Juicy matchups on slate as HS football pairings announced

The records say the winning streak is 24, but starting today, Catholic Memorial is no different than the other 127 teams in the MIAA football playoff field.

The defending Div. 2 state champions open with Bridgewater-Raynham, then could be looking at a quarterfinal between Hingham and Chelmsford (whom they beat in the 1978 Super Bowl). The top side of the draw is loaded as Milford and Mansfield also reside there.

In Div. 1, everyone is pointing to a potential quarterfinal matchup between defending champion Springfield Central and Xaverian, who nearly knocked off Catholic Memorial last Saturday. A potential juicy quarterfinal matchup may be Andover and St. John’s Prep.

Milton is the top seed in Div. 3 and should they win their opener, it could set up a quarterfinal between the Wildcats and defending champion Marblehead. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Milton head coach Steve Dembowski is from Swampscott and the Big Blue’s Thanksgiving Day opponent is Marblehead.

The bottom half of the Div. 3 field is pretty solid. Billerica, North Attleboro, Wakefield and Plymouth South are a combined 29-2.

Duxbury returns to a familiar spot in Div. 4 as a top seed. The Dragons open with Newburyport and could be looking at either East Longmeadow or Middleboro in the quarterfinals. One of the best first-round matchups is Melrose at Holliston, while a Pembroke-Foxboro opener isn’t too shabby.

Over in Div. 5, North Reading got to the state championship game last year and are the second seed behind undefeated Hudson, who face the 2021 champion Swampscott in the opener. A pair of South Coast Conference teams (Fairhaven and Old Rochester) meet in the first round, while Watertown at undefeated Dover-Sherborn is a terrific battle.

Div. 6 is pretty top-heavy as defending champion Rockland, Stoneham and St. Mary’s occupy the top three spots. Lynnfield could be a sleeper, a team which knocked off Amesbury during the regular season.

Cohasset will look to defend its Div. 7 crown as the second-seed. The Skippers open with No. 15 Drury, who posted a perfect 6-0 mark. West Bridgewater missed the tournament a year ago despite a strong record, thus beefed up their schedule and were rewarded with a nine-seed. Amesbury knocked off North Reading during the season and is a team worth watching.

Div. 8 could very well be one of the deeper brackets of the eight. Nashoba Tech is a solid team with a 7-1 record yet drew a No. 9 seed, where it will face a sneaky good Cathedral/Matignon squad.

Manchester-Essex scuffled a bit during the season, but the Hornets are ready to make some noise in the postseason as are Lowell Catholic, Brighton, Old Colony and KIPP.

The depth is such that we mentioned seven teams and didn’t even discuss the top seed. Hull reached the Div. 8 championship game last year and returned the bulk of the squad and lived up to the hype, going 8-0.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/AgNCv7T