Drama to unfold under the Friday night lights

The stage is set for Friday night with the Division 1, Division 4 and Division 5 North showdowns. A battle of two undefeated teams highlights the Division 4 final, as No.1 Winthrop hosts No. 3 Lynnfield. In Division 1 No.3 St. John?s Prep will travel to Everett looking to avenge its week four loss. And in Division 5, No. 1 Bishop Fenwick continues is on its quest to become back-to-back champions, with No.3 Whittier as the foe.When a game has two teams with a combined 18-0 record, the margin for error will be scant. Winthrop is built on its high-powered offense, while Lynnfield is built on its stifling defense. This will be the first time the Vikings and Pioneers have ever faced off, but Winthrop coach Sean Driscoll knows what his team has to do to be successful.?We have to win the battle in the trenches, and especially on the offensive line,” Driscoll said. “No team has had any luck in doing this against a really stout Lynnfield defense, but they have not lined up against us yet. Defensively, we must limit their big-play capability. They seem to pick up a lot of momentum on offense after hitting on big plays. We have had a great week of practice, and we are excited for this upcoming challenge.”The Vikings will be leaning on senior quarterback Dylan Driscoll, who is the definition of a dual threat with 815 passing yards and 345 rushing yards. Winthrop also has a plethora of talented tailbacks in Reise Turransky, Jake Chuidina and Jon Gonzalez.Lynnfield knows it must stick to what it does best.?We have to play sound football on both sides of the ball, and not get out of character,” Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman said. “Winthrop can cause many problems both offensively and defensively, but we have to keep our aggressive mindset, and not shy away from who we are.”Arguably the most anticipated game in the region tonight is the heavyweight bout between The Prep and Everett. The Eagles fell to the Crimson Tide earlier in the year. Since that game, St. John?s has compiled an unblemished 5-0 record, and coach Brian St. Pierre knows his squad is a much different team now.?We were a very young and inexperienced team the first time we played Everett,” St. Pierre said. “We have really started to peak in our last four games, and that is the great timing having to play on the road against Everett. It is hard to get a win in Everett, but the moment will not be too big for our team.”St. John?s will be forced to contain Lukas Denis, one of the most talented players in the state.?Everett can do a lot of different things, but Denis is in the middle of everything they do,” St. Pierre said. “We have to know where he is on the field at all times, and try to keep him contained the best we can.”Fenwick has not lost a game in over two years, but coach Dave Woods has his team focused on Whittier.?Not to sound like (Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick, but all of our focus is on Whittier,” Woods said. “We are not thinking about our winning streak or even becoming repeat champions, just Whittier.”Fenwick got some great news on Wednesday, as quarterback Matt Renzulli practiced for the first time all week with no setbacks.?We fully expect Matt to be starting under center Friday night,” Woods said.The Crusaders will lean heavily on their stud tailback Rufus Rushins to be a big factor against an athletic Whittier defense.?We have to do what we do best, which is pound the rock and control the line of scrimmage,” Woods said. “We need Rufus to get going early and often, but we know we will have our hands full in doing achieving that. We also have to put a stop to Whittier?s ground game, as they can cause many headaches if they can establish a quality run game.”