By Steve Krause
There is one more week to go before playoff pairings are announced, and teams either begin the winnowing process toward a state championship or they go on a three-week tour of places they’ve never been and perhaps wouldn’t want to go if they had a choice.
Let’s go from top to bottom and see where the teams are, and what they perhaps need to do. As of this writing, there would appear to be only three teams — Classical, English and Saugus — that would be far down in their respective divisions. The rest, at best, have a shot.
Division 1
One would have thought St. John’s Prep might have moved up from No. 4 after knocking BC High off the undefeated bus last Saturday, but alas for the Eagles, they’re still there, and still set up to play No. 5 Everett in the first playoff game.
The Eagles have a tough task Friday night, though. They’re traveling to Bridgewater-Raynham, a 4-2 Division 1A South team, that beat them last year.
Division 1A
Peabody looks pretty solid at No. 4, although that could change depending on how the Tanners do Friday night against a red-hot Danvers team that went into Hurd Stadium Saturday and defeated Beverly. Malden Catholic, despite losing three straight Catholic Conference games, is still at No. 6.
Revere has snuck into a tie for the No. 8 slot with Woburn, thanks in large part to its win over Swampscott Saturday. The Patriots finish the regular portion of their season Friday night at home against Salem, in a game that shapes up to a a big one for both teams.
Classical and English are No. 11 and 12 respectively.
Division 2
Beverly’s early-season success keeps the Panthers in the upper echelons despite its last two losses to Marblehead and Danvers. The Panthers are on the road Friday night against Classical.
Division 2A
Marblehead maintains its No. 1 ranking, but No. 2 North Reading got a ton of points for its win Friday night over previously undefeated Triton. Still, the Magicians, who face English at home Friday, are more than three full points up on the Hornets, who face Newburyport this week.
Danvers and Gloucester are next at 3-4. If all things remain the same, it’s possible these two Thanksgiving rivals could meet prior to Turkey Day, just like St. Mary’s and Fenwick did last year. Danvers will be busy this week with Peabody while Gloucester wraps up its regular season at home against Saugus.
Salem’s loss to Gloucester hurt the Witches, who are now tied for the 8-spot with Dracut and Wayland.
Division 3
Bishop Fenwick was No. 2 last week, but the Crusaders dropped down to No. 3 even though they defeated Arlington Catholic. Watertown, a winner last weekend over Wilmington, snuck in there at No. 2. Triton, despite losing to North Reading last week, is still on top.
Swampscott dropped down a peg to No. 5 as the result of its loss last week to Revere. The Big Blue, a full two points (8.33-6.33) ahead of No. 8 Amesbury, travel Friday to East Boston Stadium to play Winthrop.
Saugus is ranked 12th in Division 3.
Division 3A
St. Mary’s and Shawsheen keep playing leapfrog. This week, the two teams are tied, each having won last weekend. Since the Spartans were second a week ago, they got more value out of their win Saturday night over Cardinal Spellman than the Rams got for their overtime win against Essex Tech.
Both teams have tough games this weekend. St. Mary’s is at Austin Prep, and despite the Cougars’ 2-4 record, they’re still coached by one of the best around in Bill Maradei. Meanwhile, Shawsheen has Greater Lawrence, which is right behind the Rams at No. 3 in the division with a 4-2 mark.
Austin Prep is one division higher, so St. Mary’s would get extra points for beating the Cougars. But Greater Lawrence has a better record. This is definitely going down to the wire.
Elsewhere in the division, Lynnfield, which didn’t play last weekend, is No. 6. However, No. 4-7 are all bunched up. If the Pioneers want to move up, they have to beat 3-3 Hamilton-Wenham Saturday. But the Lynn Tech-Northeast game Saturday is a big one for the Pioneers too, as the Knights are above them, in a tie with Stoneham at No. 4.
Winthrop, which hosts Swampscott Friday night, is at No. 9. A win over the Big Blue would be huge, as Hamilton-Wenham is the No. 8 team.
Division 4
Lynn Tech has done a very good job of getting itself into the playoff hunt. In fact, the Tigers have made the eighth spot, but they’re more than a point away from No. 7 Essex Tech. However, Tech is also just .33 points from being out of the running.
So, a win over Northeast Regional Saturday would be incredibly important for the Tigers.
—A few notes to close this column. First, congratulations to St. Mary’s Matt Durgin for getting his 150 win Saturday night. Durgin, in two stints with Classical and a year with Malden Catholic under his belt before coming to St. Mary’s, has always conducted himself with class, and his teams have as well … Thanks go out to the Agganis Foundation for its continuing support of the area’s high school football programs. The foundation pays tribute to the best of high school sports and academics, so it is a big honor indeed to be named a Player of the Week … At Saturday’s Tech-Northeast game, awards will be given after the game in memory of Ed Reppucci and Rick Drislane from the Golden Knights and Tigers respectively. Both were standout athletes who were killed in automobile accidents. The two teams gather in a circle, and the two coaches talk about the two players, their ability, and the tragedy of their deaths.