Your Massachusetts HS Football Weekend Primer: Week 7

 Marblehead made it to Gillette Stadium last year, and may be even scarier on defense this season. The Magicians battle rival Danvers Friday night.

 By SuiteSports Staff

It's the final week of the MIAA football regular season in Eastern Mass, with just two weeks left in West and Central Mass, so that means tons of conference titles will be on the line this Friday and Saturday.

There are also big playoff seeding implications in all divisions and sections. Despite dominating the competition early on, Everett is in danger of falling to the third spot in Division 1 North with Central Catholic poised to snare the top seed, and Lexington could move into the second spot with a win over Woburn.

BC High has wrapped up Division 1 South and a Catholic Conference title, but will look to defeat Xaverian this Friday for the first time in 10 tries.

Division 3 South is extremely deep and will go down to the wire with Duxbury and Hingham facing off on Saturday, while North Attleborough looks to stay ahead with a win over Canton.

A pair of unbeatens look to stay atop D2 South in King Philip and Natick, but the Redhawks will lose out on the top seed if both teams hold serve due to their bye week.

Lynn Classical hosts Salem in a huge NEC clash with potential title implications, depending on the result of the Somerville-Revere showdown Thursday night.

Marblehead will look to pass Melrose (which hosts Burlington) for the top seed in D4 South, and win at least a share of the NEC North in the process by taking down Danvers at home.

Here are the games this weekend with the most pressing implications:

Tewksbury at Billerica, Friday at 7pm

Effectively a clash for the MVC crown, this regional battle rarely disappoints. Tewksbury up ended Billerica, 20-7, in a muddy contest last winter and the Indians are out for revenge, but they'll be hard pressed to stop Brandon Winn and the Redmen rushing attack. Tewksbury head coach Brian Aylward is extremely creative in terms of his offensive packages, but so is Duane Sigsbury for Billerica on the defensive side of the ball.

Bridgewater-Raynham at St. John's Prep, Friday at 7pm

If the Eagles drop this tough road game, they'll be in danger of facing Everett in the first round of the state tournament, which is clearly something the Prep would like to avoid. Yet the Trojans are rolling since getting Devante Greaves back from injury and using him as a speedy back alongside interior bruiser Bryce Shaw. Expect a physical, low-scoring battle that goes right down to the wire.

Central Catholic at Andover, Friday at 7pm

Those in search of high-scoring offenses will look towards this premier MVC large tilt, as the Raiders put their revamped defense to the test against Andover and new quarterback Nick Dellato. Bret Edwards has been poised as ever while leading the Raiders to a 6-0 start, and he should carve up a Golden Warriors defense that's struggled all year.

Holliston at Hopkinton, Friday at 7pm

A high-flying Hillers aerial attack is the talk of the region right now and they'll put that offense to the test in a clash against perennial power Holliston. If victorious, the Hillers will lock up the top seed in D4 South, but that defense faces it's toughest challenge to date against the Panthers patented "War" package.

Wachusett at Nashoba, Friday at 7pm

The Chieftans hope to wrap up an undefeated regular season and earn the top spot in D4 Central, but the Mountaineers stand in their way. As physical as ever, Wachusett will look to dictate the action at the line of scrimmage and produce against a Nashoba team that's giving up just 4.5 points per game through six wins.

Maynard at Littleton, Friday at 7 pm

The top spot in Division 6 Central will be on the line when Maynard makes the trip up to Littleton. These small-town CMass powers have both been to state title games in recent year, with Maynard most recently playing for the Division 4A title last season, but this game could only serve as a juicy playoff preview.

With St. Peter-Marian and upstart Blackstone-Millville/Hopedale also in the field, D6 Central could be one of the most entertaining, and unpredictable brackets in the state.

Longmeadow at Springfield Central, Friday at 7 pm

The premier matchup in Western Mass has the top spot in both D3 and D5 West on the line, as the Eagles look to hold on to the former, and the Lancers look to seize the latter.

After a brutal early schedule kept them off many's radar statewide, the Golden Eagles of Springfield Central have surged back, led by star quarterback Aaron Moses-Williams and the dynamic receiver duo of Chauncey Cogell and Myles Bradley.

Longmeadow will look for stud defensive lineman David Schwartz, a Harvard commit, to stop the Eagle passing attack before it gets going, but that could be a tale order, even for a guy who has dominated all season long.

Danvers at Marblehead, Friday at 7pm

Can anything stop the Magicians? Or rather, can anyone score on this unit? Led by stud linebacker Aiden Gillis, the Magicians are allowing just 5.6 points per game and had the Falcons' number in this rivalry tilt last year, prevailing 30-23 at Danvers.

Duxbury at Hingham, Saturday at 3pm

Hingham hasn't beaten Duxbury in over a decade, but this could be the chance for the Harbormen. The winner of this contest will earn a Patriot League title and the second seed in Division 3 South as well.