Five local high school football teams — three of them from Lynn — will vie for north sectional championships this weekend in their quest to play at Gillette Stadium in the Massachusetts Super Bowls.
St. Mary’s will play Brighton tonight (7) at Manning Field in the Division 7 North final while while English (2) and Tech (7) play Tewksbury in Division 3 and Cathedral in Division 8, respectively, Saturday.
TONIGHT
Division 7 North Final
Brighton at St. Mary’s
At Manning Field (7), this is a game between the top two seeds in the division, although it should be pointed out that the Spartans (9-0) have handled all of their opponents easily while the Tigers are 6-3.
There’s no shortage of stars for the Spartans, beginning with quarterback Calvin Johnson and continuing with running backs James Brumfield, Marlon Scott and George Freeman.
Last week, like most games this season, the semifinal with Manchester-Essex was over early, with the Spartans racking up a 30-0 lead by halftime en route to a 44-0 win. Only once this season, against Archbishop Williams in Braintree, were the Spartans taxed for four quarters.
Brighton has had a similarly comfortable two wins en route to the final, defeating O’Bryant, 38-6, and following that up with a win over Latin Academy, 28-6.
Division 4 North Final
Marblehead at Melrose
At Melrose High (7), in the Division 4 North final, perhaps it’s due to the unprecedented success involving Lynn’s football teams this season, but the Magicians are two wins away from going two straight regular seasons without a loss.
Marblehead, 9-0, didn’t exactly breeze through the regular season without breaking a sweat. They had a few tough games, especially in the beginning, when they were searching for their identity.
The Magicians have also been pushed in the postseason in their previous two games. They defeated Wakefield, 28-14, in the quarterfinals, and then got by Wilmington by a touchdown (24-17) last week.
Melrose, also 9-0, scored a major victory in Week 1 of the season with a decisive 32-6 win over Division 2 Masconomet (which subsequently fell last week to Lincoln-Sudbury).
The Red Raiders have been tested a bit more in the playoffs though. They got by Dracut, 14-0, in the quarterfinal and then survived a slugfest (28-27) against North Reading last week.
Division 5 North Final
Watertown at Lynnfield
At Pioneer Stadium (7), the Pioneers waltzed past Bedford (34-6) and Newburyport (26-7) in the first two games of the Division 5 tournament.
Outside of a Week 7 defeat at the hands of Hamilton-Wenham, the 8-1 Pioneers have been perfect.
Watertown, among the smallest schools in the Middlesex League, was 3-4 during the regular season and seeded sixth before rallying in the tournament to win games over a one-loss Swampscott team (31-10) and Somerville (21-20).
Other games tonight include Peabody at Classical (4), Danvers at Billerica (7), Andover at St. John’s Prep (6), Swampscott at Gloucester (7) Winthrop vs. Northeast Regional (at Wakefield High, 6) and Arlington Catholic at Salem (6).
Two of the games (Peabody-Classical and Swampscott-Gloucester) are intra-Northeastern Conference rivalries. Classical had a hiccup two weeks ago in falling to Danvers in the first round, then recovered last week to defeat Arlington.
Similarly, the Big Blue fell to Watertown in Week 8, but came back last week with a win over Weston.
SATURDAY
Division 3 North Final
Tewksbury at English
At Manning Field (2), the Bulldogs have silenced any doubters they may have had with two convincing wins in the first two weeks of the tournament.
They squashed Middlesex League opponent Winchester, 36-0, two weeks ago and came back last week to defeat Merrimack Valley Conference foe Billerica, 34-15, last Friday night.
The Bulldogs have hit upon a winning formula with quarterback Matt Severance, who has several dangerous weapons at his disposal, including running backs Ishmile Bangura and Ski Gaston and receivers Prince Brown and Tayshawn Anderson.
Not every game has been a runaway for the 9-0 Bulldogs this season, but they have picked up steam as they’ve gone along.
Tewksbury has been a player ever since these tournaments began in 2013. And like many years in the past, the Redmen have found ways to win games.
Last week is a perfect example. Danvers fought back to score a touchdown that, with an extra point, would have tied the game and sent it into overtime. But the Falcons went for two, and came up short, enabling the 8-1 and second-seeded Redmen to move onto the final.
Division 8 North Final
Cathedral at Tech
At Manning Field (7), the Tigers, 9-0 and No. 1, never came close to giving up a touchdown in last week’s 35-0 win over New Mission. And No. 2 Cathedral, 8-1, defeated Tech Boston, 28-14.
The Tigers got three touchdowns last week from senior running back Steffan Gravely. They also got a stellar defensive effort from Elvin Gonzalez, who broke up four passes; and Emerson Ramirez, who had seven tackles and two sacks.
Also Saturday are non-playoff games involving Medford at Winchester (1) and Westfield at Beverly (1).
