Six Capital Area high school football programs made the playoffs this season, the most representation that the area has had in the post-pandemic era. But despite strong regular seasons, and in some cases historic seasons, none of those six teams survived the first weekend of NHIAA football playoff action. 

No. 8 Alvirne 33No. 9 Concord 10

The Crimson Tide (4-5) made the playoffs for the second time in the past three years, but fell on the road to the Broncos (7-3) in the Division I prelims in Hudson.

Concord didn’t have an answer for Alvirne running back Mike Landmesser, who ran for four touchdowns and 161 yards, including three touchdowns in the first half to jump start the Broncos to a 20-0 lead.

Concord senior Colby Nyhan kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired at halftime to get the Tide on the board and junior running back Tim Fahnbulleh (124 rushing yards) had a 32-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left in the third quarter to make the score 33-10.

Nyhan went 3-for-9 with 48 passing yards at quarterback.

The Tide bounced back from last year’s 1-7 campaign by opening the season with a 4-1 start. Concord still made the postseason despite a punishing schedule in the second half of the season that included losses to D-I Central powerhouses Pinkerton, Salem and Alvirne.

Alvirne also beat Concord, 30-14, on Oct. 18.

“We came into the season missing some key guys from last year. Looking at our personnel, we made some systemic changes, especially to our offense,” Concord head coach Jim Corkum said. “When you do that it can take some time to get it, but our guys were able to pick it up pretty quick. Making the playoffs is a great indication of how hard they worked.”

No. 4 Souhegan 34No. 5 John Stark 6

The Generals (6-4) made a return trip to the playoffs, but faced a tough opponent in the Sabers (8-2) on the road in Amherst in Saturday’s Division II quarterfinal.

His No. 5 John Stark Generals hung with No. 4 Souhegan early, but eventually fell 34-6 Saturday in the Division II quarterfinals.

“They get off that ball quick and they're coached very well,” Generals head coach Ray Kershaw said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game going into it, especially with our young players. We have two sophomores on our offensive line and so we're young this year. We knew it was going to be tough and they're a very good team.”

Souhegan quarterback Michael Fiengo threw a touchdown pass and ran in one himself to help the Sabers build a 21-0 lead at halftime, and threw another TD pass to make it 28-0 in the third quarter.

John Stark senior Joey Dykstra got the Generals on the board when he recovered a fumble and took it 50-plus yards to the end zone that started to shift momementum, but the Sabers blocked a punt later in the half to set up an easy score.

“I'm proud of my kids,” Kershaw said. “Back-to-back playoffs, which is good. When I took it over they hadn't won a game. First year we won a game, second year four wins, third year we went to the playoffs. We've got quite a few coming back and quite a few freshmen coming up. So the future is bright.”

No. 3 Trinity 28, No. 6 Bow 0

The Falcons (5-5) improved upon their regular season loss to Trinity (9-1) and held the Pioneers scoreless for large portions of the game, but quarterback Ollie Service threw three touchdown passes to Davey Durepo in the final 4:19 of the first half to send Bow into halftime down 20-0.

The Pioneers beat the Falcons, 44-7, in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 1.

Bow senior quarterback Brady Lover had 77 yards rushing and was 2-for-8 passing, but a fumble and a pair of interceptions were costly in Saturday’s Division II quarterfinal loss.

Junior running back Caleb Schumacher had 68 rushing yards for the Falcons.

“Though we did improve upon last week's performance against the same team, playoff football is unforgiving,” Bow head coach Paul Cohen said. “Still, I am proud of the effort this group of student-athletes demonstrated this autumn.”

No. 1 Plymouth 42No. 8 Merrimack Valley 7

The Pride (4-6) gave the undefeated Bobcats (10-0) one their toughest tests in the regular season, but Plymouth’s running was too dominant in Saturday’s Division II quarterfinal.

Senior running back Reece Clermont caught a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jack Parris to put MV on the board in the second half, while Michael Heine played well on the offensive line for the Pride.

“Tough game against a very good team,” MV head coach Matt Shaw said.

The Pride made the playoffs for the first time in several years after falling one game shy in last year’s 4-5 campaign. MV qualified for the playoffs in the last week of the regular season when the Pride beat Pembroke, 55-22, to hold onto the Cloe-O’Brien Bowl.

No. 1 Raymond 34No. 4 Franklin 0

Playing in their first playoff game since 2018, the Tornadoes (4-4) held the top-ranked Rams (8-0) off the board until the second quarter, but the powerful Raymond offense eventually wore them down, taking a 14-0 lead at halftime and then 28-0 at the end of the third quarter.

Raymond will play Mascoma for the Division IV championship next Saturday.

Still, it was a historic season for Franklin, one that saw the Tornadoes with the first playoff appearance and winning record in the regular season since 2018. Franklin secured its playoff spot by beating Bishop Brady last weekend, 17-7, to win the program’s first Kaplan Kup after losing the first three editions of the rivalry game.

“It was just three years ago that we did not even score a single touchdown, and the turnaround that these amazing student athletes made was incredible,” head coach Tim Snow said. “We will be losing some key players, including the only player who played all four years with this staff, (running back) Harrison Kaplan, and 3-year player (lineman) Matt Nason. We will have an outstanding junior class returning next year as seniors, as well as a large group of freshmen that played a big role in the success of this year's team. We have a great group of parents and football family that has been so supportive, and a school and community that has helped us turn the corner. We will be back next year, and years to come as the team to beat.”

No. 2 Mascoma 44No. 3 Hillsboro-Deering 6

The Hillcats (4-4) ended their first season as a solo program in the D-IV semifinals against a tough Royals (7-1) team on the road. 

A physically larger Mascoma team took advantage of its strength along the line, taking a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and led 30-0 at halftime.

Robert King (100 yards on nine carries, caught a 7-yard pass on H-D’s only completion) had an 81-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left in the game to put the Hillcats on the board.

King also had eight tackles and a sack, while Dan Richard (eight tackles, 45 rushing yards on offense), Micah Adams (16 tackles) and Ethan Franklin (11 tackles) also played well defensively.

After Hopkinton dropped out of the cooperative agreement that had existed since 2014, it was a landmark season for the Hillcats, who converted their practice field into a game field and hosted games on the HDHS campus for the first time in school history.