By Dante Iafrate NEFJ Correspondent The tone of Saturday afternoon’s matchup between St. John’s Prep and La Salle Academy was set almost immediately. On La Salle’s first possession, running back Blaze Coogan coughed up the football after a short gain, and the Eagles pounced on the loose ball. Just a few plays later, junior running back Maxwell Parent barreled into the end zone from two yards out, and the Eagles……

WESTWOOD – It only counts as a win in September, but Springfield Central made a statement on Friday night. The Golden Eagles made the long trek down to Westwood and came away with a 28-20 win over the two-dime defending D1 champs Xaverian. SC moved to 2-1 while the Hawks fell to the same record. It might have been a statement win on the surface, but head coach Bill Watson…

By Zachary Bellino NEFJ Correspondent DERRY – The Pinkerton Astros defeated the Londonderry Lancers 24-10 on Friday night. Turnovers for points decided the game as Pinkerton turned a fumble recovery and an interception into a 23-3 lead they would never give up. The win gives the Astros an undefeated record at 4-0.  “From the beginning of the season, we’re rolling the way we expected, and I’m not surprised at this,”…

By Craig Boland, NEFJ Correspondent NEW CANAAN – With less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Andrew Esposito took a six-yard direct snap for a touchdown out of a jumbo package, followed by a Neel Arora extra point, to put New Canaan up 27-7, which would be the final over Bunnell on Friday night. This was the third rushing touchdown of the game for New Canaan, which…

By Charlie Adams NEFJ Correspondent MARION – With Bill Belichick in attendance, Tabor Academy pulled away in the second half to take down Milton Academy 51-26. Tabor took a chance to try to build momentum early, electing to receive the opening kickoff. Milton made momentum theirs, forcing a turnover on the return and capitalizing with the game’s first score. Mustangs quarterback Qur’an McNeill found Ben Allen for the 11-yard opening…

By Jared Keene NEFJ Correspondent MILFORD – Natick senior captains James Mortarelli and Jack Showstead are best friends both on and off the field. Off the field, they spend a ton of time together and do almost everything together. On the field, they happen to make up quite the 1-2 punch at running back for the Redhawks, always supporting each other and being the first ones to congratulate one another…

By Tyler Amaral NEFJ Staff FOXBOROUGH – Clinging to a three point lead with Foxborough driving and the clock ticking under three minutes, the King Philip defense needed a stand. Senior captain Brodie McDonald came flying around the edge taking a straight path to Foxborough quarterback Cam Deleskey. McDonald sacked Deleskey and popped the ball loose. Classmate Liam King jumped on the loose ball, preserving the Warriors 15-12 road victory….

By Tyler Amaral NEFJ Staff We’ve reached the final week of September. The football hierarchy across New England is starting to take shape. One common theme this week is the crossover games between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There are three of those matchups this week. The overall slate in Massachusetts isn’t quite what it has been in other weeks this year, but the top matchups are some of the best…

The NEPSAC season is officially underway with every program in the conference now having at least two games under their belt.
With realignment, we are getting some big time early season match-ups including this weekend. Match-ups that should give us a good idea of what we can expect this season.