Who will win in Week 2? Our picks for Portsmouth-Winnacunnet football, all Seacoast games

Week 2 of the high school football season has arrived, but one team, Somersworth High School, is still looking to play its first game.

The Hilltoppers, the two-time defending Division IV champions, were off last week, and were scheduled to play Newfound on Saturday. However, Newfound is dealing with "numerous injuries," according to Somersworth head coach Jeremy Lambert and asked for the game to be moved to Saturday, Oct. 21. Lambert agreed to the request.

Friday's slate of seven games highlights just one Seacoast rivalry game as Winnacunnet High School visits Portsmouth/Oyster River. Other Friday games include Nashua North at Exeter, Dover playing host to Sanford, Maine; Spaulding at Timberlane, St. Thomas Aquinas home against Pelham, York at Wells, and Marshwood at Biddeford.

On Saturday, Traip Academy will host Boothbay in a Maine 8-Man Small contest.

Here is a look at this week's games with our predictions:

Winnacunnet (0-1) at Portsmouth/Oyster River (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: Brooks Connors grew up playing football with members of the Winnacunnet High School football team, and played with the Warriors last season as a sophomore, running for 218 yards and catching three passes for 24 yards. He was featured, as a Warrior, in our preseason top offensive players to watch for this season.

However, on Friday, Connors will be playing against his friends as a member of the Portsmouth/Oyster River football team.

Connors picked up his equipment at Winnacunnet in early August, but on the first day of practice, he notified Winnacunnet head coach Ryan Francoeur he was moving and would be attending Portsmouth High School this fall.

“I love Brooks as a person, and I love him as a football player, he’s clearly a very good football player,” Francoeur said ahead of Wednesday’s practice in preparation for Friday's game. “I wish him all the happiness and success he can find.”

Connors ran for 129 yards in his debut with Portsmouth last Friday in a season-opening 40-6 win at Spaulding.

“When we watched film, we were looking at numbers, not individuals," Francoeur said. "With (Connors) and the rest of their running backs, our focus is going to be how we handle their running game. It seems like that’s a strength of theirs this year.”

Portsmouth head coach Brian Pafford said there has been no discussion with Connors this week about playing against his friends and former team on Friday.

"It’s just another game,” Pafford said. “We give the kids the game plan, and we expect them to execute what we ask them to do. We’re going to play as a team, and spread the ball. He clearly is a great player, but he’s a piece of a puzzle, and our puzzle has a lot of pieces, and he understands that. He realizes we’re going to play a team game, and go from there.”

Francoeur said the ClipperCats looked strong across the board in last week's 34-point win over the Red Raiders.

"They established the line of scrimmage, and their running backs and their (quarterback) Aidan Thomas did a nice job," Francoeur said. "They have some power guys, and a few guys who are quick. They can hit you in all aspects of the run game. (Thomas) throws a good football, and seems pretty poised."

Winnacunnet didn't pick up their first first down until midway through the third of quarter of last Friday's 35-0 loss to Dover.

"No matter what kind of year you're in, you want to get better every week," Francoeur said. "Although the score doesn't reflect it, I think we made a few steps forward from our second scrimmage."

Our prediction: Portsmouth quarterback Aidan Thomas threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in last week's season-opening win. Thomas, and the ClipperCats, will duplicate that effort against a young Winnacunnet team. Portsmouth 42, Winnacunnet 6.

Follow on Twitter: @JayPinceSMG

— Jay Pinsonnault

Nashua North (1-0) at Exeter (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: Exeter started the season with a huge Division I home win over Timberlane, 45-14 — a game in which Exeter scored 42 unanswered points after trailing 14-3 late in the first quarter.

The Blue Hawks will look to pick up where they left off when they welcome Nashua North, which opened with a home win, 24-7, over Merrimack.

North will be a different, and unique challenge, for Exeter head coach Bill Ball and the defense with the Titans boasting an offense that uses two quarterbacks — Gavin Flynn and Jon Canaway.

"Both (quarterbacks) are capable of running run-pass options," Ball said, also citing the talent around the two signal callers. "Personnel wise, that's what they present, and they get after you on defense, they swarm the ball. It's going to be a challenge and that's good."

If Exeter's defense, which performed well in the season opener, can replicate last week, North could have some problems moving the ball. Exeter is led by the Beem brothers on defense, and Tyler Graney, who was constantly around the ball, among other Blue Hawk defensive standouts.

"We've got to be a little bit smarter on the back end, and we just have to communicate a little better," Ball said, referring to his team's defense. "Know a little bit more about down and distance, people throwing to the sticks and things like that. We just need to be a little bit more aware defensively, especially on the back end."

North will need to contain a plethora of running backs out of the Exeter backfield. Running back Daniel Batstone rushed for 91 yards and scored two touchdowns, and fellow back Kenny Verhelle scored on a 50-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter against Timberlane.

Coach's comment: "(Nashua North) presents a lot of problems, offensively and defensively," Ball said. "We have to stress those this week and put our best foot forward on Friday night."

Our prediction: Exeter will lean on its dominant run game, and expect the defense to hold a team to under 20 points for the second week in a row. Exeter 28, Nashua North 17.

Follow on Twitter: @brandonbrownSC1

— Brandon Brown

Sanford, Maine (1-0) at Dover (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: For the second year in a row the interstate foes are meeting in Week 2 of the regular season.

Both are coming off blowout wins in their openers last week. Dover blanked Winnacunnet, 35-0, in Division I East and Sanford defeated Scarborough, 41-17, in Maine Class A South.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to continue to build momentum especially coming off last week’s win,” said Dover coach Eric Cumba. “It’s a great experience to play out-of-state (teams) and we want to approach it like we do any other game.”

Ryder Aubin and Bryce Carberry each scored two touchdowns in Dover’s victory over the Warriors.

“The biggest thing I was happy with was the improvement of the returning players,” Cumba said. “You could see there’s a pretty clear difference in our returning players from last year to this year, which means they’ve done all the right things in the offseason.”

The Green Wave beat the Spartans in last season’s matchup on the road.

“They have a lot of size especially up front,” Cumba said. “I recognized a couple kids from last year’s team. What they do offensively they do very well. They feel confident they’re going in the right direction. We’ll have our hands full on both sides of the ball.”

Our prediction: The Green Wave will rely on the two-way threat of Aubin, and a strong runner in Brady McInnes, and improve to 2-0 on the season. Dover 31, Sanford 21.

Follow on Twitter: @AlPikeSMG2

— Al Pike

Pelham (1-0) at St. Thomas Aquinas (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: Pelham comes into Dover carrying a 31-game win streak, with no sign of slowing down after last week’s 49-0 win over Manchester West.

St. Thomas, however, had a nice start of its own in a 20-0 win over Merrimack Valley, and coach Ed McDonough hopes to see his team continue to grow in this tough early-season matchup.

“Pelham is formidable,” he said. “We’ve told the kids, this is a good measuring stick for us. It’s a chance to see if we can compete with the big boys in Division II.”

Pelham has won each of the last three state titles, and returns all of its key players in the trenches, which McDonough said will present a big challenge for his young team, particularly his offensive line, which is still emerging.

“Our goal is to go right at them,” McDonough said. “That’s all you can do. You can’t go east to west and try to outrun them,  you can’t trick them or really confuse them. You just have to go at them, and hope you're at your best that day.”

The key for the Saints will lie in their stable of senior ball carriers, quarterback Michael Skowron, along with backs Trent Salyards, Timmy Avery, Sam Grondin, and Owen Birch. They all will be counted on to slow the game down and eat up both yards and clock, forcing Pelham to make the most of its own possessions.

“If we can go out there and take the air out of the ball, and be successful, that will be important,” McDonough said. “It sounds kind of cliché, but if we can run the ball effectively, and play good defense, I think we'll be in the game. They beat us, I think, 41-0 last year and we hope to be more competitive this year.”

McDonough said Pelham coach Tom Babaian is good about using motion and moving players around to confuse the defense, so his team will need to be disciplined and focused or it can become a long night for the Saints. And while McDonough said scoring first would be helpful, it can also be a detriment against a high-quality opponent.

“A couple years ago we got ahead of a good Timberlane team and we still lost 38-7,” he said. “You still have to play the other end of the field. Would it help to get a lead? Yes, it would be immensely helpful, but we just have to focus on doing the things we do best and try to make things hard for them.”

Our prediction: In this game, a lot rides on who scores first. if the Saints can get on the board first and rely on their stout running game, they will be right in it, but if they fall behind early and have to play catch-up, it could be a challenge. The Saints will score first and keep it close at halftime, but Pelham pulls away. Pelham 35, St. Thomas 17.

Follow on Twitter: @tcovey11

— Terrill Covey

York (0-1) at Wells (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: Coming off a 41-14 loss at Cheverus in their opener, the Wildcats get no rest at Wells on Friday. The Warriors opened with a commanding 31-0 victory over Class D Oak Hill. York struggled with Cheverus’s two backs (Joe Osei, Matt Baker) who combined for 300 yards and six touchdowns.

That means they need to contain Wells’ Wing-T, which will attempt to give York’s defense a steady dose of “hammering” with what can be a relentless ground attack.

On offense, the Wildcats will look to its big names in Brody Gullison and Brady Higgins to provide some spark. Gullison had an 84-yard kick-off return for a touchdown, while Higgins caught four passes for 90 yards. Junior quarterback Peter Martin showed flashes of brilliance, but is still a work in progress. Execution will be key for York, which had one big turnover against Cheverus that changed the course of the game.

Coach’s comment: “We’ve got to be a little stiffer on our front seven,” said York coach Matt Nelson. “We have to be a little more aggressive, making sure that we’re really wrapping up and getting more people to the ball and maybe get a turnover and flip the field that way. … We’ve got to play some disciplined defense and do our job. If we do that and win the turnover battle, I think it will be a good football game.”

Our prediction: Wells is able to hold off the Wildcats. Wells 23, York 14.

Follow on Twitter: @mwhaley25

— Mike Whaley

Spaulding (0-1) at Timberlane (0-1)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m

The breakdown: The Red Raiders head into Friday's contest looking to rebound from a tough opening week loss to Portsmouth.

Spaulding quarterback Kaiden Melendez had an efficient first half last week, but head coach Kevin Hebert said the team must get the running game going this week.

"We want to try to run the ball and establish the run game," Hebert said. "Portsmouth did a really good job of taking that away up front. For us, it's really more about trying to get the running game established, so that we can throw the ball and try to build upon that positive from last week."

Both Spaulding and Timberlane had a rough start and will be motivated to put up points on the board. Conversely, both teams allowed at least 40 points, so forcing turnovers and getting third down stops could be the deciding factor to which team wins the game.

Look for running backs Hunter Trueman, Zach Lynch, Seth Cortina and Dominic Phillips to balance a heavy workload. Melendez can escape the pocket and create plays with his legs as well.

"Taking care of the football is always something we talk about," Hebert said. "The turnover battle is is obviously going to be something that we look at. We talked about it last week a little bit about trying to limit some of the explosive plays defensively. We were not good in the run game last week, so we were putting a lot of emphasis on that this week and trying to stop the run because Timberlane does some similar things to Portsmouth as far as style is concerned."

Coach's comment: "Obviously going on the road for the first time this season, I think the game will be another thing we have to look at and try to be prepared for," Hebert said.

Our prediction: Both teams are heavily eager to avoid an 0-2 start, and Timberlane does have the advantage playing at home. But, the Red Raiders have a group of backs and a quarterback who can keep Spaulding in the game, and even steal one on the road with a timely defensive play or two. Spaulding 28, Timberlane 26.

Marshwood (0-1) at Biddeford (0-1)

Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.

The breakdown: Marshwood's biggest focus seems to be putting up more points this week following just seven points in last week's loss to Deering, in which Marshwood head coach Alex Rotsko said the team didn't execute that well.

Biddeford, like Marshwood, come into this game looking for its first win of the season, having lost to Westbrook last week, 36-20.

Coach's comment: Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko was unavailable for comment.

Our prediction: The Hawks will need to figure out how to put the ball in the end zone this week to compete and steal a road win. Biddeford 28, Marshwood 14.

Boothbay (0-1) at Traip Academy (0-1)

Kickoff: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

The breakdown: The first two weeks of the season aren't particularly kind to Traip Academy in terms of schedule. First, it was on the road against the reigning Maine 8-man Small state champions Old Orchard Beach. This week, the Rangers are at home against another tough and physical opponent.

"This one will be a good one, (Boothbay) is big and a pretty tough team," Traip Academy head coach Eric Lane said. "They run the ball a lot, so we're going to really have to stop them at the line of scrimmage and make sure they don't get those chunk yards and break them off. That's one of the things we're really working on this week."

Lane said the Rangers must resist from turning the ball over if they want a chance to compete.

Coach's comment: "We hope to improve every week to get better and better," Lane said.

Our prediction: This will be another tough outing for the Rangers who are looking to find some consistency. Boothbay 45, Traip Academy 0.

Last week's record: 6-1. Season-to-date: 6-1.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast high school football predictions: Who will win in week 2