MIAA Football: Top Performances From Week Seven

Holliston celebrates after clinching a TVL Large title with a win over Ashland.

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Week seven of the MIAA Football season brought plenty of surprises, causing major shifts in Eastern Mass. ahead of Sunday morning's playoff pairings. 

Walpole may have pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend putting up 51 points to knock off Needham and slide into the number two spot in Div. 3 South. 

Saturday morning featured an equally eyebrow raising result as Newton North earned itself a playoff berth with a 27-20 win over Bay State Herget leading Milton. The win dropped the Wildcats to the No. 2 spot in Div. 4 South behind Dighton-Rehoboth.

All season long, Holliston's strength has been its line play and on Friday night, Harvard commit Scott Elliot and crew were dominant. The Panthers play up front paved the way for a rushing attack that totaled 270 yards to lead Holliston to a 48-0 win over Ashland and a TVL Large title. The win, coupled with North Attleboro's big road win over Canton, moved the Panthers into the No. 2 spot in Div. 5 South

"To start our season, we knew our guys up front would be the heart and soul of our team,” said Holliston coach Todd Kiley. “Scottie (Elliot’s) up there. His play, his leadership – I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s the guy you want leading this football team.”

Xaverian shutout BC High, 14-0, to clinch the No. 1 seed in Div. 1 South. The Hawks will enter the postseason having not allowed a point over their final 11 quarters of play. 

Wachusett surprised many, dominating a red-hot Nashoba team to stay in the top four in Div. 3 Central. 

Maynard proved its the top dog in Div. 6 Central and the Mid-Wach C, holding off Littleton, 22-20. 

Old Rochester outlasted Case to claim the South Coast Conference Championship and Marblehead defeated Danvers to grab the top spot in Div. 4 North. 

Mashpee will head into the Div. 7 tournament looking for its fourth consecutive Super Bowl while nursing a 27 game winning streak.

There were a couple of coaching milestones, with Mansfield's Mike Redding reaching 250 wins for his career while Lincoln-Sudbury coach Tom Lopez reached the 300 win plateau. 

Here are our top performers from week seven of the MIAA Football regular season. 

Kyle Connolly, Jr., QB, Falmouth

Connolly finished with 112 total yards and four touchdowns as Falmouth defeated Nauset, 30-16, in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The win clinched the top overall seed in Div. 5 south for Falmouth.

Ethan Phelps, Sr., RB, Whitman-Hanson

Phelps was a force on the ground Friday night for the Panthers. He rushed for 124 yards on 17 carries and scored all three Whitman-Hanson touchdowns as the Panthers took down Plymouth North, 21-0.

Will Jarvis, Jr., QB, Walpole

The Rebels offense was firing on all cylinders on Friday night under the stewardship of Jarvis. Jarvis finished 24-of-33 passing for 296 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a fourth on the ground, as Walpole took down Needham 51-26.

Cory Bright, Sr., QB, Bishop Fenwick

It was a record-breaking night for Bright as he threw for 372 yards and five touchdowns to become the new all-time leader in passing yards in Bishop Fenwick program history in a 56-6 win over Cardinal Spellman.

Andrew Landry, Jr., QB, Newton North

Newton North is headed to the postseason and its largely due to the play of Landry. Landry threw for 272 and three touchdown passes before running for the game winning score in the fourth quarter as Newton North earned a postseason berth with a 27-20 win over Milton. 

Tyler Noe, Sr., WR, Old Rochester

With the scored tied, 33-33, and just 41.7 seconds remaining, Noe returned a kick-off 78 yards for the game-winning touchdown to give Old Rochester a 40-33 win over Case and the South Shore Conference title. Noe had a score earlier in the game on a 34-yard run.

Aidan Tomaszewksi Jr,. FB, Wachusett

Filling in due to injury, Brewer ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns as Wachusett handled Nashoba, 35-0, to remain in playoff position in Div. 3 Central.

Nick Gordon, Sr., QB, Franklin

With Franklin trailing by seven after three quarters of play, Gordon threw a pair of touchdowns over the last 11 minutes - including the game-winning 52-yard pass to Jack Nally -  to lift Franklin to a 31-24 win over Hockomock Kelly-Rex rival Attleboro.  Gordon finished the night with four total touchdowns. 

Ryan Sears, Jr., RB, Tantasqua

Sears stole the show on Tantasuqa's senior night. The junior running back ran for 265 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Warriors to a 35-7 win over Northbridge.

Conner Noyes, Sr., RB, Wahconah

Wahconah's offense was simply unstoppable on Friday night with Noyes at the center of it all. The senior running back rushed for 287 yards on 25 attempts while reaching the end zone five times to lead Wahconah to a 48-25 win over Minnechaug.