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| Dennis-Yarmouth delivered the statement of the weekend, blowing out rival Marshfield to claim at least a share of the ACL title. Photo courtesy of Dennis-Yarmouth athletics. |
The final week of the regular season in Eastern Mass is upon us, and week six certainly cleared up the postseason picture.
St. John’s (Shrewsbury) reaffirmed its placement as the favorite in Division 3 with a 64-24 thrashing of Shepherd Hill on Saturday, while King Philip all but locked up the top seed in Division 2 South.
Mashpee avenged its lone loss from the 2016 campaign with a shutout of Nantucket, and Dennis-Yarmouth stunned people across Massachusetts with a dominant performance against Marshfield to take control in the Atlantic Coast League.
St. John’s Prep seemed to be in the driver’s seat for a big Catholic Conference win that would have given the Eagles a home game in the postseason, but BC High scored 20 unanswered to all but clinch the number one overall seed in Division 1 South.
Plenty of key games are on the horizon, with teams like Bridgewater-Raynahm, the Prep, Lexington, Central Catholic, Marshfield, and Brockton all jockeying for playoff seeding.
Before we get to that, however, let’s take a look back at week six.
Dolphins Return the Favor in Rout of Marshfield
One year after Marshfield put up 61 points in a 53-point victory over Dennis-Yarmouth, the Dolphins got their revenge in a 43-16 win.
It was the sixth straight game where Dennis-Yarmouth scored over 35 points.
Robert Evans put his stamp on the matchup from the get-go, en route to a 263-yard rushing performance that included three scores.
Defensively, the Dolphins defense were impenetrable going against up a ferocious Marshfield running attack. The Rams were held to just three points in the opening half and 62 yards on the ground.
Even after Jack McNeil cut Marshfield’s deficit to just 11 with a 50-yard touchdown to open the second half, Evans quelled any hopes of a Rams comeback by responding with a 45-yard score of his own on the ground.
The victory clinches at least a share of the Atlantic Coast League title for Dennis-Yarmouth. A win over Sandwich in week seven would give the Dolphins the title outright.
Bucciaglia Outdoes Himself
All season long, Steven Buccialgia has been one of the top quarterbacks in Massachusetts while leading St. John’s (Shrewsbury) to an unbeaten mark.
On Saturday afternoon, though, Bucciaglia turned in his most notable performance to date, as his 324 passing yards and five touchdowns led the Pioneers to a monster 62-24 win over Shepherd Hill. The Pioneers’ quarterback completed 18 of his 22 pass attempts.
Those numbers were all piled up in just two-and-a-half quarters, as St. John’s scored on each of its first eight drives. Bucciaglia was lifted midway through the third.
Bucciaglia now has over 1,900 passing yards and 24 touchdowns on the season.
“We were able to run the ball efficiently early in the game which opened up our passing game in the second quarter,” said Bucciaglia of the Pioneers’ offensive explosion. “I give a lot of credit to our offensive line because they are what makes our offense so dynamic.”
The win solidifies the Pioneers as the clear team to beat in the Division 3 field.
The Pioneers offense was clicking on all cylinders all afternoon long, and built up a 42-point first half lead. Bucciaglia bookended the initial onslaught from St. John’s, finding Zach Pedone for a 29-yard touchdown to get St. John’s out in front 7-0, and later drilling Josh Shrestha on a crossing route for a 49-yard touchdown.
Bowen Begins, Abraham Finishes BC High Comeback
Trailing 13-0 early, BC High seemed well on its way to losing to St. John’s Prep for the fourth consecutive season.
A one-yard touchdown run from Danny Abraham cut the Prep lead to 13-7 at the half, and an eight-yard scamper up the middle up by Will Bowen evened the score at 13 in the fourth quarter.
After a fourth down stand by the BC High defense, Bowen and Abraham engineered an 11-play, 74-yard scoring drive that put the hosts up with 34 seconds to play.
Bowen converted two third downs on the drive, first running for seven yards on third and two, and then finding Elijah Miranda in the flat for 15 yards to get BC High inside the Prep ten yard line.
Moments later, Abraham punched one in from a yard out to complete the comeback and give BC High at least a share of the Catholic Conference title.
“This team is battle tested and we’re mentally tough,” said Abraham following the win. “We looked at each other in the locker room and came out in the second half and played hard.”
The BC High quarterback-running back tandem of Bowen and Abraham combined to rush for 239 yards on Friday. In each of BC High’s first six games they have accrued over 200 yards rushing.
Other Notable Performances from the Week
Bridgewater-Raynahm clinched the Old Colony League as power back DeVante Greaves ran for 318 yards on 32 carries to lead the Trojans to a 40-26 win over Barnstable.
Lynn Tech continued its hot start behind the play of Steffan Gravley. Gravley rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while also snagging a pick six on defense in a 47-26 win for the Tigers over Northeast.
Sal Frelick continued to raise eyebrows as his 236 first half rushing yards and six total touchdowns gave Lexington a blowout win over Belmont, 56-14.
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