Top 5 gets a mix up in this week’s NHHSSports Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll
A crazy week on the field has led to a shake up in this week’s NHHSSports Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll.
A crazy week on the field has led to a shake up in this week’s NHHSSports Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll.
For the first time in the poll’s history, a new team holds the No. 2 spot, and two teams from Division II hold two of the top three spots.
Bishop Guertin was the pick for the No. 1 spot again after the Cardinals took care of business against Bedford and Exeter last week before falling to Archbishop Stepinac, of White Plains, N.Y. They’ll look to bounce back Monday night against Nashua South before games at Exeter on Tuesday and home against Merrimack on Friday.
Portsmouth, coming off a win against Exeter last Wednesday, moves up to the No. 2 spot for the first time ever, and becomes the first team other than Bishop Guertin, Exeter or Pinkerton to hold that spot. It’s also the highest a D2 team has ever been ranked in the poll.
The Clippers return to action Tuesday night against Oyster River-Newmarket before back-to-back games Thursday at St. Thomas and Friday against Hollis Brookline. Derryfield moved up to the No. 3 spot, just a point behind Portsmouth, after its comeback win against Westwood (Mass.). The Cougars head to Merrimack Valley on Monday and then go to Goffstown on Friday.
Exeter fell to No. 4, ending up a point behind Derryfield, after dropping back-to-back games last week. The Blue Hawks will look to bounce back as they host Nashua North and Bishop Guertin on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, before going to Massachusetts to play Lincoln-Sudbury on Thursday.
Having lost four of five, Pinkerton fell two spots to No. 5 in the poll, the lowest the Astros have ever been ranked. They’ll try to rebound starting Monday night at Merrimack before home games against Londonderry on Wednesday and Algonquin, from Northborough, Mass., on Saturday.
Bedford remained at No. 6, breaking last week’s tie with Timberlane after getting big wins over HB and North to end the week. The Bulldogs are on the road at Manchester on Wednesday and at Londonderry on Friday. Timberlane took the No. 7 spot after getting wins against ORN and Souhegan. The Owls will host St. Thomas on Tuesday before welcoming in Hanover on Saturday.
Londonderry stayed at No. 8 for the second week in a row and has played just once in the last two weeks, getting a win over Concord last Friday. The Lancers are back at it this week, hosting Dover on Monday, going to Pinkerton on Wednesday and another home game with Bedford on Friday.
Merrimack moved up a spot to No. 9 after beating the team that held that spot last week, St. Thomas, to go with a win over Concord. The Tomahawks host Pinkerton on Monday and will travel to take on Bishop Guertin on Friday. St. Thomas dropped to No. 10, getting a win over Alvirne to bounce back from the loss. After going to Timberlane on Tuesday, the Saints host the Clippers on Thursday and Kingswood on Friday.
Here is the NHHSS Boys Lacrosse Coaches Poll for this week. These are the top 10 lacrosse teams in the state, with records, first-place votes/points, and last week’s ranking (T=tie).
- Bishop Guertin (5-2), 11/110, 1st
- Portsmouth (6-0), 83, 5th
- Derryfield (8-0), 82, 4th
- Exeter (5-2), 81, 2nd
- Pinkerton (5-4), 77, 3rd
- Bedford (4-2), 62, T-6th
- Timberlane (6-1), 41, T-6th
- Londonderry (3-2), 29, 8th
- Merrimack (6-1), 20, 10th
- St. Thomas (4-2), 7, 9th
Dropped out: None.
Also receiving votes: Windham (6-2), 5; Bow (5-0), 5; Winnacunnet (2-3), 5.
The coaches poll is voted on by coaches from all three divisions, as well as members of the media. If you would like to sponsor the coaches poll, send an email to nhhighschoolsports@gmail.com.
