Adam Kurkjian

MIAA Division 8 Super Bowl: (2) West Boylston 22, (1) Randolph 16 — Lions roar to three-peat

December 6, 2024

By Mukala Kabongo NEFJ Staff FOXBOROUGH — West Boylston held off a late Randolph rally to escape with the 22-16 victory for their third straight state title. The number one and two teams in Division 8 put on quite the show for fans at Gillette Stadium. No.1 Randolph came into this game looking to win its second state title in the last four years, while No.2 West Boylston came to……

MIAA Division 2 Super Bowl: (1) Catholic Memorial 39, (2) King Philip 21 — Knights run past Warriors

December 5, 2024

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FOXBOROUGH — Since coach John DiBiaso came to Catholic Memorial, the Knights have featured a level of depth at the skill positions that is simply unmatched. You want to stop running back Mekhi Dodd? Sure, but what about fellow back Lasean Sharp? If you can slow the running game, what can you do about quarterback Kise Flannery and his receivers? In Thursday night’s Division 2 state final against King Philip,……

MIAA Division 4 Super Bowl: (2) Scituate 29, (1) Duxbury 13 — Sailors earn revenge

December 5, 2024

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By Tyler Amaral NEFJ Staff FOXBOROUGH — Scituate waited 370 days to avenge last year’s 62-33 Super Bowl loss to Duxbury. The wait was well worth it as the second-seeded Sailors rolled to a 29-13 win over No. 1 Duxbury in the Division 4 title game to capture the program’s third state championship since 2018. The Dragons had no answer for Scituate’s passing attack led by junior quarterback Jonny Donovan……

Quick glance at Massachusetts FBS signees

December 4, 2024

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It’s (the first) Signing Day, so we wanted to tale a look at the top FBS signees for Massachusetts. Unless we are missing something, there are 16 players who fit that bill. It is another strong group of prospects, and a lot of programs are getting top-shelf players. Let’s take a look. What is the power position? Not a single position per se, but looking at this list, it is…

MIAA State Title Games Preview

December 3, 2024

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We are here. The MIAA state title games have arrived. All will be at Gillette Stadium from Wednesday to Friday. What seems to define this group of games is the amount of teams that will be going for repeats. From the looks of it, these should be fun and entertaining games. Let’s examine, one by one, these matchups, and what we expect to see this week. Division 1 No. 3……

Post-Thanksgiving MIAA Top 25

December 1, 2024

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We are getting to the end of the season now, and you’re seeing a lot of movement in the rankings. Some of these losses came with starters out, so we try to be aware of that in each particular case. Just the state title games to go, so some big showdowns left. On to the list . . . Post-Thanksgiving MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (11-1) — Catholic Conference champs, but……

FCS Playoffs: UT Martin 41, (16) New Hampshire 10 — Skyhawks roll past Wildcats

November 30, 2024

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UNH Athletics/Gil Talbot By Allen Lessels NEFJ Staff DURHAM, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire football team went on a four-game win streak to end the regular season and earn itself a spot in the FCS tournament for the second time in three seasons. The trouble was, the Wildcats ran into another team playing even better football at the right time of the year on Saturday afternoon and as……

UConn 47, UMass 42 — Huskies surge in second half to beat Minutemen

November 30, 2024

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By Ryan Barry NEFJ Staff AMHERST — The 78th edition of the “U Game” will forever go down as one of the best installments of this longtime New England rivalry. The UConn Huskies (8-4) outlasted the UMass Minutemen (2-10), 47-42, in a game that lasted just over three and a half hours. A back-and-forth first half saw the Minutemen lead 28-27 going into the locker room, only for the Huskies……

FCS Playoffs: (10) Rhode Island 21, Central Connecticut State 17 — Rams move on

November 30, 2024

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By Charlie Adams NEFJ Staff KINGSTON — Rhode Island’s historic season is not over yet. After a 39-year wait, the Rams returned to the FCS playoffs on Saturday and proved they belonged. No. 10 URI defeated the NEC champion Central Connecticut State in the first round of the FCS playoffs, 21-17. “It’s a historic deal,” Rhode Island head coach Jim Fleming said. “Out of 129 years of playing football……

Thanksgiving football: Cranston West 47, Cranston East 0 — Falcons roll to victory

November 27, 2024

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By Charlie Adams NEFJ Staff CRANSTON — “It was a good day for Falcon football tonight,” Cranston West head coach Tom Milewski said. In its 51st edition, the Cranston Thanksgiving Classic between crosstown rivals Cranston East and Cranston West produced a historic result. The Falcons dominated its way to the largest margin of victory ever in the series with a 47-0 win. “Our goal was to come out and have……