By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Staff
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already reached Week 3 of the high school football season in New England.
It’s about the time of year where we start to separate the contenders and pretenders and it’s another good slate this weekend. Below, we take a look at the top 20 games in Massachusetts, plus the top contest in the other five New England states:
Massachusetts
Central Catholic at St. John’s Prep: An annual matchup between two of New England’s premier programs. The Eagles have won the last three meetings. Caden Smith versus Christopher Vargas is a top quarterback matchup.
Springfield Central at Mansfield: These offenses can really score. Terrific early season test for both teams, who are title hopefuls in their respective divisions.
Catholic Memorial at St. Francis (NY): Knights hit the road again looking to start the season 2-0 against out-of-state foes. Quarterback Kise Flannery really had it going two weeks ago.
Milford at Wellesley: Milford seems to be flying under the radar more than any other Division 3 contender. The Scarlet Hawks took it to Leominster last week and are hoping to pick up another crucial non-league road win.
Duxbury at Hanover: Duxbury fell to Scituate last week. Now, they’ll test their luck on the road in another Patriot League crossover.
Everett at Xaverian: A decade ago, this would have been the clear-cut game of the week. Everett is looking to bounce back as a program under head coach Rob DiLoreto.
Methuen at Tewksbury: Methuen has impressed early in the Ryan Dugan era without an Eason in the backfield. Tewksbury is one of the top teams in Division 4.
Norwell at Scituate: A fun South Shore versus Patriot League crossover. Jack Luccarelli is one of the top dual threat quarterbacks in the state.
Leominster at Doherty: Blue Devils are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Milford. Doherty has consistently been a top program in Central Mass.
Hingham at Abington: Both teams opened the season in dramatic fashion: Hingham won on a touchdown as time expired against Hanover. Abington lost a triple overtime thriller to Duxbury. Hingham is a team to keep an eye on after upsetting the Hawks.
West Springfield at Wachusett: These teams impressed in their season openers. This will be a fun, high-scoring affair.
Walpole at Natick: A matchup of Bay State heavyweights. The Natick defense has really impressed in the early going.
Attleboro at Bishop Feehan: Attleboro bragging rights are on the line in this crosstown matchup. Shamrocks had a nice rebound win over Chelmsford last week.
Nashoba Valley Tech at Stoneham: Both teams have high expectations and want to bludgeon you in the run game. Viking sophomore Zack Deschenes is a special player.
Old Rochester at Fairhaven: Class South Coast matchup. Blue Devils have barely skipped a beat in the early stages of the post-Justin Marques era. Old Rochester is off to an 0-2 start while they incorporate some younger pieces.
Marshfield at Bridgewater-Raynham: This game has the potential to be a barn-burner. Marshfield is very inexperienced, though, and that could be the difference.
Bedford at Canton: Bedford is a sleeper team with Boston College-bound defensive end Mekhi Volcy. The Bulldogs offense is firing on all cylinders.
Lee at Wahconah: Two regular playoff teams from the Berkshires. Lee has strung together multiple recent playoff appearances despite being one of the smallest schools in the state that offers football.
St. Sebastian’s at Milton Academy: Milton Academy won 24-21 last year. Expect another close one this year.
St. Paul’s at Belmont Hill: St. Paul’s ran the table last season. Is an encore in store?
Connecticut
North Haven at Hand – Early season showdown between two top 20 Connecticut programs.
Maine
Windham at Bonny Eagle: Windham is 0-2 and the challenging schedule continues this week. Bonny Eagle has impressed in the early season, looking like a state title contender.
New Hampshire
Thornton Academy (ME) at Bedford: One of the best New England interstate matchups of the season. One of the top three games on the docket this weekend between two perennial powers.
Rhode Island
St. Raphael at Central: There are three terrific matchups in Rhode Island this week. St. Ray’s looks the part so far. Central is coming off a tough loss to a good Milton team.
Vermont
Rutland at Middlebury: Another challenge for Rutland in the early season. Raiders look like the top team in The Green Mountain State thus far.