All the uproar about the first edition of the MIAA power rankings that dropped on Friday was kind of hilarious … unless you were on the field.
Who in their right minds are taking Week 3 rankings seriously? You’d be surprised. I mean, league games haven’t even really begun, yet the MIAA deemed it necessary to open the banter. and the players eat it up.
The murmurs on the Marblehead sideline on Friday night at North Andover – “the No. 1 team in Division 2!” – certainly seemed to influence the Magician players.
Quarterback Finn Gallup called the 40-14 decision “a statement win,” after taking out the Knights.
“The kids are all about that,” laughed Knights coach John Dubzinski. “Anytime you see that Catholic Memorial, is what, 17? You can’t read too much (into it). The kids do, the adults don’t. Kids are kids.”
Certainly, it didn’t help some teams. Haverhill High hosted unbeaten Stoneham on Friday night after the Hillies were tagged in the No. 5 spot in Division 1.
Any chances of sneaking up on Stoneham were tossed off the bus on I-93 before the Spartans hit the Andover line.
In case you missed it, James Farrell had another huge night, hitting 16 of 36 passes for 289 yards and three TDs in the 41-20 loss. Brandon Piraino caught eight balls for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jathian DeJesus had another strong week with the sophomore posting five grabs for 82 yards and a score.
Odds and Ends
Since the New Hampshire standings do not count out-of-state games, it’s interesting to note that Exeter is the only 4-0 team in Division I. However, there are four 3-0 teams: Pinkerton, Memorial, Nashua South and two-time defending state champ, Bedford. …
It’s not a true conference game in the sense that Andover is in the MVC large, and Methuen is in the middle, but you can’t tell me that there’s a better matchup happening around the state than when the Rangers hit Lovely Field on Friday night. That one promises to be a war and is absolutely a must-watch event. …
The fifth game of Central Catholic’s torturous season-opening gauntlet might just be the toughest of the bunch when the Raiders travel to unbeaten Xaverian on Friday night. …
Great to see guys like Windham’s Kevin Murphy back in the huddle with the Jaguars after missing the Pinkerton game. Murphy and the Jags picked up the win of the weekend, knocking off unbeaten Alvirne in a nail-biter on Friday night at Mount Jaguar.
A loss to fall to 1-3 would have seriously dented the Windham playoff hopes just four weeks in. Instead, Windham is now a team to watch as coach Jack Byrne continues to mix and match with a young team in his bid to find the best combinations.