2018 MIAA High School Football All-State Team

Christos Argyropoulos guided Stoneham to its first Super Bowl, cementing his placement on our All-State team. 

By SuiteSports Staff 

On Wednesday, SuiteSports unveiled its full list of award winners beginning with announcing Everett's Mike Sainristil as its 'Show-Time' winner. We then followed by unveiling Scituate quarterback Aidan Sullivan as the 2018 MIAA High School Football Player of the Year.

In the afternoon, SuiteSports announced the rest of its award recipients including offensive, defensive, and breakout player of the year, underclassmen of the year, lineman of the year, and coach of the year.

Now, SuiteSports and its panel of writers, correspondents, and editors are ready to release its 2018 MIAA High School Football All-State Teams. Check back in tomorrow when editor Matt Feld finishes our fall content by providing his final thoughts on the season, and the overall high school sports landscape in Massachusetts. 

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.”

MIAA Football: Top Performances from Week Five

St. John's Shrewsbury fans came out in full-force to witness their Pioneers defeat No. 11 Shrewsbury.

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Anyone who thought that St. John's Shrewsbury was going to go down without a fight in Div. 3 Central was proven to be mistaken on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers highlighted the week five slate with a 42-34 win over cross-town rival Shrewsbury with the dynamic duo of Colin Schofield and Jay Brunelle continuing to click on all cylinders. Colin Deso came through with the defensive play of the day, stuffing a Colonials' two-point attempt with Shrewsbury trailing by one late.

Elsewhere, No. 10 Needham continued its impressive play to begin the season. Taylor Reid rushed for a pair of scores, while Joe Anastasi, Mason Colwell, and Niall Dolan combined for eight sacks.

Holliston improved to 5-0 with a 28-7 win over Hopkinton, and No. 2 Xaverian put up another classic defensive performance with a 14-0 shutout of Brockton behind the play of Mike Masse.

Any thought of Duxbury relinquishing its decade hold on the Patriot League Keenan division was quickly squashed on Friday night. The No. 12 Dragons handled No. 13 Hingham from beginning to end to come away with a 38-20 victory.

Falmouth inched closer to clinching the ACL title outright with a huge win over Dennis-Yarmouth.

And if there was anyone thinking that its win over Lincoln-Sudbury was simply a fluke, No. 14 Acton-Boxboro put that to bed with a 30-14 win over Dracut.

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

Hopkinton Wraps up TVL Title With Win Over Holliston

By Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN)

HOPKINTON – You have to go all the way back to the days before the Barack Obama administration to recall when summiting to Tri-Valley League riches didn’t go through Holliston first. But after nearly a decade of coming up short against the perennial juggernaut, Hopkinton has finally laid that albatross to rest.

The Hillers (7-0) capped a perfect regular season with a 12-8 win over the Panthers (3-3) in a defensive slugfest before a capacity crowd at Dave Hughes Stadium. With its sophisticated blend of speed and athleticism in its 4-3 defensive front, Hopkinton held Holliston to just 134 yards of offense as it claimed the TVL’s Large division outright and notched its first win over the powerhouse program since 2008.

PHOTO GALLERY: Lincoln-Sudbury vs Holliston Football

Photos by Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN)

In one of the bigger Eastern Mass matchups of the weekend, Lincoln-Sudbury showed it was a force to be reckoned with, defeating Holliston 42-14. You can read Brendan Hall's full write up of the game here, but continue below for some more photos by BHall.


Also note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Lincoln-Sudbury Sends Message in Route of Holliston

By Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN)

SUDBURY – Whatever momentum Holliston had seized in the earlygoings of the 2017 season after an impressive victory over small-school power Millis last week, Lincoln-Sudbury made sure to vaporize that Friday night under the lights at Myers field

Last year’s meeting between these two MetroWest region stalwarts resulted in a 30-20 Holliston win that L-S coach Tom Lopez readily admits wasn’t as close as the final score would suggest. But in this year’s edition, Lopez’s Warriors thoroughly flipped the table on Holliston, dominating in all three phases for a thorough 42-14 victory.

“[Last year’s meeting] wasn’t even close. But this is a whole new team,” Lopez said.

Postgame Blog: Big Plays Propel Holliston Past Millis

Holliston quarterback Ryan Benco was fantastic in his first career start for the Panthers.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

MILLIS - The score didn't tell the whole story, but Holliston quelled any talk of the Panthers having a "down year" with a 24-7 win against defending Division 4A state champion Millis on opening night.

The Panthers got a sterling performance from senior quarterback Ryan Benco, who threw for over 150 yards and two touchdowns, to go with 55 yards on the ground, in his first start under center. On multiple occasions, Benco used his feet to evade the Mohawk rush, and either create positive plays on the ground, or buy time to push the ball down the field.

Perhaps no play was bigger than his 88-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Quinn. The throw was a perfect toss against single coverage, deep down the left side, hitting Quinn in stride as he streaked for the Millis goal line. Perhaps even more impressive than the throw itself, was the timing of Benco's strike.

PHOTO GALLERY: Holliston vs Millis Football

Photos by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I'll have a post game blog up later on the Panthers' big win, but for now, enjoy these shots from Holliston's 24-7 victory at Millis on opening night. Note that you can click any photo to enlarge it and launch a slideshow.