Top 10 MIAA Games Of The Decade

Catholic Memorial senior Jarrett Martin's 45-yard Hail Mary reception to lift the Knights past BC High back in 2017 is one of the more memorable MIAA moments of the decade (Photo from Catholic Memorial, and taken by Marcus Miller).

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Throughout the 2010s, there were hundreds of MIAA High School sporting events filled with excitement, energy, and intensity. Thousands of fans were treated to record-setting performances, game-winning goals, and eyebrow raising finishes.

Over the course of the last 10 years I have been fortunate to witness, report on, and enjoy a number of these games. While there are plenty that come to mind when it comes to thinking back on the top showdowns that I had the pleasure of taking in, these 10 classics standout amongst the rest.

With 2020 right around the corner, here are my top 10 MIAA high school sporting events I had the opportunity to witness.

10. MIAA Football: Central Catholic 49, Andover 41 (2015)

If MIAA Stars Entered the NFL Draft: 2019 Edition

Everett's Mike Sainristil has all the tools to be the top pick in our mock draft.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We may have (mostly) shut down operations here at SuiteSports, but dammit, I'm not gonna end this school year without putting out our fun, but mostly pointless blog about where the best players in the MIAA would be selected, were they available in this week's NFL Draft.

If you need to get caught up, you can find our 2017 MIAA/NFL Draft here, and our 2018 edition here.

A reminder of the rules for players being taken in our MIAA/NFL Draft:

1. The player must be a senior. I know college juniors (and redshirt sophomores) can be taken in the real NFL Draft, but that's not how our draft works.

2. The player can be headed to prep school next year. Since we don't include ISL or other Prep School players in our draft, guys who are finishing up their MIAA careers and graduating from an MIAA school get the chance to be drafted.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: St. John's Prep defeats Catholic Memorial for D1 State Title

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - Our final MIAA state football championship game at Gillette Stadium for 2018 was a great one, as Catholic Conference rivals St. John's Prep and Catholic Memorial fought it our for the Division 1 state title.

In the end, it was St. John's Prep coming out on top, 40-22, pulling away late thanks to a flurry of forced turnovers and big offensive plays. Our Matt Siegel was there to grab highlights, which you can watch below.

Stoneham Grinds out D6 Title Win against Old Rochester

Photo by Brendan C. Hall

By Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Foxboro, Mass. - It was a night of celebration for the Stoneham Spartans, who took home their first State Championship in school history, beating the Old Rochester Bulldogs 26-20.

Down two points late in the fourth quarter, Stoneham was driving down the field after a 20-yard rush by Christos Argyropoulos and a 16-yard catch by Thomas Pizzi. On the next play, however, quarterback Argyropoulos mishandled the lateral and the Bulldogs recovered. Just a few seconds later, Old Rochester turned the ball over and Stoneham had another chance to take the lead.

And they did just that. Argyropoulos, who was determined to make up for his earlier fumble, took the ball 42 yards to the house, and the Spartans took a six point lead with three minutes to go.

“Coach always says if something bad happens, just forget about it,” Argyropoulos said about his game-winning play. “I did the best I could do on the next play, he trusted me with the ball, and I ended up getting to the endzone.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Springfield Central Celebrates a State Title

Photos by Brendan C. Hall (@BHallUFA)

Foxboro, Mass. - Our Brendan Hall was at Springfield Central's historic trophy presentation, as the Golden Eagles celebrated becoming the first Western Mass team to capture a state-wide football championship.

Continue below for a few more shots of the Eagles' party.

PHOTO GALLERY: Blackstone Valley Tech vs St. Mary's in the D7 Super Bowl

Photos by Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Foxboro, Mass. - In the second state championship game of the day at Gillette Stadium, Blackstone Valley Tech shut out St. Mary's 18-0 to capture the D7 Super Bowl.

Our Andrew Bowman was down on the field to capture images of both teams, which you can view below. Note that you can click any image to enlarge.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Stoneham tops Old Rochester in D6 Super Bowl Slugfest

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - In a back-and-forth affair for the MIAA Division 6 state football championship, Stoneham landed the decisive blow against Old Rochester, winning 26-20 at Gillette Stadium Saturday.

Our Matt Siegel was down on the field to bring you video highlights of the game's final moments. Check them out below.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Scituate Runs Away from Nipmuc in D5 Super Bowl

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - Scituate left no doubt Saturday at Gillette Stadium, defeating Nipmuc 35-14 in the MIAA Division 5 state championship game.

The Sailors are Super Bowl champs for the first time in school history, and our Matt Siegel was field level at Gillette to bring you the highlights. Check those out below.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Blackstone Valley Tech blanks St. Mary's in D7 Super Bowl

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - Thanks to a dominant defensive performance, and some big offensive plays, Blackstone Valley Tech won the Division 7 state championship against St. Mary's, 18-0.

Our Matt Siegel was down on field level to bring you video highlights, which you can view below.

Blackstone Valley Tech's Revenge Tour ends with a D7 State Title

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Foxboro, Mass. - A year after coming up just short on the hallowed turf of Gillette Stadium, Blackstone Valley Tech broke through.

The Beavers, big underdogs against a dynastic Mashpee team last season, handled their business routinely against St. Mary's (Lynn), smothering the Spartans 18-0 in Saturday's Division 7 state championship game. BVT held a talented St. Mary's offense to just 75 total yards, including only 27 in the first half when the game was still in doubt.

"St. Mary's is a great team, don't get me wrong, but they didn't come out  to execute today," BVT junior J.D. Antaya. "They looked a little nervous, like us last year at Gillette, but we just came out and treated (Saturday) like any other game."

For BVT, the win meant not just a title, but also state-wide respect, something the Beavers felt they were shorted the last time they visited Foxboro. The Beavers also became the first vocational school to ever win a state-wide football championship in Massachusetts.

MIAA FOOTBALL PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY: St. Bernard's tops Pope John in D8 Super Bowl

Photos by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe), Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - In the second-highest scoring MIAA Super Bowl ever, St. Bernard's held off Pope John in a morning thriller at Gillette Stadium, 46-35.

The win gives the Bernardians the Division 8 state championship, and the program's first ever state-wide Super Bowl victory. Our Joe Parello and Matt Siegel were down on field level to bring you photos and videos of all the action. Check them out below, and note that you can click any image to enlarge.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Nashoba and North Andover Capture State Titles at Gillette

North Andover celebrates a thrilling win over two-time defending champion King Philip in the Division 2 state championship game. Photo by Brendan C. Hall.

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Foxboro, Mass. - In a Friday night double-header, Nashoba and North Andover captured MIAA football state championships at Gillette Stadium.

Nashoba's Division 4 title game victory over Dighton-Rehoboth and North Andover's D2 win over King Philip kicked off a full weekend of high school pigskin at the home of the Patriots. We will have full coverage of all six of Saturday's games, but first, check out these highlights from Friday, courtesy of our Matt Siegel.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Springfield Central Pulls Away from St. John's (Shrewsbury) in D3 State Semis

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Westfield, Mass. - In one of the weekend's more anticipated state semifinals, Springfield Central ran away from St. John's (Shrewsbury) 56-20 to clinch a spot in the Division 3 state championship.

That game will be played at Gillette Stadium in two weeks time, but for now, check out highlights of SC's big win below.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: North Andover Runs Away from Lincoln-Sudbury for D2 North Crown

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

North Andover, Mass. - In one of the more shocking results from this MIAA football sectional final weekend, North Andover completely dominated Lincoln-Sudbury, defeating the Warriors 42-0 for the Division 2 North title. The result was never in question, as the Knights dominated every phase against the reigning champions.

North Andover will move on to Gillette Stadium (On either November 30th or December 1st) for the D2 state championship game against two-time defending state champion King Philip. But, for now, you can check out some highlights of their big sectional final win below.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: King Philip holds off Natick

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Natick, Mass. - Two-time defending state champion King Philip lives to fight another day, as the Warriors held off a physical Natick team, 17-7, in the MIAA Division 2 South semifinals.

Our Matt Siegel was there to capture all the action, and you can check out his video highlights below.

MIAA Football: Updated Sectional Semi-Final Schedule and Scoreboard

King Philip coach Brian Lee talks with his team following the Warriors semifinal win over Natick.

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Heading into this upcoming weekend's MIAA High School Football action, here are all the sectional semi-final games on tap throughout Massachusetts.

Check back in throughout Friday night and into Saturday as we update it to reflect the weekend's results.

All dates and times are listed as they appear on the MIAA website.

DIVISION 1

North
No. 4 Central Catholic 23, No. 1 Everett 20
No. 2 St. John's Prep 55, No. 3 Acton-Boxboro 28

South
No. 1 Xaverian 37. No. 4 Franklin 29, (2OT)
No. 3 Catholic Memorial 35, No. 2 Needham 32

VIDEO: Maynard Edges Littleton in CMass Classic

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Maynard, Mass. - In one of the most exciting games of the high school football weekend, Maynard held off Littleton, 22-20, in the premier small school match up of the season in Central Mass.

The game will have major implications come playoff time, but for now, check out video highlights of the game, captured by our Matt Siegel, below.

VIDEO: St. John's edges Crosstown Rival Shrewsbury in Shootout

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - In a shootout that lived up to all the pregame hype, St. John's (Shrewsbury) topped rival Shrewsbury, 42-34, Saturday afternoon on its newly renovated Pioneer Field.

For video highlights of all the game's biggest plays, continue below for some clips from our Matt Siegel.

VIDEO: Xaverian Wears down Brockton

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Brockton, Mass. - It was all even for a half, but eventually Xaverian found a way to pull away from feisty Brockton, 14-0, thanks to some stingy defense, and a powerful ground game.

Our Matt Siegel was there to capture all the biggest plays, which you can view below.

VIDEO: Natick Pulls Away from Braintree

Videos by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Braintree, Mass. - Behind a stingy defensive effort, and a great night in the air and on the ground from quarterback Will Lederman, Natick handed Braintree its first loss of the season and advanced to 2-2, topping the Wamps 21-7.

Our Matt Siegel was there to capture video clips of the game's biggest plays, which you can checkout below.