Division II

Division II football may be deeper, but everyone still chasing Plymouth

For the last three seasons, the Plymouth High School football team has owned Division II. The Bobcats enter 2019 as three-time defending champs and have the state’s longest winning streak at 27 games in a row.

For the last three seasons, the Plymouth High School football team has owned Division II.

The Bobcats enter 2019 as three-time defending champs and have the state’s longest winning streak at 27 games in a row.

But this year, a handful of teams look like they might have the ability to knock Plymouth from its perch. The rest of the division will find out right away, as the Bobcats face North Conference foe Bow in Saturday’s season opener. Hanover will have something to say about the conference race as well, while in the South, Alvirne – the team that lost to Plymouth in last year’s final – will be itching for another chance at a title.

To do that, the Broncos will have to survive a gauntlet of their own, as Milford, St. Thomas, Souhegan, Hollis Brookline and Pelham could all be in the playoff mix. And then there’s teams like Manchester West, ConVal and Sanborn who have struggled recently, but look like they’ve improved for 2019.

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Here’s a look at the teams in the division, in order of predicted finish.

North Conference

Bow (7-3 in 2018): The Falcons bring a number of starters from last year’s playoff team, including first-team all-conference picks Steven Guerrette, a running back and safety, and Andrew Berube, a two-way lineman. Chris Wheeler also returns on the line and senior Sebastian Beaulieu takes over as the starter at quarterback.
Plymouth (12-0): Over the last two seasons, the Bobcats have graduated a combined 32 seniors from their championship teams. This year’s senior class is small, led by Cale Swanson and Joe Cleary, but junior Cody Bannon is also back at quarterback. Jack Duquette is the lone returning starter on Plymouth’s offensive line.
Gilford-Belmont (4-5): The Golden Eagles were in contention for a playoff spot last year as a team of mostly juniors and sophomores. Leading the way again this season will be junior quarterback Alex Cheek and he’ll be throwing to returning receivers Curtis Nelson, Nick Arenstam and Brandon Gallagher. Blake Descoteaux will lead a loaded backfield on offense and will solidify the defense at linebacker.
Hanover (6-4): The Marauders lost a lot of talent from a year ago, but will have senior Caleb Morse stepping in at quarterback after earning first-team all-conference honors at defensive back last season. Also returning is lineman Jack Loftus and he’ll be joined by Ben Wagner, Connor Chambers and Noah Bradley.
Kennett (3-6): The Eagles return plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball, as linebacker Dom Jones, lineman Bobby Graustein and defensive back Justin Olson were all-conference selections last season. Offensively, Parker Coleman takes over at quarterback while Trevor LaRusso brings plenty of experience.
John Stark (6-4): The Generals will move away from the single-wing offense they ran a year ago and look to junior quarterback Nathan Tower to lead the way on offense. Senior Logan Beliveau will join Tower in the backfield while senior linebacker Jacob Ridenour will lead the defense.
Merrimack Valley (1-8): The Pride will have some experience on the lines, as they return seniors Zach Williams, Trent Waters, Dean Henderson, Chris Gelinas and Thomas Gandarilla up front. Senior Chase Keyser saw some time at quarterback last year and will take over full time this season, while sophomore Travis Knouse looks to be the lead running back.
Kingswood (1-8): Paul Landry takes over as the Knights head coach this, but he’ll so without first-team all-conference standout Cam Mann, who graduated. Kingswood returns 17 starters, including Matt Drew, Joe Russo and Deven Wade.
Pembroke (1-8): The Spartans will look for some consistency in head coach Will Moher’s second season. Pembroke returns a dozen starters, including Nate Cassidy and Jack Schaefer.

South Conference

Milford (6-4): The Spartans didn’t lose much from last year’s playoff team, and for Milford, it starts up front with a line that includes returners Kyle Forsley, Colton Burrows and Sam Hodges. Gavin Urda is back at quarterback and poses a threat with his legs as much as his arm, while Emmanuel Ughu and Caden Zalenski will help carry the load on offense.
Alvirne (9-3): Like Milford, Alvirne returns a good portion of the team that won the program’s first playoff games and reach the final for the first time. Quarterback Kyle Gora burst onto the scene last year and is back, along with running backs Alex Giuffrida and Alec Prescott. Kyle Boucher and Morgan Williams return on the outside to help Gora in the passing game.
St. Thomas (9-2): The Saints took a hit from a season ago, not only losing 13 seniors, including quarterback Shawn DeKorne, but also their head coach. Dave Bryant takes over for Ryan Brown, and he’ll have Cameron Paquette taking over at quarterback. Seniors Hunter Lassard and Stone Compton return at running back and linebacker, while Will MacLean gives Paquette and experienced receiver in the passing game. Kyle Stamoulis and Tim Bonagura lead the way up front.
Souhegan (7-4): The Sabers were dealt a big blow before the preseason started, when senior Trey Johnson went down with a season-ending injury at a college camp. Souhegan will need everyone to step up on offense, including skill guys Ryan Hauser, Riley Lawhorn Aiden Casey and James Raiser. The Sabers will try to replace quarterback John Lohnes with Austin Jain and Luke Manning, with Manning getting time at receiver when not taking snaps.
Hollis Brookline (5-4): Success in 2019 starts with Sander and Quinten Wimmer for the Cavaliers. The quarterback-receiver duo has been starting since sophomore year and have prepared for a big senior season, although both were reportedly banged up in HB’s final preseason scrimmage. AJ Johnson joins Quinten as one of the Cavs’ top targets on offense while junior Marc-Andre Thermitus gets the nod as the lead running back. Up front, HB returns most of its line, including four-year starter Sal Fabbio and junior Quinn Connors.
Pelham (5-4): The Pythons have finished a game or less away from the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and saw a good number of the players that got them there graduate. But there is plenty coming back to keep Pelham in the mix, including quarterback Ian Hoey and skill guys Matt Crowley, Colby Travis and Charlie Katin. Ed Shlimon leads the Pythons on the lines.
Manchester West (2-7): The Blue Knights will look to replace first-team all-conference running back Jaymeson Maheux with a handful of talented runners, including Jerry Kabba, Xavier Burpee and Brandon Lloyd. West also has experience returning up front in Jordan Escabi, Kevin Johnson and Randy Johnson.
ConVal (1-8): Rob Clauss, a former assistant coach at Nashua South and Alvirne, takes over as the Cougars head coach and returns a ton of starters on both sides of the ball. On offense, ConVal will switch to a flexbone offense, with quarterback Tristan Hutchinson leading the way.
Sanborn (3-6): The Indians lost a key player from a year ago in tight end Owen Snively, but return lineman Luke Botticelli to lead the way.