Rivalries could heat up in run to Division 1 North grid title

The run up to the Division 1 North football title could get very interesting.For example, if Peabody defeats Lexington tonight, and Everett defeats Malden, that would set up a sectional semifinal between the two. And though they haven’t played each other recently, they are old Greater Boston League rivals and have a long history with each other.And if that’s not intriguing enough, should St. John’s Prep defeat Chelmsford while Central Catholic defeats Andover, that will result in a rematch between the two schools next week.And … if The Prep and Everett win next week too, there they will be, playing for the sectional title in two weeks. And while Peabody and Everett are old rivals, The Prep and the Crimson Tide are new rivals. And that history, though more recent, is as fierce as any in the state. Everett won the game between the two teams earlier this fall.St. John’s has been somewhat of a surprise team this season. As the Eagles (6-1) prepare to take on the Lions Saturday (1) at Cronin Stadium, first-year coach Brian St. Pierre can only hope there’s enough stealth among his players that they can sneak up on one more team (The Prep was nowhere near the top of anyone’s poll coming into the season).One of the uncertain aspects surrounding the Eagles was the presence of junior transfer Oliver Eberth at quarterback. However, Eberth has become one of the top quarterbacks in the area, with his best game coming against Catholic Memorial when he threw six touchdown passes and played, in the words of his coach, “out of his mind.”St. John’s also brings to the table tight end and BC commit Jake Burt, receiver Owen Rockett and a host of linemen who are coming into their own.At this this season, however, the Eagles have had to pile on the points because they’d had trouble with passing teams. Catholic Memorial scored 31 on them. However, St. John’s outscored the Knights in the second half, 35-7.Also Saturday, Saugus will travel up the road to Lynnfield (6) to play in the Pioneers’ new stadium. The Sachems, 5-2, made the playoffs only after Arlington Catholic lost to St. Mary’s last Saturday. That enabled Saugus to sneak in there at the No. 6 seed.The Sachems have a juggernaut on offense, led by the 1,000-yard rushing of quarterback Justin Winn and the almost-1,000 yard rushing of Dan Cacciola.Lynnfield has simply been a machine. The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 253-20 in amassing a 7-0 record. They are the No. 3 seed in Division 4, behind Winthrop and Watertown.Also Saturday, there are two Division 3 Northeast game: No. 4 Beverly is at home against No. 5 Wilmington, and No. 6 Danvers travels to No. 3 Tewksbury.uThe four area teams that did not make the playoffs are in action tonight and tomorrow.At Manning Field tonight, English will play Cambridge. Gloucester travels to Bertram Field to take on Salem.Saturday, at Manning, Lynn Tech will host Chelsea.