St. John’s, Lynnfield begin quests to return to Super Bowls

St. John’s Prep and Lynnfield are both in action in MIAA football playoffs Saturday afternoon … the final two area teams to be taking part in the new post-season format.Both schools are looking to get to Super Bowls, and The Prep is looking to repeat is Division 1 championship of last year.But the road won’t be that easy for the Eagles. If they can get past Lowell Saturday (Cronin Stadium, 2 p.m.), and provided Everett defeats Malden, the two schools will meet, presumably next Friday night at the home of the Crimson Tide.Everett defeated The Prep handily earlier this season.Lowell won’t be an easy out for St. John’s. The Red Raiders were second to Central Catholic in the Merrimack Valley/Division 1 with a 3-1 record (5-1 overall) and were the second automatic qualifier from the league. Still, thank to the strength of the Eagles’ schedule, the Prep comes into the game as the No. 4 ranked team in Division 1 to Lowell’s No. 5, and thus the Eagles have the home game.It’s been a turbulent season for the defending champs. They lost one of their best players (Sean Smerczynski) before the season started (he withdrew for personal reasons) and then lost perhaps the state’s best player (Johnny Thomas) with a torn ACL. Along the way, there have been other off-field issues dogging the The Prep as well.If you are looking for a common opponent, St. John’s defeated Central Catholic earlier this fall while Lowell lost to the Raiders.Stoneham at LynnfieldAt Lynnfield Middle School (2:30), the Pioneers rolled through their regular season at 7-0, and the narrowest margin of victory was eight points (21-13 over Newburyport in Week 1). The seemed to get stronger as the season progressed.They come into the playoffs as the second seed in Division 2, behind Pentucket.No. 7 Stoneham is an at-large team from the Middlesex/Freedom League. The Spartans were 2-3 in the league, and 3-4 overall.The teams did not have any common opponents.There are also two non-qualifying game Saturday: Saugus hosts Ipswich (1) and Swampscott travels to Arlington Catholic (2:30).