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| Thanks to a dominant postseason run, Hanover rose more than any other team in our power rankings. |
*Thanksgiving Day results are not included in final records
1. Everett (10-2; Last Ranking – 3) Redemption came for the Crimson Tide on many levels when they defeated Xaverian in a Super Bowl for the first time in five attempts and erased any memories of last season’s disappointing results with yet another Division 1 Championship.
2. Duxbury (12-0; Last Ranking – 1) It would have been very interesting to see Duxbury and Everett go head-to-head for the right to be truly considered the best team in the state, as the Dragons were a step above the competition they faced in the Division 2 State Tournament.
3. Xaverian (10-2; Last Ranking – 2) The Hawks became the latest victim of Everett’s multiple offense and prolific defense in the D1 Super Bowl, but they also wrapped up yet another Catholic Conference title by defeating St. John’s Prep 7-6 on Thanksgiving.
4. King Philip (12-0; Last Ranking – 10) A sophisticated offensive game plan and nearly flawless execution allowed the Warriors to remain undefeated and bring home the first Super Bowl title in program history with a thrilling 21-18 win over Reading.
5. Hanover (11-0; Last Week – 24) After thrashing Holliston, 40-7, in the D3 South Final, crushing Triton 54-13 in the EMass Final, and shutting out Grafton, 21-0, to win a state title, the Indians impressive resume even earns them the nod over the D2A Champs.
6. Falmouth (12-0; Last Week – 22) Not to take anything away from the Clippers' magical season, as they finally got over the hump with an OT win over Marshfield, and carried that momentum all the way through the D2A Playoff to bring another Super Bowl title back to the South Shore.
7. BC High (6-3; Last Ranking – 12) Here’s where it gets tricky. You can only imagine what could’ve been for this supremely talented Eagles squad if they hadn’t drawn the bad luck of facing Xaverian at the Hawks Nest in the D1 South Final, but that marked the end of their run.
8. Billerica (8-2; Last Ranking – 8) While the Indians fell victim to a miraculous second-half comeback against Beverly in the D2 North Final, it’s impossible to ignore the resume of a team that defeated D1 Champion Everett and D1 North Finalist Andover earlier this season.
9. Andover (5-5; Last Ranking – NA) A classic “team no one wants to face” that crept into the playoffs at 3-4, the Golden Warriors upset Lexington and St. John’s Prep on the road before hanging tough against an elite Everett defense in the D1 North Final.
10. St. John's Prep (6-3; Last Ranking – 4) The Eagles topped Acton-Boxboro to start the postseason, but then fell victim to an Andover avalanche in the D1 North Semifinals. A loss on Thanksgiving to Xaverian doesn't hurt the Eagles too badly (at least in our eyes), and this young group will be back for more next year.
11. Central Catholic (6-2; Last Ranking – 6) Much like the Eagles of BC High, Central Catholic ran into a freight train in a second round matchup against Everett that the Raiders were forced to play at a neutral site. They’ll likely have one more year with Bret Edwards under center and a number of talented receivers returning for the 2017 season.
12. North Attleborough (8-2; Last Ranking – 15) The Rocketeers' only losses this season came against D1A Champion King Philip in Week 1 and a surprisingly close 26-19 defeat at the hands of D2 Champion Duxbury in the playoffs. And in order to reach the D2 South Final, they upset an excellent Dartmouth squad.
13. Reading (8-3; Last Ranking – NA) Bouncing back nicely from a blowout loss to Lexington, the Rockets won six straight games to earn a Super Bowl berth, and gave King Philip everything the Warriors could handle in a narrow loss.
14. Beverly (7-3; Last Ranking – NA) During the Panthers' incredible postseason run, they upset D2 North favorite Billerica as well as the Indians' chief rivals in Tewskbury, on their way to a regional title.
15. East Bridgewater (11-1; Last Ranking – NA) It wasn’t always pretty, but the Vikings fought their way to the D3A Super Bowl and bounced St. Mary’s (Lynn) out of contention for the second consecutive season.
16. Marblehead (11-1; Last Ranking – 18) The Magicians couldn’t pull a victory out of the thin air in the D2A Super Bowl against a Falmouth team with one of the best rushing attacks in the Bay State, but Jim Rudloff’s squad gave it everything they had.
17. Haverhill (7-2; Last Ranking – 5) The Hillies became Everett’s first victim in what was supposed to be a thrilling opening-round matchup at Trinity Stadium. After one of the best regular seasons in program history, there is nothing of which this senior-laden team should be ashamed.
18. Dartmouth (8-2; Last Ranking – 11) After an undefeated regular season, the Indians were unable to make a third consecutive appearance at Gillette, as North Attleboro had plans of its own.
19. Tewksbury (9-1; Last Ranking – 7) The Redmen simply couldn’t muster enough offense to get past Beverly in the second round of the D2 North Playoff and face familiar MVC rival Billerica in the regional final.
20. Shrewsbury (8-4; Last Ranking – NA) With five consecutive wins over regional foes, the Colonials earned a trip to Gillette Stadium, but they were unable to hang with Duxbury in the D2 State Final.
21. Mashpee (11-1; Last Ranking – NA) Another South Shore program that made a strong impression at Gillette Stadium on Championship Saturday, the Falcons laid waste to Wahconah to earn a D4 State Title.
22. Millis-Hopedale (10-2; Last Ranking – NA) The Mohawks survived a barn burner out at Worcester State to defeat Maynard 30-18 and bring home the D4A State Championship trophy.
23. Grafton (11-1; Last Ranking – 20) While they were shut out by Hanover in the D3 State Final, the Indians put together an incredible regular season and made an impressive run through the CMass playoff sto earn their trip to Gillette.
24. Westfield (10-2; Last Ranking – NA) The Bombers dominated West Springfield for the second time this season to advance to the D2 State Semifinal, but were unable to keep up with Shrewsbury in a 42-12 loss.
25. Bridgewater-Raynham (6-4; Last Ranking – 21) Another team with losses solely against some of the best teams in the state (Duxbury, Darmouth and St. John’s Prep), the Trojans gave King Philip everything the Warriors could handle, but ultimately fell 33-27 in the D1A South Final.
Last 10 Out: Algonquin (6-4), Catholic Memorial (5-4), Holliston (8-2), Lexington (8-1), Marlborough (10-3), Marshfield (8-3), Maynard (11-1), St. John’s of Shrewsbury (7-3), Wachusett (7-3), Wellesley (10-1)
8 comments :
BC High at #7? They finished 6-4, lost to X two times! Got blown out on Turkey Day by CM. In playoffs they barely crossed midfield and ex-Abraham, their offense was inept and ill-suited to their talent. Any observer would say they underperformed, seeing how they have reclassified kids, 1300 handpicked boys, and a geographic footprint from Winchester to Barnstable. And don't reward Duxbury with number 2 ranking..look at who Everett plays, and then the Vineyard Vine softies Dux plays..Quincy? Silver Lake? Plymouth North? Coach chose to deny his seniors a chance for a #1 ranking and an undefeated season by sitting them against mean old Marshfield! But he will be the first to bitch about preserving the sanctity of Thanksgiving Day rivalries, and how the playoff isn't fair, and how his team needs to be re-aligned. You think they could have hung with Haverhill, then Andover, then Xaverian?
Have seen both Everett and Duxbury play multiple times this year aand I think Everett would beat them handily
Duxbury coach was resting players after being beat up vs Beverly.
What would happen vs Everett ?
CM not in the top 10 doesn't make sense. They where a 7-4 team playing one of the toughest schedules in the state and they blew out BC on Thanksgiving on the road. In addition they beat a solid Marshfield on the road who lost to KP by 7 who went on and won the Super Bowl. Lastly CM was up by 9 against X on the road in the semi final game with 5 minutes left and ended up losing by 5. No way there are even 10 teams better than CM in 2016. This list is not accurate at all.
I understand not counting Thanksgiving, but CM was still 6-4 with losses to Xaverian(2x) & both St. John's schools. Pretty good resume to not be in the Top-25.
Why on December 6th do you not include the Thansgiving Day results, but cite X winning the Cath Conf championship? You only include the results for some teams? The MIAA will attest that the number one gripe from HS coaches was the diminution of the relevance of Thanksgiving Day games..yet it is these coaches themselves that have cheapened the importance of the longstanding tradition. You press people got a lot of mileage out of the Turkey Day games at Fenway last year..but now you don't even include them in your end of season wrap-up? Do you think Wellesley seniors were elated to finally beat Needham? Kudos to X for playing and playing to win on Turkey Day..but they also have a DEEP bench and an easy path to the playoffs. At the end of the day, 8 teams can claim state titles, but only a very few had the ability to win one and be undefeated. Dux coach stole that opportunity from his seniors, who NEVER beat Marshfield! Is Turkey Day football important, or not?
First of all Haverhill finished 9-2, not 7-2. Secondly, they handily beat Andover and Central Catholic in the regualar season and went undefeated in the rugged MVC D 1 conference and really did not have any trouble at all, except a close won against CC, but that was still an 11 point victory. And Haverhill destroyed Andover 56-34 I believe. Also, ask Everett who gave them a better game in the play-offs...Haverhill, Andover or CC? I guarantee they will say Haverhill, as the scoreboard in all 3 of those games would indicate. The fact that you have Haverhill rated lower that Andover and CC is a complete joke.
1. Don't know how Everett is ahead of Duxbury. Duxbury obliterated much tougher competition than Everett or Xaverian had to go through. And they never allowed themselves to be upset like Everett. Closest game all year was a good N. Attleboro team with a limited Reagan and without DeMerritt
2. Way too much love for the catholic conference. Just because they've had the best team in the state the last few years (Xaverian) doesn't mean the rest of the teams are that good. Call it the SEC effect if you will (Xaverian:Bama as CM,BC,SJP:Auburn,Ole Miss, LSU) the league isn't THAT good to the point where you can call 7-3 teams top 10 teams in the state.
3. Andover? 5-5? No chance. Even if their strength of schedule was great (it wasn't) you can't put a .500 team in the top 10.
4. Central Catholic is way overrated. They played no one and got killed in their only tough game. Makes no sense those two teams come before Haverhill and N. Attleboro.
5. Stoughton and Marshfield should be much higher.
6. KP would beat Xaverian. Similar defense but much better offense.
-Bridgewater Raynham
^ Spittin straight fire
But don't know how you can reward Andover for going 5-5 vs NOBODY until Everett but punish BR for going 6-4 against 5 teams in the top 18 (4 in the top 10). Also Marshfield and Stoughton aren't even on the list but I agree they're both top 35 teams
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