Tuesday, November 22, 2016

10 Takeaways from the MIAA Football State Semifinals

Grafton celebrates its victory over Taconic in the D3A semifinal at Doyle Field in Leominster. The Indians will face Hanover at Gillette Stadium for the state title.
By John Sarianides (@xnojoe)

Ed. Note- Our Massachusetts football guru John Sarianides is back with 10 takeaways from the weekend that was, and some thoughts going forward.


1. Duxbury was once again impressive in their 41-14 win over Beverly. Bobby Maimaron reinforced the notion that he is the best player in the state with another big performance.

2. I told you East Bridgewater vs Nipmuc was going to be one of the best games in the state. The Warriors went toe to toe with one of the best programs in Eastern Mass and fell just short, losing 17-6.

3. Hanover was once again impressive in a 54-12 win over Triton. The Indians have quietly gone about their business all season long, and now get a chance to play for a state title against Grafton.

4. Marlboro played great defense against high powered Falmouth but couldn't muster enough offense to get the win. No team has stopped the Clippers potent Flexbone Triple Option offense, but Marlboro certainly slowed them down.

5. Maynard was impressive in their 44-6 win over Turner Falls but will now face a Millis-Hopedale team that is BIG up front. Dana Olson's Mohawks are physical, and they can beat teams in a variety of ways.

6. Make it back-to-back Super Bowl appearances for Mashpee. The most underrated program on the Cape is once again making a statement. Head coach Matt Triveri is one of the best coaches in the state in my opinion.

7. Grafton didn't make it easy, but the Indians were able to get past Taconic to set up a pretty good Super Bowl match up in 3A against Hanover. It will be Ifeatu Melifonwu's last game in green, so you know he'll want to put on a show.

8. Everett vs Xaverian will once again be a great match up in the Division 1 Super Bowl. You give coaches like John DiBiaso and Charlie Stevenson three weeks and there are sure to be some wrinkles.

9. In D1A, King Philip and Reading will play the "Primetime" game at Gillette. This game will be a slobber knocker. Both teams play great defense and they can pound the ball. It'll be like looking in the mirror for both of them.

10. Thanksgiving games don't have the same meaning they used to, but they still mean something to the communities and the kids, so go out and support your local program on Thursday morning.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

What is Suite Sports problem with Shrewsbury? No mention of their dominate win on Saturday against Westfield and now nothing on their State Title game against Duxbury. Maybe still some sour feelings that the other high school team in town isn't playing perhaps.

Joe Parello said...

Haha, certainly no problem with Shrewsbury. We've covered the Colonials multiple times this year, and I've had coach Aloisi on our radio show on WPKZ twice to talk about their big wins over Leominster and St. John's. Shrewsbury just didn't get mentioned in this particular article, and we didn't have a reporter covering any of the games at Westfield State (our staff is growing, but we still have gaps in coverage). It happens, but we'll have plenty of coverage before and after the Colonials' historic trip to Gillette. Thanks for reading!
Joe
http://www.suitesports.com/2016/11/radio-high-school-football-lunch-box_10.html