By: KJ Cardinal

With the Merrimack Valley boys loss to Pelham last night, there are now just 10 undefeated NHIAA teams remaining around the Granite State. Three boys and seven girls squads are still striving for perfection.

Simply put, these teams are mowing down the competition. Combined, the unbeatens are 90-0 with an average margin of victory of 26.5 points per game. Of those 90 games, only 17 have been decided by single digits.

It’s an impressive collection of teams that look poised to be the top contenders in their respective divisions when the chips are all on the table come playoff time.

Let’s take a closer look at these 10 squads that still have a chance for the perfect season…

WOODSVILLE BOYS

The Woodsville Engineers have once again re-loaded and currently boast the state’s best record at 12-0. After steamrolling their way to a 9-0 mark with a 27.8 margin of victory, the last three games have been decided by seven points or less.

Landon Kingsbury and Ryan Walker are one of the most devastating duos in the division. While Kingsbury has elevated his offensive output this season to lead the Engineers in scoring (22 PPG), Walker (15 PPG) is the straw that stirs the drink for Woodsville. This is a combo that no one is going to want to face when the playoffs roll around.

While no game is a given in the North Country, big road tilts at Littleton (Feb. 7) and Profile (Feb. 12) appear to be the Engineers biggest obstacles in their quest for perfection.

LITTLETON GIRLS

The Littleton Crusaders ran the table a season ago, posting a flawless 22-0 record, and Dale Prior’s squad shows no signs of slowing down this year. The Crusaders are winning by nearly 30 PPG and have now won their last 32 outings.

Littleton did get tested at Woodsville (41-36) and at Holy Family (47-40) earlier this season, but the Crusaders balanced attack and selfless play is hard to game plan for. Their top five of senior Addison Hadlock, juniors Ella Horsch and JuJu Bromley, sophomore Addison Pilgrim and freshman Leah Poulton are all capable scorers that are in peak shape and can play the whole game from end-to-end when needed.

Three big North Country match-ups still loom on the Crusaders schedule as they host Colebrook (Jan. 31) and Woodsville (Feb.7) before ending the season at Groveton (Feb. 17). At this point, it looks like Littleton’s division to lose and with Hadlock as the lone senior making significant contributions, this run could just be the beginning for the Crusaders.

PORTSMOUTH BOYS

After a one-year absence, head coach John Mulvey has returned to the Portsmouth sideline and he has his squad rolling. The Clippers simply keep finding ways to win. They’ve proven they can win a rock fight as evidenced by the 39-38 victory over Alvirne and they can win a track meet as was the case at Manchester Memorial (84-80).

The big three of Isaiah Reis, Ryan Swartz and Derek Swartz have been as tough as any trio in the state. Reis has emerged as one of the top scorers in the division (20 PPG), freshman Derek Swartz (17 PPG) has lived up to the big expectations and Ryan Swartz has been steady throughout.

The Clippers have a huge test tonight as they head to Nashua to take on South and later hit the road on Jan. 31 to take on Keene.

BEDFORD GIRLS

There are dominant teams in the state and then there are the Bedford girls. Kevin Gibbs squad is coming off a 21-0 championship run from a season ago and the Bulldogs are decimating the state’s top division this year.

With an average margin of victory over 33 PPG, the Bulldogs are taking no prisoners. Kate Allard is leading the way for Bedford with over 17 PPG and Sarah Muir is adding 10 PPG, but the numbers may be a bit misleading as they often do most of their work in limited minutes.

The only real test of the season for Bedford so far came in a 13-point win (65-52) over Pinkerton back on Jan. 7. The Bulldogs still have showdowns with fellow unbeatens Windham (Jan. 28) and Londonderry (Feb. 21) on their slate and they head to Derry for the rematch with the Astros on Feb. 10.

WINDHAM GIRLS

The backcourt duo of Meghan Husson and Lilah Boucher has piloted Windham to a perfect 9-0 start to the season. The Jaguars are winning by nearly 26 PPG and have only had one game decided by single digits, a 55-48 win at Exeter.

It’s a little tough to gauge exactly where Windham will stack up against the division brass as their early-season schedule has been rather light. So far, the Jaguar opponents have a combined 27-54 record, but that all changes in the next four games as Windham takes on the other top three teams in division that are a combined 24-1 on the season.

First up, the Jaguars host Bedford on Jan. 28 and then are at Londonderry on Feb. 1 before welcoming Pinkerton on Feb. 7.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS GIRLS

The St. Thomas Saints are off to a 9-0 start to the season and they’re winning by a staggering margin of 42.7 PPG. While the Saints have yet to play a team in the top nine in the Division, they are still holding these squads to just over 21 PPG.

The balanced trio of Genna Bolduc, Emilie von der Linden and Emma Toriello are all averaging around 14 PPG, but those numbers are a little deflated as most nights they’re doing their damage in just three quarters of play.

The Saints schedule heats up in a hurry as their next five games are versus teams in the top six of D-III. The first test is a home match-up versus Hopkinton tonight.

CONCORD CHRISTIAN BOYS

With an 8-0 start to the season, Concord Christian has emerged as the Division IV team to beat in the south. The Kingsmen have three 50+ point wins on their resume and are winning by nearly 27 PPG.

Greg Farland’s squad boasts a balanced scoring attack with TJ Charbono, Luke Farland and Jaden Young all averaging double digits, while Logan Duffy is pulling the strings at point.

The strength of schedule could be issue for CCA when the postseason rolls around however. The 8-0 start for the Kingsmen is against teams with a combined 27-46 mark and with no North Country opponents on the regular-season slate, it’s going to be hard to tell where CCA will stack up when the postseason rolls around.

DERRYFIELD GIRLS

Derryfield may be the most battle-tested unbeaten in the state. With an 8-0 mark, the Cougars have single-digit wins under their belt versus the 5th, 6th and 7th ranked teams in the division.

Senior Tia Ferdinando leads the Derryfield offense with 12 PPG, but freshman Anna Fazelat has emerged as an attacking floor general for head coach Courtney Cheetham’s squad. Throw in Bre McCabe’s 11 PPG and the Cougars have plenty of options.

The schedule heats up for Derryfield as they take on undefeated Laconia on Feb. 7 and later head to one-loss Milford on Feb. 18 and host Oyster River on Feb. 21.

LACONIA GIRLS

Led by the Division II leading scorer Macy Swormstedt (21 PPG), the Laconia Sachems are off to an 8-0 start to the season. While the Sachems have the lowest margin of victory among the 10 unbeatens (14.4 PPG), they have also had one of the tougher schedules.

Laconia is the only team to beat Milford this season and did so by 15 points (50-35). The Sachems also boast a four-point win over Bow (48-44) and a six-point victory against Pembroke (48-42).

Maddie Mousseau (12 PPG) and Ava Currier (9 PPG) are also making significant impacts for Laconia who heads to undefeated Derryfield on Feb. 7.

LONDONDERRY GIRLS

The high octane Londonderry Lancers are off to a 7-0 start to the season and boast the highest scoring offense among the unbeatens as they put up 70 PPG.

Recent 1000-point scorer Sammie Sullivan leads Londonderry and all of Division I with over 21 PPG, with running mate Gemma Murray averaging around 18 PPG. Throw in another 13 PPG from Brooke Eacrett and Jon Doherty’s has a potent attack.

So far, Lancer opponents have a combined 27-33 record, but Londonderry is making short work of them with a 33 PPG margin of victory. The slate gets much tougher down the stretch for Londonderry as they have tilts against unbeaten Windham (Feb. 4) and Bedford (Feb. 21) along with Pinkerton (Jan. 31) and Concord Christian (Feb. 8).