Adam Kurkjian Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Bones inspired me to get one of these going. I know a lot of you don't care, but some do, and this is for you. Let's get into it... My preseason top 5 at the moment looks pretty much the same as it did previously: 1. Everett - Watched some film on their first scrimmage. They have speed everywhere. OL needs to gain experience but their skill will make up for it. 2. Central Catholic - Hearing great things still. QB is maybe the best in the state and the OL is excellent. Physical. Experienced. 3. St. John's Prep - Lost their best skill player to a knee injury but still has plenty going for it. Maybe a year away. 4. BC High - Defense and both lines should be fine. Right now, the leader in a jumbled D1 South. 5. St. John's (Shrewsbury) - Got an up-close look at them last week. Pretty solid. Will know a lot more after the first two weeks. Others of note (not the next best teams, but just ones to monitor) Catholic Memorial - D1 South sleeper has some good line play, always their Achilles heel. Xaverian - Walloped by Central Catholic in a scrimmage. They lost a lot to graduation and will need to grow up quick. Brockton - Talent is improved. Mostly young and inexperienced. Had its moments in a scrimmage at Everett. Mansfield - Had some down years but the talent is creeping back up (the highlights from the BC High scrimmage are intriguing), and 2018 will be even better. Springfield Central - Posted already about their scrimmage with Paramus Catholic. Key will be how OL holds up. Lexington - If the Central QB isn't the best in the state, then Lexington's is. Will be in a lot of shootouts. Final round of scrimmages are tonight, then next week we get into the real stuff. Week 1 Games To Watch (9/8 and 9/9) Friday night (all games at 7 p.m. ET) Bridgewater-Raynham at Duxbury - Bit of a tossup. Duxbury lost a ton of skill but OL and front seven are strong. Central Catholic at Dartmouth - Long bus ride for Central (traffic will be hell so they're leaving at 2:15 p.m.) and Dartmouth is solid, but the visitors should prevail. North Attleboro at King Philip - I might go to this. Both solid, top 25-type teams. KP is always extremely physical. St. John's (S) at Catholic Memorial - SJS jumped out to a big lead last year and held on. These are both top 10 teams in the state. Saturday afternoon Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Va.) at Springfield Central (1 p.m.) - SC schedules fearlessly here, then has St. John's (S) the week after. Brockton at Lexington (1 p.m.) - Expect a lot of points. Xaverian at Everett (2:30 p.m.) - X will do its best to keep Everett's offense off the field. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coletrain06 Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Did Brockton ever have success with learning the option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ararar Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Wish these teams could get an OOS game that would peak interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Just now, Coletrain06 said: Did Brockton ever have success with learning the option They ran it in 2012 with great success. They tried to install it last year but the QB they had in mind for it got injured in the offseason. They didn't ditch it until too late and had multiple QBs get hurt. Basically ruined their offensive development for the season and they went 5-6. Their QB this year was the one they were going to build that offense around. He's back (a senior) and they are going to be multiple on O. They have some real talent at WR and RB and their front seven will be excellent. There is a lot of youth, though, and they play Lexington, CM, BC High and Xaverian. Will likely make the D1 South playoffs again. How far they go depends on how quickly the young guys adapt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSFBfan Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, Ararar said: Wish these teams could get an OOS game that would peak interest BC High has played SPP in the past http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/high-school/post/_/id/18759/tale-of-the-tape-bc-high-v-st-peters-prep-n-j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 1 minute ago, Ararar said: Wish these teams could get an OOS game that would peak interest Everett nearly had a really great one lined up thanks to GSB. It fell through because of $$$. But Everett is now an independent and more open dates will open up. Only a matter of time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 1 minute ago, HSFBfan said: BC High has played SPP in the past http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/high-school/post/_/id/18759/tale-of-the-tape-bc-high-v-st-peters-prep-n-j I was at the one in Dorchester. Covered it for the Herald. SPP was just too fast. Fairly competitive but SPP was clearly better. The year after in Jersey it was a slaughter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSFBfan Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Just now, Adam Kurkjian said: I was at the one in Dorchester. Covered it for the Herald. SPP was just too fast. Fairly competitive but SPP was clearly better. The year after in Jersey it was a slaughter. Gotcha. I just remember that they certainly played NJ teams before. I also believe they played BC but not sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ararar Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 1 minute ago, Adam Kurkjian said: Everett nearly had a really great one lined up thanks to GSB. It fell through because of $$$. But Everett is now an independent and more open dates will open up. Only a matter of time. That's good to hear because I know someone will get beat by Mass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Another team I didn't mention that is probably the favorite in all of D2 is Marshfield. Currently taking it to Brockton in a game scrimmage, but the latter is sitting a lot of guys. Still, Marshfield is probably top 10 in the state. They play BC High in two weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendsofthefall Posted September 2, 2017 Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 5 hours ago, Ararar said: Wish these teams could get an OOS game that would peak interest SJR has played Xaverian (MA) in recent years: http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football-fall-12/st-joseph-regional-vs-xaverian-brothers/9-15-2012-f-2z84pSnkuAxGA5-_5w6g.htm#tab=box-score&schoolid= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicholasMalibu Posted September 2, 2017 Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 Whose going to win the Martha's Vineyard vs. Nantucket game this year? Just joking, but I'm in Edgartown right now and just found out these two play every year. Cool places nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 1 hour ago, legendsofthefall said: SJR has played Xaverian (MA) in recent years: http://www.maxpreps.com/games/football-fall-12/st-joseph-regional-vs-xaverian-brothers/9-15-2012-f-2z84pSnkuAxGA5-_5w6g.htm#tab=box-score&schoolid= Yes. They played a home-and-home in 06/07. SJR won, 31-21, in Montvale, and 6-3, in Westwood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2017 54 minutes ago, NicholasMalibu said: Whose going to win the Martha's Vineyard vs. Nantucket game this year? Just joking, but I'm in Edgartown right now and just found out these two play every year. Cool places nonetheless. Definitely Nantucket. They have a pretty good squad (for their division, which is 7). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 Duxbury (D3 South) smacked around CM in a scrimmage, supposedly. I wasn't there, but it sounds like they have reloaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendsofthefall Posted September 3, 2017 Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 3 minutes ago, Adam Kurkjian said: Duxbury (D3 South) smacked around CM in a scrimmage, supposedly. I wasn't there, but it sounds like they have reloaded. Duxbury, the home of Bill Curley, former BC hoops star. Tough, heady player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 1 minute ago, legendsofthefall said: Duxbury, the home of Bill Curley, former BC hoops star. Tough, heady player. Correct, sir. One of my buddies played with him in HS. That Duxbury-B-R game will be very interesting. Tough call at this point. I think I'll go with Duxbury for now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones Posted September 3, 2017 Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 We need these to educate the public. But why do yall start so late? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 1 minute ago, Bones said: We need these to educate the public. But why do yall start so late? Just always been that way in New England. Everything is so rushed. Not enough practice time. Teams had three scrimmages in six days. As one coach put it when I asked him how his team is doing, "Lots of work to be done and not enough time to do it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 Just now, Drummer61 said: Thanks Adam as you do a nice job.. Who will be the best team in Mass at years end ??? Thanks, Drummer. I'm sticking with Everett until further notice. Central will be their biggest challenger at this point, it seems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 Boston Globe released its top 20 the other day. Boston Herald's Dan Ventura will release his "Sweet 16" Friday I believe. Here's the Globe's rankings (these are Eastern Mass. only) 1. Everett 2. Xaverian 3. Central Catholic 4. BC High 5. Duxbury 6. St. John's Prep 7. King Philip 8. Marshfield 9. Lexington 10. North Attleboro 11. Reading 12. Marblehead 13. Hanover 14. Tewksbury 15. Wellesley 16. Catholic Memorial 17. Bridgewater-Raynham 18. Falmouth 19. Andover 20. Mashpee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paladin4ever Posted September 6, 2017 Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 On 9/1/2017 at 2:47 PM, HSFBfan said: BC High has played SPP in the past http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/high-school/post/_/id/18759/tale-of-the-tape-bc-high-v-st-peters-prep-n-j BC High plays Hudson Catholic this year. Not sure if HC will be up to the task. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 2 minutes ago, GardenStateBaller said: Can Everett play the privates in the reg season or playoffs?? All MIAA teams can play each other. NEPSAC teams rarely, and I mean very, very rarely, play MIAA teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wosinc Posted September 6, 2017 Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Adam Kurkjian said: Boston Globe released its top 20 the other day. Boston Herald's Dan Ventura will release his "Sweet 16" Friday I believe. Here's the Globe's rankings (these are Eastern Mass. only) 1. Everett 2. Xaverian 3. Central Catholic 4. BC High 5. Duxbury 6. St. John's Prep 7. King Philip 8. Marshfield 9. Lexington 10. North Attleboro 11. Reading 12. Marblehead 13. Hanover 14. Tewksbury 15. Wellesley 16. Catholic Memorial 17. Bridgewater-Raynham 18. Falmouth 19. Andover 20. Mashpee It's not unreasonable to limit the list to Eastern Mass only. It's been years since Central/Western Mass teams were consistantly competitive with the East. I think Springfield Central is about the only C/W team that even qualifies as Div 1 by enrollment. I'll be interested to see how they do this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Kurkjian Posted September 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2017 4 minutes ago, Wosinc said: It's not unreasonable to limit the list to Eastern Mass only. It's been years since Central/Western Mass teams were consistantly competitive with the East. I think Springfield Central is about the only C/W team that even qualifies as Div 1 by enrollment. I'll be interested to see how they do this year. Yeah, that's how the Boston papers have always done it. I do think St. John's (S) would beat a lot of good teams in the East, and they would be D1. So would, I believe, Wachusett and maybe Leominster (don't quote me on that, but I know SJS would be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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