NHIAA Previews: Division I

By rbrown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: September 5, 2024

Division I
2024 Preview

Teams in the division …

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

Division I Central: Alvirne, Concord, Londonderry, Manchester Central, Pinkerton, Salem and Windham.

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

2023 champion: Bedford. The Bulldogs completed an unbeaten season (12-0) by defeating Londonderry 28-8 in the Division I championship game.

Top storyline: Can Bedford win its third consecutive championship? No Division I team has won three straight titles since Pinkerton Academy from 2005-07.

Players to Watch: Samson Akotey (DB) Nashua South; Kellen Bateman (C) Exeter; Daniel Batstone (RB) Exeter; Collin Beaulieu (TE/WR/DB) Manchester Memorial; Paul Binder (OL/DL) Londonderry; Tyler Bland (RB/DB) Exeter; Devin Boles (DE/LB) Londonderry; Shawn Boudreau (TE/LB) Alvirne; Colton Brisard (G/DE) Portsmouth/Oyster River; Carter Charest (LB) Goffstown; Aaron Chmielecki (OL/DL) Bishop Guertin; Charlie Crawford (QB) Alvirne; Andrew Deely (OL/DL) Alvirne; Tobey Desroches (OT) Dover; Sam Dulac (TE/DE) Exeter; Kyle Emmons (WR/DB) Nashua South; Connor Flaherty (T/DT) Bedford; Jake Gagne (OL/DL) Goffstown; Felix Gonzalez (RB/DB) Salem; Tyler Graney (TE/DE) Exeter; Brady Harrison (QB) Manchester Memorial; Brody Helton (RB) Bedford; AJ Holmes (RB/LB) Bishop Guertin; Jamison Isaac (RB/DB) Pinkerton Academy; Liam Kelley (LB) Timberlane; Liam King (WR/RB/DB) Manchester Central; Eli Kopcha (LB) Keene; Jack Krulikowski (LB) Nashua North; Sawyer Lepple (RB/DB) Keene; Sam Levine (RB/LB) Nashua South; Logan Lochiatto (TE/LB) Winnacunnet; Bennett Matthews (QB/WR/DB) Bedford; Jack Maye (QB) Bedford; Mason McDonald (RB) Winnacunnet; Riley McDaniel (QB) Winnacunnet; Jeremy Mlocek (QB) Timberlane; Matt Morrison (RB/DB) Pinkerton Academy; Kevin Murphy (QB) Windham; Kevin Ndubuisi (OL/DL) Nashua South; Brody Orr (RB/DB) Alvirne; Jayden Pares (QB) Goffstown; Hunter Patch (OL/DL) Spaulding; Luke Peters (QB/DB) Nashua North; Evan Ray (C/DL) Keene; Ryan Rochaleau (TE/LB) Alvirne; Nathan Sadia (DT/DE) Merrimack; Billy Schmidt (RB) Goffstown; DJ Sciacca (LB) Winnacunnet; Liam Shambo (DE) Windham; Jake Sheff (OL/DL) Bedford; Darius Smith (G/DE) Nashua North; Kevin Todisco (RB/LB) Salem; Alex Villa (QB/OLB) Londonderry.

Key game: Londonderry at Salem (Friday night). Two of the best teams in the state will open the season against each other at Haverhill’s Trinity Stadium, and the outcome will undoubtedly have a lot to say about which team finishes where in Division I Central.

Noteworthy: Of the four NHIAA divisions, this is the only one that remained unchanged from last season. There are 21 teams and three seven-team conferences. Thirteen teams will qualify for the playoffs. Each conference champion will receive a bye, and the 10 at-large selections will meet in the first round. … There are two first-year head coaches in Division I. John Preston has replaced Nick Hammond at Goffstown, and Danny Hodsdon was named the head coach at Spaulding when Kevin Hebert resigned last month. Preston grew up in Tilton and played football at Bishop Brady before he transferred to Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. He spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach at Whiteland High School, a 5A school in Whiteland, Indiana. Hodsdon, who was the head coach at Somersworth from 2010 to 2019, spent last season as an assistant on Hebert’s staff. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at Exeter for four seasons. Hodsdon and Hebert were teammates on the football team at Somersworth High School. … Bedford graduated nine starters on defense and seven on offense, but got a boost when receiver/quarterback/defensive back Bennett Matthews remained at Bedford after considering transferring to a prep school for lacrosse. … Exeter, Londonderry, Pinkerton and Salem are among the teams that could content for the Division I championship. Salem returned 10 starters on each side of the ball, including running back/linebacker Kevin Todisco, who ran for a team0high 903 yards on 109 carries last season. He scored 20 TDs. … Londonderry is seeking its fourth straight trip to the Division I championship game. … Timberlane running back Liam Corman transferred to the Brooks School, but the Owls return quarterback Jeremy Mlocek. Mlocek passed for 1,023 yards and 12 TDs last year. … Nashua South is a team that could surprise. The Panthers failed to make the playoffs last year, but were hit hard by inujuries last season and return all but one starter. … Brian O’Reilly is in his 48th season as Pinkerton’s head coach. … There are some terrific games between Division I teams and out-of-state opponents this season. Among them: Londonderry at St. John’s Prep, Pinkerton at Andover and Bedford at Thornton Academy. St. John’s Prep and Andover are two of the top programs in Massachusetts, and Thornton Academy won last year’s Class A title in Maine. On paper, Thornton Academy looks to have its strongest team since Bedford began playing the Golden Trojans in 2022.

*******

Those who would like to help New Hampshire Football Report promote football in the Granite State can do so by purchasing a New Hampshire Football Report membership or by making a donation below. Sponsorship inquiries can be sent to nhfootballreport@gmail.com. Your support is greatly appreciated.