Massachusetts Thread

[Adam Kurkjian]

Another team to keep an eye on is BC High, which won its division in a 7on7 tournament this weekend (not always a big indicator of success, but the Eagles don't usually do all that well in those settings).

To note on that team, BC High is always pretty big up front, but especially so this fall. Projected OL could be 6-4, 265/6-7, 255/6-8, 275/6-2, 255 and a player to be named later. (6-8, 275 is BC commit Ozzy Trapilo)

Skills should be improved, and the Eagles will be much more experienced than a year ago. Top 10-15-type team here.

[imaGoodBoyNow]

14 minutes ago, Adam Kurkjian said:

Another team to keep an eye on is BC High, which won its division in a 7on7 tournament this weekend (not always a big indicator of success, but the Eagles don't usually do all that well in those settings).

To note on that team, BC High is always pretty big up front, but especially so this fall. Projected OL could be 6-4, 265/6-7, 255/6-8, 275/6-2, 255 and a player to be named later. (6-8, 275 is BC commit Ozzy Trapilo)

Skills should be improved, and the Eagles will be much more experienced than a year ago. Top 10-15-type team here.

How’s the football in the Berkshires

 

 I stayed at Great Barrington, there’s a Good Dispensary in the area, and golf course 

[Adam Kurkjian]

22 minutes ago, imaGoodBoyNow said:

How’s the football in the Berkshires

 

 I stayed at Great Barrington, there’s a Good Dispensary in the area, and golf course 

You see a couple lower-division squads make playoff runs from out there, but there are really no large-enrollment schools, which would hinder them significantly against the top-level squads. The Berkshire School, which is a private boarding school, won a NEPSAC bowl over BB&N a couple years ago.

The best MIAA program out there is definitely Wahconah. Regional school that has a nice atmosphere for games, has beaten some of the bigger WMass schools, and made it to the state finals. But against a bigger EMass power or someone like that, they'd struggle. But, again, it's on the small side enrollment wise.

[Adam Kurkjian]

The Northeast 7on7 North and South regionals were this past weekend. Bonny Eagle (Maine) won the North, and Brockton won the South. The East regional is on the 20th.

I was at the South one on Sunday. Brockton has a terrific group of skill players. It's only a matter of time until someone offers WR/DE Nayvon Reid. He was tremendous. The Boxers have struggled to find consistency in the passing game in recent years, but I'd have trouble seeing that being the case this year with the guys they have on the perimeter.

Andover continues to do well in these passing leagues, as the Golden Warriors made it to the finals in the North before falling short to Bonny Eagle, which was a surprise winner. Methuen out of the MVC seemed to do well, as did Lynn Classical, which always also does a good job in those settings.

[Adam Kurkjian]

Some fairly significant transfer news out of the Merrimack Valley Conference. Methuen's top running back, Ricky Brutus, is transferring back to North Andover, where he lived in middle school. North Andover lost a ton to graduation, so it's a big boost for them, and a tough loss for Methuen. That said, Methuen still brings back its QB and some other nice pieces. Both teams should be pretty solid.

[NicholasMalibu]

Boston College just got a commitment from DeMatha OL Dwayne Allick Jr.. Top 5 schools included Florida, NC State, Illinois, Boston College and LSU. He will be joined on the DeMatha OL this year with Golden Achumba(Penn State) and Jordan White(Maryland). 

https://mobile.twitter.com/dtrain00100/status/1155268473959919617

[Adam Kurkjian]

Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island won the Northeast 7v7 New England title, beating Dennis-Yarmouth in the championship game. D-Y beat Brockton in the semis, and Hendricken beat BB&N.

All four of those teams should be factors in their respective playoff divisions.

Springfield Central won the Excel Sports Academy 7v7 out West over what looks to be a much-improved Amherst program. Central did not have all their kids, but the Golden Eagles are up to seven FBS, FCS, and D2 offered kids. That's not including junior LB Tyson Thornton, who will have some later on. One of those kids, William "Pop" Watson III, is a quarterback going into his freshman year with a UMass offer.

Big transfer news on the North Shore is junior linebacker/fullback Sam Ofurie, who holds offers from Syracuse, Michigan, and Boston College, going from Salem to Lynn English. English will be a handful this season in Division 3.

[Adam Kurkjian]

Have now seen four scrimmages and some practices. A little bit on the teams I've seen so far...

Everett — Lot of speed at the skill positions. QB was good last year and has gotten better. Defense should be strong. OL needs to come together for the team to reach its full potential, but this is a top 5 team in the state, no question. They went up and scrimmaged Thornton Academy (Maine) and smoked them.

Brockton — New scheme, new OL, new quarterback. They're spreading teams out more than your traditional Boxers team. They have weapons, but everything on offense is still sort of in a bit of a process. Defense is very hard-hitting and will keep them in games until the offense catches up.

St. John's of Shrewsbury — Has a Notre Dame commit and Michigan commit at WR. Their two OTs are about 6-5, 295. Their QB is going to Williams and is a smart, accurate passer with decent legs. DL is much improved from last year. Top 5-10-type team in the state. Got the better of Brockton in that scrimmage.

Xaverian — Very big on the lines. Physical. QB, a junior, is much improved over a year ago. Don't consider them the favorite in D1 South, but they will compete with anyone on their schedule because of their physicality and coaching. They don't make mistakes.

Bridgewater-Raynham — Has a nice, young sophomore QB with a few really tall, accurate WR/TE types. They are a run-heavy team, but can throw better than last year. Much better than what I saw from them a year ago. Will compete in Div. 2 South.

Catholic Memorial — Really solid. A lot of speed at the skills. Big up front. Defense is much faster than a year ago. Good special teams. Great young talent. Some freshmen who are going to see varsity time and will grow into major D1 players.

Foxboro — Had the unfortunate task of scrimmaging CM. They were overmatched physically, but will compete just fine in D5 South.

Billerica — Real nice offense. They work the RPO game well. Quarterback throws a nice ball. They're not very big, so some teams will have that mismatch on them. Still, they are well-coached and have the offense to win a lot of games. A contender in D3 North. Their 1s beat St. John's Prep's 1s, 14-13, last night.

St. John's Prep — A lot to like. Stout and well-coached up front. Quarterback stands tall in the pocket and throws a nice ball. Defense has some nice players, including a freshman S/WR who already has a UMass offer. Starting RB didn't play but will be back and make a difference. A contender as usual in D1 North.

[MA Fan]

Springfield Central 40 Everett 12

Central's freshman QB threw for 305 yards in his high school debut.

[Adam Kurkjian]

1 hour ago, MA Fan said:

Springfield Central 40 Everett 12

Central's freshman QB threw for 305 yards in his high school debut.

I had him 15-of-25 for 317 yards and a TD. William Watson III. Going to be a good one.

[On2whls]

On 7/15/2019 at 4:44 PM, Adam Kurkjian said:

Some fairly significant transfer news out of the Merrimack Valley Conference. Methuen's top running back, Ricky Brutus, is transferring back to North Andover, where he lived in middle school. North Andover lost a ton to graduation, so it's a big boost for them, and a tough loss for Methuen. That said, Methuen still brings back its QB and some other nice pieces. Both teams should be pretty solid.

Great name for a running back lol

[MA Fan]

Today's Super Bowls from Gillette Stadium streamed on https://www.patriots.com/

9am - Division 7 - Abington vs Leicester
11am - Division 6 - Bishop Fenwick vs Ashland
1:30pm - Division 5 - Swampscott vs Amherst
3:30pm - Division 4 - Melrose vs Plymouth South
6pm - Division 3 - Duxbury vs Springfield Central
8pm - Division 1 - St. John's Prep vs Catholic Memorial

Division 2 and 8 games were last night. Mansfield, who played LaSalle OH earlier in the year, won the D2 championship.

[Wosinc]

Excellent stream.

[HawgGoneIt]

I like the colors on the Springfield unis. 

 

I was gonna pull for Duxbury just because I like the name, but, I think I may change my mind after that bad decision by the Duxbury qb. 

[Wosinc]

5 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

I like the colors on the Springfield unis. 

 

I was gonna pull for Duxbury just because I like the name, but, I think I may change my mind after that bad decision by the Duxbury qb. 

😄 Seems like he does everything including mending the uniforms.

I’m kinda partial to Central, just because they’re not from around Boston 🤠.

[Wosinc]

9 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

I like the colors on the Springfield unis. 

 

I was gonna pull for Duxbury just because I like the name, but, I think I may change my mind after that bad decision by the Duxbury qb. 

Neither of these teams can kick worth a lick.

[HawgGoneIt]

Springfield looking to be the better team at this point. Duxbury just can't seem to get rolling on O against that blackhat defense. The one time they were in a nice rhythm, the qb threw one right to the blackhat defense. 

 

[HawgGoneIt]

It also looks cold there. Guys in big russian looking fur hats and stuff. 

Was in short sleeves Friday and today. Maybe again tomorrow, when I run the mower over the yard to mulch the pecan leaves and knock the scraggle down. 

[Wosinc]

5 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

Springfield looking to be the better team at this point. Duxbury just can't seem to get rolling on O against that blackhat defense. The one time they were in a nice rhythm, the qb threw one right to the blackhat defense. 

 

There’s the 3rd time Central runs that slant pass for a score.  You’d think the Dragons would figure it out.

[Wosinc]

1 minute ago, HawgGoneIt said:

It also looks cold there. Guys in big russian looking fur hats and stuff. 

Was in short sleeves Friday and today. Maybe again tomorrow, when I run the mower over the yard to mulch the pecan leaves and knock the scraggle down. 

Announcers said 24 degrees.

[Wosinc]

1 minute ago, HawgGoneIt said:

It also looks cold there. Guys in big russian looking fur hats and stuff. 

Was in short sleeves Friday and today. Maybe again tomorrow, when I run the mower over the yard to mulch the pecan leaves and knock the scraggle down. 

And by the way ... 🖕🏻

[HawgGoneIt]

Just now, Wosinc said:

Announcers said 24 degrees.

I have the sound off on this stream as I have the SEC championship sound on. 

Maybe should switch which one I'm listening to though. 

[HawgGoneIt]

4 minutes ago, Wosinc said:

And by the way ... 🖕🏻

This is the response I expected. Hahaha

In my best Guru voice... Your weather sucks. 

 

[Wosinc]

Just now, HawgGoneIt said:

This is the response I expected. Hahaha

In my best Guru voice... Your weather sucks. 

 

Best Guru is an oxymoron.  You never bring anything positive to the table.

We had almost 24 inches of snow early in the week.  Looks like Gillette didn’t.

I kinda got the impression that the announcers were happier than neutrality would suggest when Duxbury scored.

[MA Fan]

Springfield Central has almost double the enrollment of Duxbury and should be in Division 1 but thanks to weird rules there are no Central or Western Mass. teams classified in Divisions 1 or 2 for football.