High School

High School: MIAA once again backs watered down system that hurts high school football

February 6, 2021
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The MIAA Football Committee is at it again. Two weeks after voting 17-2-1 in favor of playing a nine game regular season in 2021 and reducing the number of teams that quality for the playoffs to 8 per division, the committee reversed course and is going back to an eight game regular season with the top 16 teams in each division making the playoffs. After supposedly facing “backlash” from athletic…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – Blackstone Valley Tech

January 30, 2021
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Image courtesy of Blackstone Valley Tech Football When news came down just after 12:15 on Friday that the Fall II football season would be played, programs around the state rejoiced, but it meant even more to one program in particular. For the Blackstone Valley Tech squad, this season needed to be played not for them, but for fallen teammate Tony Pena. Pena passed away just over a year ago now,…

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High School: MIAA approves modifications for Fall II season

January 29, 2021
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The waiting is over. After five months of torture for the Massachusetts football community, the wait is finally over. There will be football in Massachusetts this year. On Friday morning, the MIAA Board of Directors unanimously voted (22-0) to approve the modifications made by the Covid task force for a Fall II football season. The season will run from February 22-April 25 without any real changes to the game itself….

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High School: Latest football proposal fails to address the Thanksgiving conundrum

January 22, 2021
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A new football proposal for the 2021 season was presented at Tuesday’s MIAA Football Committee meeting. The proposal would alter the current regular season and playoff model. Under the proposed system, there would be a nine-game regular season schedule in which the top eight teams in each division would qualify for the postseason. The playoffs would start the week after the regular season ends with the state title games scheduled…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – Hingham

January 22, 2021
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Like most teams around the state, the Hingham football program has had to get creative to keep things fresh. Whether it’s mentally or physically, the Harbormen coaching staff has done everything they possibly can to make sure the squad is ready to go if they’re given the green light in just about four weeks. “My high school coach who actually got me into coaching, and he’s now our quarterback coach,…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – Holliston

January 16, 2021
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For Holliston seniors Zack Athy, Teddy Ratcliffe, Tristan Benson, Christian Schneeloch and Kevin Lyons, this season has been a long time coming. Whatever the game looks like and whenever the Fall II season actually starts, those five have been strapping up the pads for the varsity squad since they were sophomores and building towards the 2020 (now 2021) campaign. There are 13 total seniors on this Panthers squad, but those five…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – Natick

January 8, 2021
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Image courtesy of Natick Athletics. Can you believe we’re up to 17 of these already? Our latest “Featured Team of the Week” is one of the most respected programs in the state, the Natick Redhawks. Whether you’re a Bay State Conference rival or a random opponent from somewhere in Massachusetts, whenever the red or white jerseys of Natick are standing on the opposite sideline, the game automatically has just a…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – South Hadley

January 3, 2021
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It’s almost as if New England Football Journal has started a Western Mass football revolution lately. Ok, so maybe we don’t have THAT much of an impact, but, for the third time in four weeks WMASS is represented as our Featured Team of the Week, our 16th to be exact. That brings us to South Hadley. Head coach Scott Taylor has done his best to navigate the pandemic – like…

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High School: NEFJ Featured Team of the Week – Andover

December 27, 2020
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Andover senior captain and lineman AJ Heidtke is already committed to play football next year at Brown University, but that doesn’t matter right now. Heidtke and fellow senior captain Ben Entner – who is committed to play at Colby College – along with fellow senior linemen Parker Rankin (UNH perferred walk on) and Charlie Baillaregeon (Endicott) were all set to be the driving force behind a strong Golden Warrior squad…

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High School: Shifting the winter and spring sports seasons would benefit all sports not just football

December 23, 2020
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An interesting proposal was put forth at yesterday’s MIAA football committee meeting by Shrewsbury Athletic Director Jay Costa. Costa proposed moving the start of the winter and spring seasons back one week. The proposal came after the committee met to discuss the MHSFCA proposal or as I have deemed it, “The Connecticut Plan.” as well as other football proposals. On the surface, this may seem like an idea that would…

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