NHIAA Preview: Division III

By rbrown
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Updated: August 29, 2023

DIVISION III
2023 Preview

Teams in the Division: Campbell, ConVal, Epping/Newmarket, Fall Mountain, Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, Kearsarge, Kingswood, Monadnock, Stevens and Trinity.

2022 champion: Campbell. The Cougars had the ball for nearly 40 minutes and beat Trinity 16-14 in the Division III championship game.

Top storyline: Will Campbell and Trinity meet again in this year’s championship game? The Cougars and Pioneers each return most of the key pieces from their 2022 team.

Players to Watch: LJ Boyd (DT) Epping-Newmarket; Tyler Christian (LB) Stevens; Ben Dean (TE/LB) Monadnock; Brady Dwyer (WR) Epping-Newmarket; DeVohn Ellis (RB/WR) Trinity; Nick Hershberger (TE) Campbell; Scott Hershberger (RB/LB) Campbell; Kody Kham (DB) Campbell; Jack Kidwell (DE) Campbell; Lochlain O’Neil (DT) Campbell; Jack Service (QB) Trinity; Evan St. Pierre (OL/DL) Campbell; Paul Thibault (RB/LB) Trinity.

Key game: Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough at Monadnock (Sept. 15). Trinity at Campbell on Sept. 29 is an obvious choice, but both of those teams will likely make the playoffs. I-L/M and Monadnock will be among the teams battling for the two other playoff berths. This will be part of a tough three-game stretch for I-L/M that inlcudes matchups with Trinity and Campbell.

Noteworthy: As in Division IV, four teams will make the playoffs in this division. … Guy Donnelly, who has replaced Paul Lavigne at Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough, is the only first-year head coach in the division. … The Division III championship game will be played Nov. 11 at a site to be determined. … Campbell returns a strong Player-of-the-Year candidate in junior running back Scott Hershberger, who ran for 2,291 yards and 29 touchdowns on 237 attempts last season. He scored all 16 points in Campbell’s victory over Trinity in last year’s championship game. … Trinity returned almost everyone from a team that earned the No. 1 seed in Division III last season. Like Hershberger, Trinity QB Jack Service was named to the Yukica Player of the Year Watch List. … Monadnock returns six defensive starters and five offensive starters from a team that lost to Campbell in last year’s semifinals. Linebacker/tight end Ben Dean is among the top defensive players in Division III, and led the Huskies in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2022. … ConVal is eligible for the playoffs this season after petitioning down to Division III after the 2021 season. Teams are ineligible for postseason play in the first season after petitioning down a division. … The No. 1 concern for Epping/Newmarket entering the season is up front, where the Blue Devils return one starter on the offensive and defensive lines. … There should be plenty of competition for the final playoff spot in this division.

2023 TOP 50 PLAYERS (XTRA)

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