By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
The final piece to this year's playoff puzzle was put in place Sunday, when the Nashua South football team beat Pinkerton 30-7 in a game pushed back one day because of poor playing conditions.
The victory ended Pinkerton's 22-game winning streak against Division I competition and earned South the No. 1 seed for the Division I playoffs. South (7-1) will play fourth-seeded Londonderry (5-3) in Saturday's semifinals.
"We weren't talking about playoffs, seeds or the home-field advantage," South coach Scott Knight said. "Our only focus was to beat Pinkerton. I really think we're peaking at the right time."
Second-seeded Pinkerton (7-1) will meet third-seeded Manchester West (5-3) in Saturday's other semifinal. West secured a playoff berth by beating Salem 17-14 Friday.
Timberlane's 21-20 triumph over Goffstown handed Winnacunnet a playoff berth in Division II. Fourth-seeded Winnacunnet (6-3) will face top-seeded Exeter (8-1) in the semifinals. Winnacunnet handed Exeter its only loss during the regular season.
Second-seeded Bishop Guertin (8-1) will meet third-seeded Dover (6-3) in the other Division II semifinal.
Pelham earned the top seed in Division V by beating Gilford 13-12 Friday. Pelham (9-0) will face fourth-seeded Bow (6-3) in the semifinals. Second-seeded Gilford (8-1) will take on third-seeded Bishop Brady (7-2).
Two state championship games will also be played Saturday. Top-seeded Plymouth (10-0) will play second-seeded Souhegan (9-1) in Division III, and top-seeded Laconia (10-0) will meet second-seeded Hanover (9-1) in Division IV.
Plymouth extended its winning streak to 32 games by beating Con-Val 35-14 in the semifinals. Souhegan advanced with a 10-0 victory over Milford.
Laconia reached the championship game for the second time in as many seasons with a 34-7 triumph over St. Thomas, last year's Division IV champion. Hanover moved on by beating Kearsarge 22-19.
Saturday's games will all be played at the home of the higher-seeded team.
Soccer: Hanover Rises to the Top
The Hanover boys completed an unbeaten season and won their third consecutive Class I championship by beating Bow 1-0 Sunday. Hanover's Eric Barthold scored the game's only goal midway through the first half.
Hanover tied a state record by posting its 17th shutout of the season.
Three other championship games were played Sunday:
Class I girls: Lynden Scarano's goal early in the first half held up as second-seeded Oyster River bet top-seeded Hollis-Brookline 1-0. It was Oyster River's first state title since 1984.
Class S boys: Geremy Gould's overtime goal lifted Colebrook to a 1-0 triumph over Moultonboro and gave the program its first state championship.
Class S girls: Katelyn Cloutier's goal with 51 seconds remaining in regulation gave top-seeded Groveton a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Wilton-Lyndeborough. Groveton completed its season with an 18-0-1 record and won its second title in the last four years.
Volleyball: Salem, Gilford Claim Titles
Second-seeded Salem and fourth-seeded Gilford each upset top-seeded teams to win the state championship in their respective divisions Saturday.
Salem won its second consecutive Division I championship with a 3-0 victory over Spaulding. Senior Nicole Duarte highlighted Salem's victory with 10 kills.
Gilford earned its ninth consecutive championship with a 2-1 triumph over Portsmouth in the Division II final. Gilford won seven straight Class M-S titles before capturing last year's inaugural Division II championship.
