Division I

Exciting season looms as Division I football appears to be wide open

The football preseason was just getting underway and a Division I coach was rattling off a list of teams that could contend for a title in 2019.

So many teams, it almost seemed easier to name the teams that don’t appear to have a chance at winning it all this season.

As the seventh season of the 20-team D1 format approaches, the list of contenders is a long one, but the two best might be two South Conference foes, as Londonderry and Salem seem to have generated the most buzz among coaches and pundits.

This year, the South will crossover against the North Conference for one cluster, while the East and West will matchup on the other side of the division.

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Here’s a look at how D1 stacks up this season, with a predicted order of finish for each conference.

South Conference

Londonderry (8-2 in 2018): The Lancers return one of the state’s top running backs in senior Jeffrey Wiedenfeld, which will help Londonderry overcome the loss of some key contributors from last season. Gone are all-conference linemen Josh Berube, Patrick Hagearty, Tim Bajek and Ben Psaledas, plus quarterback Evan Cormier. Joining Wiedenfeld in the backfield will be senior quarterback Jake McEachern, Tyler Kayo, Cole Keegan and Alex Tsetsilas are also back to lead the offense. Blaine Hopkins and Cooper Bartlett, two all-conference linemen from last season, are also back.
Salem (8-3): While the Blue Devils were also hit hard by graduation, injuries from last season helped a lot of returning players gain valuable experience. Leading the way for Salem will be senior running back/linebacker Josh Maroun, who missed all of last year with an knee injury. Up front, the Blue Devils return all-conference linemen Owen Gormley, Josh Ozoria and Beau Dillon. Riley Mulvey and Brandon Wall return to team with Maroun in the backfield and Michael Ference gives Salem experience on the outside. Junior Cody Clements steps into the quarterback position.
Windham (6-3): New coach. New quarterback. New running back. But after coming up short on a late playoff push to end 2018, the Jaguars should be in the mix to make their first D1 postseason appearance under coach Jack Byrne. Windham will be solid up front behind Bobby DiCicco, Mason Belsky and Dylan Szostak. Riley Desmarais steps in to lead the backfield for the Jaguars.
Pinkerton (9-3): The Astros could be the odd team out in the conference after graduating the core of their back-to-back finalists. Gone are Gannon Fast, Gennaro Marra and Nick Lombard along with quarterback Aiden Goujon and linemen Rob Fahey and Allen Gault. But its still Pinkerton, and the Astros do have some solid seniors returning in Jack MacInnis, Brady Day, Marcus Terrio, Avery Battle and Tom Moreau, who all played a lot on defense as juniors.
Timberlane (1-8): The Owls lost quarterback Dan Hayes, who was a three-year starter, to graduation. Senior Jared Morrison steps in to replace Hayes and has an all-conference performer back at receiver in Cam Lovett. Timberlane also returns five linemen, including seniors Sam Gagnon, Riley Inserra and Chris Lund.

North Conference

Bedford (12-0): The defending champs got a shakeup in the offseason, with Derek Stank stepping down and Gatorade Player of the Year Ryan Toscano among the 14 seniors who graduated. In steps Zach Matthews, who previously coached at Kearsarge, who has a lot of size returning up front, including Torey Helton and Charlie Kneissl-Williams. Aaron Skaling replaces Thomas Morgan, who graduated, at quarterback while Tim Greene and Solomon Sanchez return on the outside. Michael Akstin looks to be the lead running back to start the season.
Goffstown (6-4): After making the playoffs for four straight years, the Grizzlies might find themselves on the outside this season. A young Goffstown team might come up short a few more times than usual this year, but should give most of its opponents a tough game. Junior Jarrett Henault stepped in at quarterback late last year and returns, while senior Brad Baxter and junior Zach Picard will be key on both sides of the ball.
Concord (4-5): The Crimson Tide looked like they might give Bedford a run for the conference title, but then quarterback Trevor Smith went down with a reported broke arm in Friday’s Queen City Jamboree. While Concord returns a lot of talent on offense, including Ronan McGonigle and Gage Piwowarczyk, it’ll take time to get on the same page. The scheduled doesn’t do Concord any favors, with Londonderry, Bedford and Salem to start.
Manchester Central (5-4): After a 3-0 start last year, the Little Green went 2-4 and missed out on the playoffs. Having graduated a lot from last year – including quarterback Alex Hawkom – Central will look to Tyler Gilroy to step in and lead the offense.
Manchester Memorial (0-9): The Crusaders will try to snap a losing streak that dates back to 2014 this season, behind returning players Kyle Bokuniewicz, Jevohn Collier, Ethan Angerami and Kyle Blais.

East Conference

Exeter (4-5): The Blue Hawks missed the playoffs for the first time since moving up to Division I in 2010. Leading the way will be senior quarterback Ryan Grijalva, who will be in his second year under center. He’ll be joined in the backfield by a trio of running backs in Derek Edmiston, Tommy Lamar and Jaedon Cliche. John Rogers, Spencer Clark and Daniel Dorris could also see time on offense. Clark and Thatcher Allen were both first-team all-state on defense a year ago.
Portsmouth-Oyster River (1-8): The ClipperCats could make the biggest jump in the division this season, as they return a big senior class and a big offensive line, led by seniors Casey Gladu, Thor Griffith, Nolan Pafford and Ben Hathaway. Jack Russo and Luke Shambo, both seniors, will return at running back and linebacker, sophomores Max Lalime and Joe Sigmon will also see time in the offensive backfield.
Dover (4-5): The Green Wave have a new head coach for the first time in almost 30 years, as Eric Cumba takes over for Ken Osbon. Dover will be led upfront by seniors Jacob McCormack and Andral Lafleur while juniors Nathan Maas and Max Berube also step in on the line. Senior running back Dom Spraque will try to lead a young group of skill players on offense while playing a key role at linebacker.
Winnacunnet (6-5): The Warriors also have a new coach, as Ryan Francoeur takes over for Ron Auffant this season. Winnacunnet lost a lot from the teams that made back-to-back playoff runs, including running back Jordan Fuller, who transferred to prep school. Seniors Rich Camarato and Keith Albergo are the lone returners for the Warriors, while junior Patt Britton takes over at quarterback.
Spaulding (1-8): The Red Raiders return 21 seniors to this year’s team, giving them some much needed experience coming into the season. Spaulding had a quarterback competition in the preseason, with senior Logan Gadbois battling juniors Kevin Casey and Danny Fogarty for the starting spot. Hudson White returns up front to lead the offensive and defensive lines while Jacob King and Ryan Bernier look to lead a handful of running backs.

West Conference

Merrimack (8-3): The Tomahawks took a hit from graduation, but return a good group of seniors at every level on the field. Leading the way up front will be linemen Cole Camberlain and Eric Griffin, while tight end and defensive end Jared Dyer also returns. Quarterback James Dowling is back to lead the offense, and he’ll get help from Devin Wood and Zach Twardosky.
Nashua North (7-4): Graduation also got the Titans hard, but they return possibly the top offensive player in the division in quarterback Curtis Harris. North does have a good pair of linemen up front in Spencer Whiting and Max Ackerman, while a bevy of running backs will carry the ball when Harris doesn’t, including Xavier Provost, Anthony Greene, Brian Mwangi and Devin Bracetty. Donovan Labate and Justin Edwards will look to lead the defense from the linebacker position.
Nashua South (5-5): While the Panthers lost some key cogs from a season ago, they return more than a dozen starters and have plenty of experience on the depth chart. That will be key to start the season, as senior quarterback Dante Young will likely miss the first few games due to an injury suffered during summer baseball. Sophomore Mike Rutstein will get first crack at replacing Young, while junior Chris Keefe could also slide over from his receiver position if needed. Jason Campoh will step in at running back behind linemen Brayden McDonnell and Garrett Fleury.
Bishop Guertin (2-7): The Cardinals have a big group of returners back, including 19 total starters. Senior Hayden Moses is back at quarterback, although he appeared to get dinged during Bishop Guertin’s scrimmage at the Queen City Jamboree. Senior receiver Joey Lupo, senior tight end Kyle Baker and junior receiver Brendan Callahan will be back to give Moses plenty of targets. The entire line is back, consisting of Jacob Scholenfield, Nick Connerty, Mike Terrazzano, Andrew Ha and Aiden Szewczyk.
Keene (1-8): The Blackbirds open the year with a new coach, as former Monadnock head coach Linwood Patnode takes over the program. Leading the way for Keene will be all-state performers Tucker Brownand Travis Emery.