Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Things to watch as Super Bowls draw near

Unless you?re a fan of the MIAA?s South section or have a real hankering to see Everett play Xaverian, or Melrose play Dartmouth in the high school Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium, Saturday was decidedly unfriendly to the North.In every game where North played South for the honor of going to Foxborough next Saturday, the South team won. In Division 2 it was Marshfield; Holliston in Division 4, Abington in Division 5 and Cohasset in Division 6The only reason the other two divisions (1 and 3) have a North team going is because it couldn?t be avoided. Those divisions do not exist in Central and Western Mass. In the case of Division 1, last week?s St. John?s Prep-Everett game was for the Super Bowl, as was the BC High-Xaverian contest in the South section. Division 3 was split among four quadrants in EMass, with Melrose upsetting Tewksbury in the North and Dartmouth defeating Walpole in the South.This says nothing about the status of high school football north of Boston. It?s just one of those years. Still, it?s going to feel very strange waking up Dec. 6 with essentially nowhere to go (though the Everett-Xaverian game should be a good take simply if you like high school football).There are a couple of other things to watch for:u Northbridge will play Abington in Division 5, and Northbridge?s Ken LaChapelle gets to add to his legacy. Northbridge gave LaChapelle his 324th career win earlier this season — making him the winningest coach in the history of the state (surpassing former Archbishop Williams/Brockton coach Armond Colombo). The Northbridge Rams lost to Bishop Fenwick in last year?s Super Bowl.u The preseason pundits picked Xaverian as the overwhelming favorite as the state?s top team, and the Hawks haven?t disappointed anyone. They?ve taken care of business. And provided St. John?s Prep doesn?t hand them a loss on Thanksgiving, they will go into the Super Bowl with a spotless record ? and as the only team that has defeated Everett.u Speaking of The Prep-Xaverian game, the Catholic Conference opted out of playing its rivalry games (Prep-Xaverian, BC High-Catholic Memorial) as part of their regular-season schedules. So, unlike most Thanksgiving games, this one will count. The winner is the conference champion.u It?s a pretty safe bet that anyone who saw Tewksbury manhandle a Marblehead team that didn?t really play all that badly two weeks ago is stunned that the Redmen could only put up seven points against Melrose last Saturday.As of this Thursday, the Tuesday Morning Quarterback will turn the key to the equipment room over to the basketball and hockey players, swimmers, gymnasts and wrestlers. But before we go, there are a few things that need to be taken care of ? and soon.To wit: Please fix the issue with non-playoff teams. It may be important to keep the post-season teams who are alive within the same divisions, but there?s no reason to do that if a school is out of the running. If either English or Classical had played St. Mary?s within the last month, once the three schools were eliminated, it would have been a special night at Manning Field. Instead, Classical never saw its home field again after the regular season ended. The playoff system may be working, but what the MIAA is doing to the other schools is almost criminal.Finally, as much as the state has muted the importance of Thursday?s games (there were always one or two games that had post-season implications on Thanksgiving and now there are none), the pageantry and tradition of the matchups go far beyond X?s, O?s and the standings. Often, they are the homecoming games that former students and players don?t get to during the fall. They are the vehicles for reunions and other traditional get-togethers that add so much color and happiness to our lives.If you?re invested in any of this, enjoy it and be safe.Happy Thanksgiving to all.