Well, we had some surprises last week along with more of what we expected. Trinity and St Thomas both continued their march of perfection. The Saints relied on a late game pick to seal their victory over Kennet 12 -6 while Trinity's game was over by halftime as they rolled over Kingswood in their opener. Hanover also crushed John Stark and Plymouth took advantage of 6 Raider turnovers and defeated Lebanon 40-21. None of these games were overly surprising, until you look at the Windham/Laconia Box score, the Windham War Machine dominated the Sachems 52-6...limiting an injured David Mahoney to 61 yards on 11 carries. Watch out D IV, there's a new kid in town and he's looking to run the block :)
On the slate for Week 2, I plan on visiting Lebanon to get my first look at the Jaguars from Windham. I'll have a review of that game sometime this weekend. The most intriguing games this weekend though are Plymouth at Kennett and Laconia at Hanover. The Marauders had a relatively easy game of it last week, but it's safe to say Coach K and the Sachems will be looking to rebound in a big way as they travel to Marauder country. Second is the Plymouth/Kennett game. If Plymouth can lock down all state running back Nick Massa they should be okay, but this should be interesting to see.
Last week ~HC~ went 4-1.
Windham Jaguars @ Lebanon Raiders - the Spirits predict this will be a closer game than you might think but Windham comes out on top 24-21.
This will be my first glimpse of both these teams this year. Based on my information though, Windham had no problems handling the Sachems while Lebanon basically handed Plymouth the game by turning the ball over 6 times in the first half 3 times while driving deep in Plymouth territory. So, if the Raiders can eliminate the turnovers this might be a game, but the Jaguars created 5 of them last week. We'll have to see...last week the Jaguars held one of the best backs in D IV in check (David Mahoney) and this week they'll see a totally different back in the Dozer - Dylan Drew. I can't wait for this one!
Laconia Sachems @ Hanover - okay, okay, I flipped a coin on this one and Hanover won. Marauders stay perfect and beat Laconia in a shootout...48-42 on a broken play where Cavallaro is forced to scramble and breaks a 42-42 tie by going the distance as time expires (or that's what the spirits tell me is going to happen anyway).
Hey, Shawn Cavallaro and Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris had exceptional games for Hanover last week, but they'll face a different animal tonight. Laconia is away for their first 3 games this year. Make no mistake the Motor Mahoney and the Sachems are coming to Hanover tonight on a mission. The Sachems do not want to start out 0-2 and look at their 3rd away game at St Thomas in week 3 so they will have their teeth bared. I expect this will be a dog-fight with a ton of points scored by both teams. The offensive weapons are definitely there!
Plymouth Bobcats @ Kennett Eagles - I didn't quite flip a coin on this one. If the Bobcats can cause 6 turnovers against a veteran Lebanon team, I think Coach L. might have found a good combination on D. I'm going with Plymouth 28 - 14.
Kennett is young this year, but that have a running back in Nick Massa who's a North/South guy with good top end speed. If they can contain him, Plymouth has the weapons in Thomas, Goodale, and Reisert to put points up in a hurry. The Bobcats have always mixed run and pass with brutal efficiency....and Reisert is tall, fast and has great hands. The Bobcats should come out on top here.
Stark Generals @ Trinity Pioneers - the Pioneers were gifted a couple young teams to open with. Trinity continues to roll 40-6.
Stark has a couple good backs in Carson Dunn and Jacob Bumford. They combined for 140+ yards last week in Hanover, however, not many teams have the weapons to hang with Trinity. It will take a perfect game I think to come on top in Manchester against these guys. Carrier, Masuku and company are playing with confidence and they will be tough to beat this year.
St. Thomas @ Kingswood - St. Thomas takes this one 28 - 7.
The Saints started their D IV run with a tight victory over the Eagles last week (12-6). They turned the ball over a few times which caused them some problems however I don't see much trouble this week. The Knights are the youngest team in D IV, but they are at home so anything can happen. I expect this one to be over quickly though.
So if my predictions ring true, we'll have a group of front runners after this week. Trinity, Windham, St Thomas, Plymouth and Hanover all at 2-0 with Lebanon, Kennett, Laconia, Stark and Kingswood sitting at 0-2. With only 4 teams getting to the playoffs, any more that 3 losses this year (and maybe even 2) might be the most you can handle if you hope to make the post-season. Players in that second group will need to step up and perform if they want to prove me wrong. Good luck to all tonight and tomorrow.
~HC~
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