With only one week left in the high school football regular season and a host of local teams in the mix for a spot in the playoffs, the time has come for teams to make the final push to make it into the top 16 of their respective divisions. Teams that finish in the top 16 get an automatic berth into the playoffs under the new MIAA Power Rankings system.
There is only one local team that has remained at the top of its division after the latest MIAA Power Rankings were released Tuesday — the Marblehead Magicians. Now at 6-0 in Division 3 with a matchup against a tough Danvers team (ranked No. 7 in Div. 4) set for Friday night at Piper Field, the Magicians not only control their own destiny when it comes to the playoff picture, but also when it comes to winning the Northeastern Conference.
Despite sitting at 5-2 on the season, the Revere Patriots currently find themselves ranked at No. 20 — just on the outside looking in at the Div. 3 race. Lynn English, currently 2-4 on the year, sits at No. 22 in the rankings.
But Marblehead isn’t the only unbeaten team on the North Shore, as the Swampscott Big Blue pulled out a close win over Beverly on Saturday to push its record to 7-0. But despite the perfect record, the Big Blue were passed by two teams in the latest Div. 5 rankings — with North Reading taking the top spot at 6-1 and Bishop Fenwick coming in at No. 2 with a 5-2 record. According to the ranking metrics, Fenwick was given the slight edge due to its strength of schedule.
“Nothing changes for us,” said Swampscott coach Bobby Serino. “We don’t look at the rankings or anything like that; we just focus on the next opponent and try to go out and win all three phases of the game. We have a great group of senior leaders that keep everyone focused, and we’re putting all our efforts into preparing for Masconomet this week.”
Another team that has a chance to make an impression in its final game of the season is Peabody (4-3), which currently sits at No. 17 in the Div. 2 rankings. The Tanners have won two straight games and will face Salem (No. 28 in Div. 4) in its regular season finale Friday night. A win would not only keep Peabody’s hopes for a playoff berth alive, but it would also clinch at least a share of the Northeastern Conference South title for the first time since 2000.
“I’d much rather have one more win coming into this weekend, but the more you look at the past the less prepared you are for the future,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt. “Our plan is to just control what we can control and ignore everything else. If we don’t win, we don’t have a shot at the playoffs anyway, so that’s our first goal.”
Another team that fell from the top spot after a tough loss was the St. Mary’s Spartans, which fell to No. 3 in the Div. 6 rankings after a tough upset loss to previously winless Cardinal Spellman Friday night. Now 6-1, the Spartans have a chance to make one final good impression when it hosts Archbishop Williams (ranked No. 7 in Div. 6) under the lights at Manning Field Friday. Even after the loss last week, St. Mary’s still has a shot at the Catholic Central League title if it can take down Williams Friday night.
“We need a big bounce-back week after that loss, and this feels like a de-facto playoff game for us,” said St. Mary’s coach Sean Driscoll. “We’ve gotten off to a great start with our preparation, and we’re going to need to be ready to go against a tough team with a good quarterback.”
There are two other local teams that look primed for a playoff spot in Div. 6, with Winthrop (3-4) slotting in at No. 5 and Lynnfield (2-4) getting a little breathing room at No. 13. Winthrop will play on the road at Saugus Friday night, while Lynnfield will play on the road at Triton.
“The way we’ve been thinking about things this whole time has been, ‘let’s win every game we can and let the cards fall where they may,'” said Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta. “We know we have a tough test in Triton, so we’re just going to try to put some pressure on them, get a win and see what happens.”
The St. John’s Prep Eagles have held steady in the top five of the Div. 1 rankings for the entire season, and the latest iteration has the Prep at No. 4 overall with a 6-1 record. But with a matchup against No. 8 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) coming up Saturday afternoon, the Eagles may have a chance to pad that ranking a bit before the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Lynn Classical, last week’s loss to Milton dealt a blow to the Rams’ playoff chances. But Classical (4-3) is by no means out of it, as the Rams sit at No. 18 in the Div. 1 rankings and have a matchup against Revere set for Friday at Manning Field.
In the Div. 8 rankings, it looks like the KIPP Academy Panthers will make it to the playoffs yet again after slotting in at No. 11 overall. KIPP (6-1) likely won’t move too far in either direction after this week based on the ranking metrics, with Roxbury Prep on the docket for the season finale Friday night.
Coming in at No. 25 in Div. 8, Lynn Tech (2-4) will need a win over Minuteman on Saturday and some help from teams above it if there’s any chance of the Tigers getting into the playoffs.
The first round of the MIAA football playoffs is set to begin next Friday, Nov. 5.
