Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Lots of local teams in postseason playoff hunt

If the season had ended this past weekend, here are all the teams from our area that would be in the playoffs (which start in two weeks): St. John?s Prep, English, Classical, Marblehead, Danvers, Gloucester, Beverly, Salem, Lynnfield, Bishop Fenwick and St. Mary?s.In two cases (St. John?s and Gloucester), what happens next week is out of their hands, since their regular seasons are over. All they can do is wait. The Fishermen are ranked third in Division 3 Northeast with a 13.00 rating, far ahead of No. 8 Salem. And The Prep, despite a season fraught with injuries and outside turmoil, is ranked fourth in Division 1 North, and is comfortably in the mix, thanks mainly to the quality of opponents it plays.Going division to division, St. John?s is the only qualifier in Division 1. Peabody is ranked 10th. The real issue in that division concerns Malden and Chelmsford, both tied at the No. 8 spot (according to rankings published weekly by the Boston Herald). Both the Golden Tornados and the Lions have tough opponents this week. Malden hosts Everett while Chelmsford is playing Central Catholic.Peabody plays Salem, and the Witches have only won once, and between that and playing a team two divisions lower (Salem is in D3), even a win might not help the Tanners very much.In Division 2, Classical is in, having sewn up the runner-up spot in the Northeastern Conference/South. As for Monday, English was ranked seventh, just above Cambridge and almost two points higher than No. 9 Newton South. The Bulldogs are in Marblehead Friday night.In Division 3, where there are no Western or Central Mass. teams, there?s a four-way split, and in the Northeast, we have teams currently in the top eight: Marblehead, Danvers, Gloucester, Beverly and Salem. The Falcons are guaranteed a spot by virtue of winning the NEC/South. Marblehead, Gloucester and Beverly seem safe as there?s a huge dropoff in points between the Panthers and the bottom rung (No. 8) of qualifiers.Salem, at No. 8, sits just ahead of Revere by virtue of its win over the Patriots, and Somerville is right behind both of them. No. 11 Dracut appears out of the running, as it plays undefeated Tewksbury this week.The road looks easier (on paper at least) for Salem and Somerville than it does Revere. The Witches will be in action against Peabody while Somerville takes on Medford. All four teams are under .500 on the season. However, Revere is at home against Classical.Lynnfield is the only team currently in the money in Division 4, and the Pioneers are in by virtue of their clinching of the Cape Ann League/Baker Division Saturday.Winthrop is ranked 10th, but if the Vikings can defeat Danvers this week, much could happen to improve their lot. They?re only percentage points out of the running. Of the two teams ahead of them, Weston is all done while Amesbury has a tough game against Manchester-Essex — which is also fighting to stay alive — this week. Swampscott and Saugus are pretty much out of the running, as there are too many teams they?d have to leap over.Bishop Fenwick clinched its spot with its win Saturday over St. Mary?s, guaranteeing the Crusaders the Catholic Central/Large title.As of Monday, St. Mary?s is at No. 7, but a lot can change with these numbers as 7-10 are bunched up. Manchester-Essex is right below the Spartans at No. 8, and has a tough game this week against Andover (whereas St. Mary?s is home Saturday against 1-5 Arlington Catholic). East Boston is ninth and Madison Park 10th.Lynn Tech appears to be out of the running in Division 6.From football correspondent Kevin Doyle: When Newburyport and Saugus square off Saturday, brothers Mike (Newburyport) and Ben Smolski (Saugus) will be on opposite sidelines as members of the coaching staffs. Both played at Newburyport.The Clippers are still alive for a wild card berth in the playoffs.Doyle is a Newburyport alum who played his football with the Smolskis? father.Final admonition: If you want to play sports, know the rules. It doe