Swampscott ready for a big divisional football game

Both of last year’s Super Bowl champions are back in action Saturday in hopes of defending their titles.But all eyes in the Lynn area will be on Swampscott, as the Big Blue open up at home (noon) against Triton.Swampscott was 5-6 last season and will count on Brendan McDonald to call signals, with the most experienced receiver from last year being Ben Faulker. Also returning are senior Tim Costin and junior Ryan Cresta.The Big Blue are also experienced on the offensive line. However, the backfield is still in flux, with a number of players vying for spots, including junior Mike Faia, senior Maleek Newsome and senior Desmond Wilhelmsen, a transfer from Lynn English.Defensively, the Big Blue are strong up front but may be a little inexperienced in the secondary.Saturday’s game is an important one for Swampscott, because both the Big Blue and Triton are in Division 4 in the new post-season alignment.Bridgewater Raynham at St. John’sAt Cronin Field (1:30), most of the drama concerning St. John’s centers around erstwhile linebacker Sean Smerczynski, who abruptly left the school during pre-season camp. He was originally slated to play for Pingree, but as of Thursday, he reportedly withdrew from that school too, and will now enroll at Masconomet.As for the Eagles, They have almost their entire offense back, save for the quarterback and center. At the moment, the Eagles are going with Michael Geaslan, who is also a pitcher on the baseball team. The Eagles bring Johnathan Thomas, arguably the No. 1 player in the state, to the table as well. As a junior, Thomas helped lead the Eagles to the Division 1 Super Bowl title.Haverhill at BeverlyAt Hurd Stadium (2), the Panthers won the Division 2A Super Bowl last season, and are this year in Div. 3 under the new state football alignment.More than their placement, however, is the fact that the Panthers must make do without all-everything Brendan Flaherty and his running mate, Kenny Pierce. But it isn’t as if Beverly has nothing left. There’s still senior Isaiah White, and quarterback Nick Manthorne is back as well.