Which rivals will win Dover v. Spaulding and Exeter v. Winnacunnet? Week 4 picks here
All 10 Seacoast teams are in action as the fourth week of the high school football season has arrived, but two rivalry games stand out with Spaulding at Dover on Friday, and Winnacunnet visiting Exeter at 1 p.m.
Other Friday games in New Hampshire include Portsmouth/Oyster River at Memorial in Division I and Franklin at Somersworth in Division IV.
In Maine, Class B Marshwood hosts Class A Sanford, and Traip Academy travels to Dirigo for a 8-Man Small game.
On Saturday, St. Thomas Aquinas hosts Kennett in a Division II game, and Class C York plays host to Class D Lisbon.
Here is a look at this week's games with our predictions:
Sanford (2-0) at Marshwood (2-1)
Kickoff: Friday, 6 p.m.
The breakdown: Marshwood is stepping up in class this week. The Class B Hawks have won two straight after a slow start and the Class A Spartans are undefeated. Marshwood has erupted for 76 points in its last two games after scoring just seven in its opener. The Hawks are coming off a 30-27 win over Gorham last week while Sanford defeated South Portland, 31-20.
Coach’s comment: “I would say they’re the biggest and strongest team that we play,” Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to stop them. They’re going to run the ball. I think they have a big size advantage over us. We’re hoping we can stop the run game. It all starts there.”
The Spartans have four linemen listed between 296 and 320 pounds and a running back at 235. The Hawks have a new offensive backfield bolstered by the return of juniors Ryan Essex and Tyler Hussey who both missed significant time last season with injuries. Although the offense is coming along, the defense needs work.
“Defensively, we have a long way to go,” Rotsko said. “The biggest issue last week for us was critical downs. It seems like we get teams in third-and-long and fourth-and-long and they’re able to convert. We need to step up and make plays in those situations.”
Prediction: The Hawks continue their winning ways in front of their home fans. Marshwood improves to 3-1. Marshwood 28-21.
Follow on Twitter: @AlPikeSMG2
-Al Pike
Spaulding (0-3) at Dover (1-1)
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
The breakdown: Rivalry games are fun, and Dover and Spaulding is one of the biggest rivalries not only on the Seacoast, but in all of New Hampshire, and this game should be a battle.
The Red Raiders and Green Wave have split the last two meetings. In 2022, Spaulding defended its home field with a 36-23 win over the Green Wave, and Dover held Spaulding scoreless with a 45-0 win in 2021.
Dover is led by senior quarterback Ryder Aubin, who has a lot of talent at the skill positions around him such as seniors Syncere Bailey and Bryce Carberry, and freshman Amari Lewis. But, in order to knock off its rivals, Dover head coach Eric Cumba wants to see the team fix some critical errors.
Coach's comments: "We have to make sure that we're solid there to put ourselves in the best position possible," Cumba said. "We've got to come away with points on every drive, and on defense, we've got to keep the ball in front of us and tackle well."
The Red Raiders are a better team than their record indicates, and almost came away with a win at Timberlane, so Spaulding shouldn't be overlooked.
Just like Dover, Spaulding has playmakers with quarterback Kaiden Melendez, and the trio of running backs in Hunter Trueman, Seth Cortina and Zach Lynch. The one thing the Spaulding defense showed in last week's loss to Exeter is that it hits hard and swarms to the ball.
That defense will have to contain Aubin, who Spaulding head coach Kevin Hebert calls a "good player" and is one of the best versatile dual-threat quarterbacks he's seen.
"He's very, very smart, high intelligence, high IQ," Hebert said. "Coach Cumba does a really good job of putting him schematically in a very good spot to succeed."
"We're going to have our hands full in the sense of trying to match our guys up with some of the things that they do and try to take away some of the things they want to do," Hebert said. "It's definitely going to be a challenge for us."
Our prediction: This game should be a back-and-forth affair, with both teams feeding off emotions off what rivalry games are all about. Points will be scored, and the outcome will be determined by which defense can contain the opposing team's playmakers at critical moments. Dover 33, Spaulding 27.
Follow on Twitter: @brandonbrownsc1
-Brandon Brown
Portsmouth/Oyster River (3-0) at Manchester Memorial (1-2)
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
The breakdown: Portsmouth/Oyster had its hands full last week against Dover, ultimately hanging on for a two-point win.
And now, the ClipperCats are one of six undefeated teams remaining in Division I's 21-team field, and will visit Memorial, which earned its first win of the season last Friday at Winnacunnet.
Coach's comments: "I think I am happy with where we are," Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said. "We've played a little bit better every week. Our mental discipline, compared to last year's, has been really good. Hopefully, we can keep that up and stay at that level where we are thinking of assignments and what we need to do, and not get too hyped up about a big play or something bad that happens and stay composed against adversity."
The ClipperCats have scored at least 24 points in each of their games and have outscored the opposition, 106-28.
"I think we're a little bit ahead of where I thought we would be at this time, but we still have a really tough stretch of football games coming up," Pafford said.
Two players Pafford knows he has to beware of his quarterback Connor McFarland and Erik Seymore, a bruising back with size and speed. Seymore ran for 107 yards on 12 carries last Friday, including a 50-yard scamper for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. McFarland threw for an 8-yard touchdown and also had an 8-yard run for a score.
"Memorial is a team I think that could get better and better as they go into this new offense," Pafford said. "I think it's just taken awhile to figure out some stuff with it."
Prediction: Portsmouth, after beating rival Dover in a close game, has to stay focused and not look ahead to next Saturday's game at Oxford Hills, which is undefeated going into this weekend and plays in Maine's highest division. Portsmouth 35, Memorial 10
-Jay Pinsonnault
Franklin (1-1) at Somersworth (1-0)
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
The breakdown: Somersworth quickly shook off the rust of starting the season late last week. Despite the 50-0 win over Mascoma Valley, head coach Jeremy Lambert said there are things the team needs to work on ahead of Friday's matchup.
Coach's comments: “Offensively, we had some sloppy play last week, and we put the ball on the ground,” Lambert said. “We also made some mental mistakes and we have to clean those up.”
Lambert expects senior running back Tayshawn Sheppard, who ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns last week, to continue being an offensive catalyst.
“We'll have to continue to rely on him running the ball,” Lambert said. “He runs hard and he really sets the tone for us offensively.”
Lambert said controlling the ball on the ground would be a key to his team’s success this week, both offensively, and defensively.
“We need to do our best to contain their run game,” he said. “Their quarterback (Zeke McCoy) is a very good player, and we need to be able to contain him as well. We just have to take away their bread and butter. If we can do that, we should be OK.”
Lambert expects linemen Jack Welch and Lucas Kelly, as well as his linebacking corps to set the tone defensively.
“I want to see them flying around and making plays,” Lambert said of his linebackers. “Franklin is bigger than us, so we'll have to use our speed to our advantage.”
Our prediction: Somersworth will continue its streak of domination in Division IV, getting off to a quick start, and cruising. Somersworth 43-17.
Follow on Twitter: @tcovey11
-Terrill Covey
Traip Academy (0-3) at Dirigo (2-1)
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
The breakdown: The Rangers will have their hands full when they visit Dirigo.
Coach's comments: "(Dirigo) is a very good team, and they are well coached, we're going to have our hands full," Traip Academy head coach Eric Lane said. "They don't have many seniors but they're still tough."
Lane wants to see the team improve on taking care of the ball, as the Rangers' five turnovers in last week's loss led to easy scores for Maranacook.
"And then we gave up some big plays because we were just out of position, and that's just growing pains of a young team," Lane said. "If we can cut down on the penalties and turnovers, we'll have a shot to compete and beat them if we can stay focused and not make mistakes."
"Offensively, we've got to run the ball better," Lane said. "We didn't run the ball effectively this last week. We've got to be able to push them and be able to run. If we do that, it sets up our passing. When we become one-dimensional, that's when we get in trouble."
Our prediction: For Traip, it's about putting together efficient drives that results in some kind of points, while limiting explosive plays. Dirigo 35, Traip 6.
-Brandon Brown
Winnacunnet (0-3) at Exeter (3-0)
Kickoff: Saturday, 1 p.m.
The breakdown: Winnacunnet head coach Ryan Francoeur said besides playing for a Division I state championship, which the Warriors did two seasons ago, a game against the rival Blue Hawks is "the next best thing."
Coach's comments: "Everyone is excited about it," Francoeur said. "It's spirit week and everyone's ready to go."
"It's always the biggest game of the year, a season within a season, and this year's no different," Exeter head coach Bill Ball said. "It brings out the best in both schools, and both communities. It's a great week."
Winnacunnet will look to win its first game of the season, and what better team to beat than its undefeated rival.
"Exeter is having a great year so far," Francoeur said. "They have 11 guys who really function as one unit on both sides of the ball. They're really solid, disciplined and do a nice job with their schemes. We'll have to do the same thing this week on our end. Hopefully we can do that, and turn it into a competitive football game."
Ball said the Blue Hawks will need "great defensive discipline" against the Warriors, who have scored just 11 points this season.
"Their quarterback (Riley McDaniel) is a run-pass threat every time he touches the ball," Ball said. "Their halfbacks are deceptive, especially (Mason McDonald) who gets to his spot quickly. Up front, they've got some experience ... that's a team that's improving every week as evidenced by the Memorial game."
Exeter has allowed 27 points through three games, with 14 of those points coming in the first quarter in a 45-14 season-opening win over Timberlane.
If the Warriors can limit the Blue Hawks' rushing attack, and keep the Exeter offense off the field with long drives, Winnacunnet will give itself a chance to pull off the upset. But the problem is when you think you may have stopped one Blue Hawk in the backfield, there's another two or three ready to pick up extra yards, along with quarterback Jack Bove.
"I think we need to finish our drives in the red zone," Francouer said. "I think we made a good step last week, yardage-wise. It was the most yards we've had offensively this season. I thought we moved the ball consistently at times, and just got bogged down near that 15- to 10-yard line range, so I think finishing drives in the red zone will be key."
Our prediction: Expect the Warriors to hang in with the Blue Hawks in the first half, before Exeter's running game controls the tempo in the second half. Exeter 27, Winnacunnet 14.
Follow on Twitter: @brandonbrownsc1 and @JayPinceSMG
-Brandon Brown
St. Thomas Aquinas (2-1) at Kennett (3-0)
Kickoff: Saturday 2 p.m.
The breakdown: After two consecutive home games, the Saints hit the road for a matchup with Kennett, one of the two remaining undefeated teams in Division II East.
St. Thomas is coming off a 15-9 win over Sanborn, while Kennett won at Laconia, 20-10.
Coach's comments: "There's Plymouth and them, and we're rounding out third place," St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Ed McDonough said. "It's a game, just like last week, you want to keep getting better and better week to week, and be competitive. I think we can be. We'll have our work cut out for us though."
Kennett senior tailback Tyler Wallcot, who stands at 5-foot-8, and 180 pounds, impressed McDonough in last year's game and further on film this season.
"He's a great back," McDonough said. It begins and ends with him. He's very quick, kind of a scat back. He likes to bounce outside and he has the speed to do it. Last year, they ran him on reverses, they put him in motion from the wing and tossed it to him. I don't think he'll kill us tackle to tackle, but I think if he gets outside and we give him space, he's going to make us pay the price. He's someone we have to pay attention to for sure."
Our prediction: One thing is for sure, McDonough will have the Saints playing at a high level, and will be competitive against a team that is averaging just under 28 points a game. STA hangs around before Kennett gets a late score and hangs on for the win. Kennett 17, St. Thomas Aquinas 10
-Jay Pinsonnault
Lisbon (1-2) at York (1-2)
Kickoff: Saturday, 2 p.m.
The breakdown: York enters Saturday’s game after a tough early-season schedule, and the Wildcats look to even their record up against the Greyhounds.
Coach's comments: “We just have to do the little things right,” said York coach Matt Nelson. “We're looking for consistency with fundamentals on both sides of the ball. If we can get that consistency, that will make a big difference for us.”
Offensively, Nelson is looking for the team to run the ball effectively, and finish drivers with touchdowns.
“If we can run the ball well, we can move it up the field, but that also sets up the play-action for us,” he said. “If we can run the ball well, it becomes that much easier to have a balanced attack on offense. And if we can have a balanced attack, we're much more difficult to stop. We can’t be one dimensional.”
Nelson said his defense has to be up to the task in the run game, particularly against the sweep plays that Lisbon is known for.
“Coach Chris Kates does a great job of designing these sweep plays that are very effective and tough to defend,” Nelson said. “We have to do a good job of stopping those sweeps, and getting them out of their comfort zone."
One area of the game where Nelson has been very happy so far this season is the kick return game, where Brody Gullison and Gavin Davis have been sparks.
“I think that's something that we can build off,” Nelson said. “The returns they have been getting make a difference. We are set up better offensively, and when you can win the field position battle, it makes everything a little easier.
“It’s homecoming weekend, and there will be a lot of fans and some alumni coming back to support us," Nelson continued. "I told the players, ‘That’s what you’re playing for – your legacy.’ This is an opportunity to go out and have some success.”
Our prediction: York showed signs of life against a strong Leavitt team last week, and the field position advantage will slant the game in their favor. York 28-14.
Follow on Twitter: @tcovey11
-Terrill Covey
Last week's record: 7-1, Season-to-date: 17-5
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast high school football predictions: Who will win in week 4
