Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Plenty of standouts on North Shore this fall

Idle chatter while waiting out the two weeks until Bishop Fenwick ? hopefully ? puts the finishing touches on its season for the ages ?By anyone?s estimation, the top player in the area this season came down to a theoretical mano-a-mano battle between Nick Bona of Bishop Fenwick and Brooks Tyrrell of Marblehead. That much is pretty obvious.But lest anyone think there were just two players who dominated the rest of the league ? think again.Alex Valles of Danvers willed his team to a few victories in 2013, and it was good enough for the Falcons to win the Northeastern Conference/South ? which is something we?re sure nobody anticipated.Last year, Isaiah White was the third running back in a troika that helped Beverly run through its season for the ages. This year, he was the featured back, and he didn?t disappoint. Week in and week out, White was magnificent, running for 1,610 yards and scoring ? so far ? 23 touchdowns. He?s within 80 yards of the school?s all-time single-season record.Lynnfield didn?t get its 9-1 record (heading into Thanksgiving) by accident. There were several reasons for that, but none bigger than Kyle McGah, who ran for xxxx yards and xx touchdowns.And while Bona may be the single most indispensable player on his team, the Crusaders had a few starters who would fit in well anywhere ? including with the so-called big boys. Among them was Lynn?s Rufus Rushins. Don?t let Fenwick?s success while he was out for two weeks due to injury. The Crusaders managed, because they have a lot of good players. But it having him back makes them virtually unbeatable.But consider this: In three and a half games against some of the state?s true iron, Johnny Thomas of St. John?s Prep had already amassed more than 700 yards. Against Everett, he?d had more than 90 yards by halftime (he injured his knee early in the third quarter and was lost for the rest of the season ? which pretty much signaled the end of any hopes The Prep had as well of getting through the Everett or Central Catholic en route to a possible Super Bowl.The competition among Division 1A colleges for Thomas was fierce, and he was all-but committed to go to Maryland before being lured to Penn State by former Eagle Bill O?Brien (who has more than earned his money in Happy Valley).Last week, Maryland?s Randy Edsall watched BC?s Andre Williams run for more than 200 yards against his team. And perhaps while he was watching, he thought to himself that Thomas could do that for him, if only ?Thomas will undoubtedly have until 2015 to rehab his torn ACL (with that type of an injury, red-shirting him would appear to be a no-brainer), which gives O?Brien a cornerstone for his team?s re-emergence into bowl eligibility once the four-year ban is lifted. With the NCAA-sanctioned reduction in scholarships due to the Jerry Sandusky case, offering one to a kid with a torn ACL would seem risky, which only underscores how badly he was coveted by the nation?s top programs.It?s just a real shame he couldn?t have played the whole season to leave his mark on high school football.uIn what has to be a curious anomaly, of the four Central-Western Mass. playoff games this past weekend, the team from Central Mass. won them all ? Rushins was supposed to see “limited” action against Abington Friday, but rushed for more than 100 yards anyway. There will surely be a temptation on the part of many Super Bowl-bound coaches Thursday if they sit out some banged-up players so they can heal up in time for the game on Dec. 7. In fact, this was one of the big arguments against the transition to a new system — the idea that Thanksgiving could become so meaningless that teams going onto the championship game wouldn?t play their starters. We believe this would be short-sighted in most cases, figuring Thursday?s games will help teams become too rusty from what would otherwise be a long layoff. But in cases such as Rushins, where he is clearly coming back from what could have been a season-ending injury, nobo