MIAA Football: Top 25 Poll Week Five

St. John's held off rival Shrewsbury to jump to No. 16 in our latest poll.

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

There is some shuffling in our latest MIAA Football Top 25 Poll as teams begin to showcase that recent big time performances were not one-off evenings, but rather signs of sustained success.

Needham climbs up into the top five for the for the first time this season following another resounding win over Braintree. Duxbury and Acton-Boxboro, meanwhile, come in at 7 and 8, respectively. The Dragons showed on Friday they are still the class of the Patriot League Keenan while Acton-Boxboro continued its big offensive display in a win over Dracut.

St. John's Shrewsbury makes the biggest climb of the week, jumping nine spots up to No. 16 after defeating rival Shrewsbury in a thriller on Saturday afternoon. Falmouth makes its first appearance coming in at No. 25 following a big win over defending Div. 5 Super Bowl champ Dennis-Yarmouth that landed them at least a share of the ACL title.

Now, here is our full brand new MIAA Football Top 25 Poll as selected by our panel of writers, correspondents, and editors. 

1. Everett (5-0; Last Week: 1)  Crimson Tide were on upset alert early on Friday night versus BC High, but then Duke Doherty and Mike Sainristil arrived to prove yet again why Everett is the top team in the state. 

2. Xaverian (4-1; Last Week: 2) Following a shutout victory over Brockton, the Hawks have now not allowed point in over 7 quarters of play. Mike Masse's value on the defensive side of the ball cannot be understated. 

3. North Andover (5-0; Last Week: 3) The Scarlet Knights have had the speedometer seemingly on cruise control since week one.

4. St. John's Prep (4-1; Last Week: 4) Between Aise Pream, Wes Rockett, and a stout defensive line the Eagles continued to roll right along with a road win over Catholic Memorial.

5. Needham (5-0; Last Week: 10) Needham moves into the top five following another dominant win, this one over Braintree. As impressive as the Rockets offense has been, their defense has been just as good.

6. Mansfield (4-1; Last Week: 6) Hornets took a big step towards securing the one seed in Div. 2 South with a fourth quarter surge against Taunton. Vinnie Holmes has become one of the top defensive players in the Hockomock.

7. Duxbury (5-0; Last Week: 12) Duxbury's dominance atop the Patriot League Keenan has become as ordinary as paying your taxes. The Dragons look like the clear favorite in Div. 3 South.

8. Acton-Boxboro (5-0; Last Week: 14) There was no let down for Acton-Boxboro this week, with the Colonials gashing a strong Dracut defense for 30 points. 

9. Lincoln-Sudbury (4-1; Last Week: 7) It probably did not matter what team Lincoln-Sudbury was scheduled to face Friday. Wayland just happened to be the unfortunate victim of the Warriors buzzsaw.

10. Doherty (5-0; Last Week: 8) Leominster gave the Highlanders all they could handle for most of the night, before the skill set of Tajon Vassar and Noah Callery took control.

11. Catholic Memorial (3-2; Last Week: 5) Back to the drawing board for the Knights who are in search of some answers following consecutive losses.

12. Mashpee (4-0; Last Week: 9) The Falcons have played with fire in recent weeks, but all that matters is the "zero" in the loss column.

13. Natick (3-2; Last Week: 16) Impressive win for Natick against rival Wellesley. The Redhawks saw a 15-point lead evaporate late in regulation, only to respond with a key defensive stop in extra time to come away with a double overtime victory. 

14. North Attleboro (4-1; Last Week: 15) The combination of Nick Raneri and Brendan McHugh just seems to be getting stronger as the regular season rolls on.

15. King Philip (3-2; Last Week: 19) Impressive bounce-back win for the Warriors over Franklin after a tough loss to Mansfield a week ago. Now its just a matter of consistency.

16. St. John's Shrewsbury (3-2; Last Week: 25) Colin Schofield continues to improve and with plenty of weapons around him highlighted by Jay Brunelle. Considering the Pioneers posted 42 points on Saturday without Eamonn Dennis for most of the afternoon, one wonders how dangerous they can be come November.

17. Shrewsbury (4-1; Last Week: 11) Colonials defense just could not make the one key stop on Saturday afternoon as they fell to rival St. John's. 

18. Hingham (3-1; Last Week: 13) Harbormen were just Duxbury's latest Patriot League Keenan victim. Now, with a couple of key pieces on the sideline due to injury, getting healed before the postseason is a must if they hope to get another crack at the Dragons.

19. Tewksbury (4-1; Last Week: 22) Somewhere, Shane Aylward is still running towards the end zone...

20. Brockton (2-2; Last Week: 17) The ghosts of the Catholic Conference continue to haunt the Boxers.

21. Springfield Central (4-1; Last Week: 20) With a 55-0 win over Holyoke, the Golden Eagles have outscored their last four opponents 238 to 41.

22. Central Catholic (3-2; Last Week: 23) The Raiders are playing their best football of the season, and at a good time. This week's contest with long-time MVC rival Methuen is likely decide the league champion.

23. Stoneham (5-0; Last Week: 21) It's time for Christos Argyropoulos to start receiving some serious all-state consideration. His four touchdowns on Friday helped Stoneham sprint past a solid Melrose team, 40-14.

24. Nashoba (5-0; Last Week: 24) Chieftains remained undefeated this weekend as a pair touchdown passes from Sam Bolinsky helped Nashoba stave off a desperate Algonquin team.

25. Falmouth (4-0; Last Week: NR) Jake Murphy showed on Friday that this year, there is no one who can catch Falmouth in the ACL.

First 10 out: Braintree (3-2), Danvers (5-0), Whitman-Hanson (3-2), Westfield (5-0), Pope John (4-0), Attleboro (4-1), Lynn English (4-1),  Methuen (4-1), BC High (2-3), Milton (4-1)