All of the talk and debate about the new playoff format for high-school football kicked into high gear Monday afternoon, as the MIAA released its first-ever statewide tournament brackets for all eight football divisions.
A number of local teams made the cut in their respective divisions, which required them to win at least three games and finish in the top 16 of the division’s power rankings ― which were determined via a formula based on a team’s season record and strength of schedule.
It should be noted that all pairings are not fully official for 24 hours and dates and times are subject to change.
Three Lynn teams will be playing playoff football this coming Friday, as St. Mary’s, KIPP Academy and Lynn Tech all made the cut.
St. Mary’s (7-1) finished at No. 3 in the Division 6 power rankings after earning a share of the Catholic Central League title, coming in behind undefeated Stoneham at No. 1 and one-loss Abington at No. 2. The Spartans earned a home game with their high seed, with the first-round game taking place Friday (6) against No. 14 Boston English at Manning Field.
Both KIPP (7-1) and Tech (3-4) will play in the Division 8 playoffs. KIPP’s strong season wasn’t quite enough to earn the Panthers a home game, and they will now travel on the road to take on No. 5 Manchester-Essex Friday night (7). The two teams already met once this season, with Manchester-Essex pulling off a 15-8 win at Manning Field on Oct. 9.
Tech actually benefited from the three-win rule this year, as the Tigers were initially ranked No. 18 ― just out of the playoffs. But with No. 13 Frontier and No. 15 Taconic only reaching two wins, both were bumped from the bracket and Tech was moved up along with Old Colony Regional. The Tigers will have a tough test ahead of them, as they will travel to take on No. 1 Hoosac Valley Friday night (7).
Swampscott (8-0) and Bishop Fenwick (6-2) grabbed two of the top three spots in the Division 5 bracket, with the Big Blue coming in at No. 2 behind top-seeded North Reading, despite being the only undefeated team in Division 5. That means Swampscott will host No. 15 Apponequet in the first round Friday night (7) at Blocksidge Field.
For Fenwick, which came up just short of a share of the CCL title during the regular season, the No. 3 seed means the Crusaders will host No. 14 Maynard Friday night (7) at Donaldson Stadium.
The lone local team in the Division 1 playoffs is St. John’s Prep, which came in at No. 3 after finishing 6-2. Coming off of an upset loss to St. John’s (Shrewsbury), the Eagles will return home to Cronin Memorial Stadium for a matchup against No. 14 Shrewsbury High Friday evening (6).
In Division 3, the unbeaten Marblehead Magicians (7-0) finished in the top spot in the power rankings and earned a home game. Marblehead will host No. 16 Norwood at Piper Field Friday night (7).
Winthrop also earned a high seed in Division 6, coming in at No. 5 in the power rankings after finishing the regular season at 4-4. That seed means that the Vikings will be playing at home at Miller Field Friday night (7), hosting No. 12 South Hadley.
There are also several local teams that didn’t make the playoffs, with some failing to record the required three wins and others suffering from a lower strength of schedule.
One of the more glaring absences from the playoffs based on the eye test is Revere, which finished 6-2 on the season. But with the bulk of its schedule coming against fellow Greater Boston League opponents, the Patriots ended up ranked No. 18 in the Division 3 bracket. Revere doesn’t yet have an opponent scheduled for Week 9.
Lynn Classical (4-4) and Lynn English (3-4) both missed the playoffs in their first official season playing in the GBL, with Classical finishing No. 21 in the Division 1 rankings and English finishing No. 21 in the Division 3 rankings. Classical will host Newton South Saturday morning at Manning Field, while English will take on Melrose at a time and date to be determined.
After facing off for the Northeastern Conference Lynch Division title just a few days ago, both Peabody (4-4) and Salem (4-4) find themselves on the outside looking in. Both teams will play in non-playoff games this weekend, with the Tanners going up against Wakefield and the Witches taking on Medford. The time and date of both games has yet to be determined.
Other local teams that missed the playoffs included Lynnfield (2-5) and Saugus (0-8), both of which failed to reach the requisite three-win threshold. But it was a real heartbreaker for Lynnfield, which actually finished at No. 16 in the final Division 6 power rankings but was pushed out of the playoffs for not reaching three wins. Boston English, originally ranked No. 18, took its place and will play St. Mary’s in the first round.
Lynnfield will now play on the road at Shawsheen Tech this weekend, with the date and time to be determined. Saugus, which finished the regular season ranked No. 30 in the Division 5 power rankings, will try to grab its first win when it travels to Greater Lawrence Friday evening (6).
