Semifinal Preview: Division III

By rbrown
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Updated: November 13, 2024

DIVISION III SEMIFINALS
Inter-Lakes/Moultonborough vs. Monadnock
Division III Bracket

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) in Swanzey Center.
Team records: Third-seeded ILMA is 8-1. Second-seeded Monadnock is 8-1.
Regular-season result: The teams did not meet.
Noteworthy: ILMA hasn’t allowed more than 13 points in any of its wins this season. The team’s only loss came against unbeaten Campbell, 34-12. Seven of ILMA’s nine opponents failed to score more than seven points. … Monadnock earned the No. 2 seed by winning Division III West. Campbell is also the only team that beat the Huskies (50-26). … Monadnock advanced with a 28-27 victory over seventh-seeded Laconia in the quarterfinals. The Huskies were within a point after Kaden Smith tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Johns with 16 seconds to play, and then Koby Kidney ran in the two-point conversion that capped the scoring. Monadnock’s Nick Ball rushed for 137 yards in the win. His total included a 38-yard TD run. … ILMA moved on with an 18-13 victory over sixth-seeded Stevens. Stevens led 13-12 entering the final quarter, but the Lakers scored the lone TD in the fourth to advance. … The winner will face either top-seeded Campbell or fourth-seeded Gilford in the Division III championship game, which will be played at Souhegan High School. … The Lakers haven’t played in a championship game since they were upset by Stevens 46-20 in the 2016 Division III title game. The program’s only state championship came in 2009, when ILMA beat Winnisquam 6-0 to win the Division VI title. … Monadnock’s last appearance in a championship game came in 2018, when it beat Campbell 15-12 to win the Division III championship at UNH.

Gilford vs. Campbell
Division III Bracket

When and where: Saturday (1 p.m.) in Litchfield.
Team records: Top-seeded Campbell is 9-0. Fourth-seeded Gilford is 6-3.
Regular-season result: Campbell won 50-14 in Litchfield.
Noteworthy: Campbell enters the playoffs as one of five unbeaten teams in the state, joining Raymond (Division IV), Plymouth (Division III), Bedford (Division I) and Exeter (Division I). … Campbell running back Scott Hershberger needs 16 yards to break the NHIAA state record for career rushing yards. Hershberger, a senior running back, has 5,875 career rushing yards entering Saturday’s game. The record is held by Souhegan’s Sean Jellison, who also holds the state record for career touchdowns (103) and the state record for touchdowns in a season (41). Hershberger broke the school’s career rushing record against Gilford earlier this season. Keegan Mills held that record (5,148). … Gilford, which dropped to Division III from Division II after last season, advanced by beating Newport 40-20 in the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles have won four in a row since suffering back-to-back losses against ILMA (14-6) and Campbell (50-14). Gilford’s other loss came against Laconia (28-12). … Gilford is attempting to reach a championship game for the first time since 2010, when it lost to Newport 35-0 in the Division VI title game. Campbell won the Division III championship in 2022. … Brandt O’Hara is in his first season as Gilford’s head coach.

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