Sunday, the MIAA will release the playoff seedings for the eight high school football divisions, and a week from Friday night, the festivities will commence.
However it comes out, it appears as if the four Lynn schools in contention will have home games. This will create a scheduling nightmare for Rich Avery at Manning Field, but the most likely scenario will be a Friday night doubleheader, followed by two games Saturday.
Also vying for home dates are Marblehead, Salem, Swampscott, Danvers and Lynnfield.
Beginning in Division 1, St. John’s Prep, if the tournament were seeded today, would be seeded sixth and slated for a very tough first-round game at No. 3 Lexington. Malden is out of the money.
In Division 2, Peabody is ninth, but a long way away from the eighth and final spot, occupied by Reading. Medford is No. 11.
In Division 3, English’s win, coupled with Classical’s loss Friday, puts the Bulldogs at No. 1, four-plus points ahead of No. 2 Tewksbury. If it stays the same, English will play a rematch against Beverly, which is currently at No. 8. The Bulldogs had to hang on in September to beat the Panthers in Week 1.
Oddly enough, if things stay the way they are Classical, at No. 3, would also get a rematch, this one with No. 6 Danvers. The Falcons could move up if things break the right way, and Classical could conceivably move down if it loses Friday to Salem. Billerica is only a point below the Rams.
Also, sitting right behind Beverly is Malden Catholic, less than a point behind the Panthers.
In Division 4, Marblehead, 6-0, is still a good deal behind Melrose at No. 2. However, Wilmington is almost two full point behind the Magicians at No. 3. The Magicians would host Dracut if nothing changes. Gloucester, at No. 5, would go up against No. 4 North Reading. Revere would appear to be well off the pace at No. 9, but a win this weekend coupled with a loss by Wakefield could shake things up somewhat.
Lynnfield (1) and Swampscott (2) look solid in Division 5, and Somerville’s win over Classical last Friday catapulted the Highlanders to the No. 3 spot. The Pioneers would play No. 8 Bedford while the Big Blue would play a team they already beat soundly this season — Triton. Saugus, which just won its first game last Friday night, is at No. 9.
Just think. Salem came on holding call on a conversion attempt from moving up in the standings the same way Somerville did. Instead, its 13-12 loss to English Friday shot it down to No. 7 in Division 6. The Witches would play No. 2 Stoneham in the first round.
Bishop Fenwick sits at No.10 and Winthrop 11th.
Guess who’s No. 1 in Division 7? If you guessed St. Mary’s, you’d be correct. The Spartans are the Los Angeles Dodgers of high school football — this year. It will be virtually impossible to catch them before next Saturday.
As it stands now, the Spartans would play No. 8 Latin Academy in the playoffs
Mystic Valley is currently at No. 10.
In Division 8, you’d think 6-0 Lynn Tech would be in the same situation as St. Mary’s. But while the Tigers are No. 1 as of this week, Cathedral is a solid No. 2. As things stand today, the Tigers would play Marian/Keefe Tech.
As of this week, there are only two teams left in the area that haven’t tasted victory: Winthrop and Malden. Last week, Saugus got to experience a win for the first time this year, and after seeing the Sachems battle English for four quarters three weeks ago, it was nice to see them break through.
Here’s hoping the Vikings and the Golden Tornadoes get to feel the feeling.
This isn’t a screed against officials. The men and women you see out there officiating high school games are doing it more for the love of sport than the money they receive. Nobody’s out there with the intent of taking anything away from kids.
That said, if I were coach Matt Bouchard of Salem, I’d have stayed away for three straight nights after Friday’s loss to English. It can’t get any more frustrating than to lose a game nobody (other than yourselves) expected you to win on a holding penalty on a 2-point conversion attempt.
Two potential game-of-the-week possibilities are Danvers at Marblehead Friday (7) at Piper Field; and Salem at Classical Friday (7) at Manning Field.
In the case of the former, the Falcons and Magicians have become pretty good rivals over the recent few years, and both are, once again, having excellent seasons.
And Salem — if it’s not too traumatized by what happened last Friday against English — gets to return to Manning Field in hopes of taking it out on a Classical team that’s ready to rebound after suffering its first loss of the season, to Somerville, last Friday.
