With the first weekend of high-school football playoffs in the books, it’s down to the final eight teams in each of the eight divisions. And with seven local teams remaining in the hunt for a state title entering this weekend, there’s plenty of excitement on the North Shore.
Two divisions ― Division 5 and Division 6 ― have two local teams each remaining, with Swampscott and Bishop Fenwick still in the mix in Division 5 and St. Mary’s and Winthrop still alive in Division 6.
In Division 5, undefeated No. 2 Swampscott (9-0) had its quarterfinal game pushed from Friday night to Saturday afternoon due to concerns about the weather. The Big Blue, who smashed No. 15 Apponequet 55-19 in the opening round last week, will return to Blocksidge Field Saturday (12) to host No. 7 Dover-Sherborn ― which notched a 21-7 win over Watertown to make it into the quarterfinal.
The other local Division 5 team still in the mix is No. 3 Bishop Fenwick (7-2), which put up a 49-14 drubbing of No. 14 Maynard to open things last week. The Crusaders will look to continue their impressive aerial attack after quarterback Steven Woods threw six touchdown passes against Maynard. Fenwick will take on No. 11 Hudson Friday night (7) back at Donaldson Stadium.
Division 6 also had a game moved due to weather concerns, but it was pushed up to Thursday instead.
Winthrop (5-4), which is the No. 5 seed in the bracket, traveled to No. 4 Rockland Thursday night and fell in heartbreaking fashion by a score of 37-34.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 St. Mary’s (8-1) has a date with No. 6 Medway in the quarterfinal round Friday evening (6). The two teams held a scrimmage early in the season and have both grown a lot since then, making for an exciting matchup under the lights at Manning Field. The Spartans are coming off a big 34-8 win over Boston English in which running backs David Brown Jr. (171 yards, two touchdowns) and Derick Coulanges (138 yards, three touchdowns) both had huge games on the ground.
The only other undefeated local team left in the mix is Marblehead (9-0), which is coming off of a 21-7 win over Norwood last week in the Division 3 tournament opener. The No. 1 Magicians ― who are on a state-best, 19-game winning streak ― will now go up against a familiar foe in No. 8 Masconomet, the second meeting this season between the two teams. Back on Oct. 8, Marblehead went on the road and took down the Chieftains 33-21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Piper Field.
St. John’s Prep (7-2) remains alive in the Division 1 bracket, with the No. 3 Eagles coming off of a 28-0 win over No. 14 Shrewsbury last week. St. John’s Prep will return home to Cronin Memorial Stadium Friday evening (6) to take on No. 6 Wachusett for a chance to move on.
Rounding out the remaining playoff teams is KIPP Academy (8-1), which is the No. 12 seed in Division 8. The Panthers notched a 40-21 upset win over No. 5 Manchester-Essex last week to move on, setting them up for another road game. This time KIPP will take on No. 4 Hull, making the long trip down there for a 6 p.m. kickoff Friday.