RedHawks return 16 starters. … Stevens is another team that has experienced skill-position players and can’t be overlooked. The Cardinals have a big-play threat in running back Keaghan McAllister. … “Campbell has Mills back so they have to be the front-runner,” Lebanon coach Chris Childs said. “After that I would say there’s us, Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton and Trinity, which has a lot of good skill kids back. Monadnock isn’t the same team as they were last year, but they’re not as down as people think they are. Who knows? At they end they could be there too. I definitely think there are three or four teams that could be in the running. In this division it’s all about health.” 

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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 (teams), which includes the Preseason Player of the Year in each division. (These are available only to XTRA members.)

If you would like to help New Hampshire Football Report promote football in the Granite State you can do so by purchasing a NHFR XTRA membership.

 

 

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