It is the first day of the 2026 MIAA football season and with that comes the first batch of New England Football Journal rankings. There are no surprises at the top. There is a clear top four in Xaverian, St. John’s Prep, Springfield Central and Catholic Memorial heading into the fall. What other teams cracked the preseason edition of the MIAA top 25?
A look at our final 2024 MIAA top 25 as we put a bow on the season. As is custom, we put a premium on team accomplishments. It is not simply the 25 teams for who would beat whom. That is the case In some of these placements, but not all. We like to get all eight division champions in. It was another great season, so let’s look back and remember……
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……
Some real changes after this weekend’s semifinals. More on the way, and the battle for No. 1 going forward could go a number of different directions. We leaned toward teams that made it to this weekend’s round. Let’s get to it. Week 12 MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (10-1) — John DiBiaso will be in his 23rd Super Bowl. That’s . . . a whole heckuva lot. 2. King……
A wild weekend is over, and the dust is just settling. We are looking forward to an action-packed semifinal — or, Final Four — round of games. On to the rankings . . . Week 11 MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (9-1) — Nice win over an improved Bridgewater-Raynham team. 2. King Philip (10-0) — Pulled away from Barnstable. 3. Needham (10-0) — Won it in the trenches. 4…….
For the most part, the top of the rankings stayed pretty static. The more movement came in the 15 out, as there were a number of losses there. We are on to the quarterfinals now, and it will be interesting to see how things shake out. To the rankings . . . Week 10 MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (8-1) — Just on a roll. 2. Springfield Central (8-1)……
The postseason is here. Understand that this list is going to go over major changes after what happens next. This is what it’s all about. It will be a lot of fun over the next few weeks, and, no, I’m not ready for this to be over. To the rankings . . . Week 9 MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (6-1) — Marshfield and King Philip on the other side……
Catholic Memorial’s dominant win over St. John’s Prep caused a shift at the top. The rest of the movement came primarily in the 15 out. Let’s take a look. Week 8 MIAA Top 25 1. Catholic Memorial (6-1) — After that performance, the Knights earned this spot. 2. Springfield Central (6-1) — Maybe the D1 favorite right now. 3. King Philip (7-0) — This team rolling right along. 4. Needham (7-0) — Consistency……
The big mover was BC High’s win over Xaverian Friday night. Most everything else stayed the same, except for a few results in the back end of the Top 25 and in the 15 out. Tough not to look ahead to next week’s St. John’s Prep at Catholic Memorial game. Let’s get to it. Week 7 MIAA Top 25 1. St. John’s Prep (6-0) — Has scored at least 30 points……
The key result of the weekend was Catholic Memorial’s 40-37 victory over Xaverian. It did not cause too much upheaval overall. Other than that, Canton’s upset over North Attleboro shook things up in the 15 out. On to it . . . Week 6 MIAA Top 25 1. St. John’s Prep (5-0) — Eagles looked sharp against St. John’s (S). 2. Springfield Central (4-1) — Continues to rule Western Mass. 3. Catholic Memorial……