Division 2 Super Bowl Preview: North Andover, King Philip A Matchup of Contrasting Styles

North Andover's Michael Roche hopes to help lead his team to its first Super Bowl since 1994. 

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Throughout the week, SuiteSports will be previewing all eight Super Bowls scheduled to take place across Friday and Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

We'll take a look at each team's road to the Super Bowl, its key players, and provide a breakdown of what makes each team so successful. Lastly, we'll give our three keys to the game that we think will likely dictate who will ultimately emerge victorious.

We start tonight by looking at the Division 2 Super Bowl between North Andover and King Philip. Check back in tomorrow when we breakdown the Division 4 and 5 Super Bowls.

MIAA Football: Top Performances From The Thanksgiving Games

Sean Tobin stuffed Hingham's late two-point try to give Scituate a 28-26 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Harbormen (Photo Courtesy: Brian Woods)

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

While some may say that the new MIAA playoff format has lessened the meaning of Thanksgiving Day, there is no question that across the Bay State on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday a bevy of teams went out there hungry to secure a victory in their season's final game.

To begin the week, Foxboro defeated Mansfield at Fenway Park, 35-33, in a triple overtime thriller.

One day later back at Fenway, Xaverian secured its fifth Catholic Conference title in six years defeating St. John's Prep, 14-12, in front of a terrific crowd. Framingham followed up by upsetting Natick, 14-6, in the 113th meeting between the two teams to snap a six game losing streak to the Redhawks.

Due to the frigid cold temperatures that encapsulated Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day, a handful of games were moved to Wednesday night. The day saw its fair share of standout performances with James Dillon setting the Lincoln-Sudbury program record for rushing touchdowns, Zach Sanderson surpassed the 2,000 yards rushing mark for Northeast Regional, and Jay Brunelle capped off his season with 1,157 receiving yards to his name.

Of course Thanksgiving Day itself brought plenty of memorable moments. Twin brothers Zach and Luke Maffeo went head-to-head, with Zach getting the better of his brother in a win for Latin Academy over O'Bryant. Falmouth and Barnstable played met for the 137th time with Kyle Connolly stealing the show in a Clippers victory.

In the oldest public school Thanksgiving Day rivalry in the country, Needham survived a late Wellesley surge to come away with a 14-13 victory.

Here are our top performances from Thanksgiving week

MIAA Football: Top Five Sectional Final Matchups

After seeing him put up a combined 345 yards the first time around, Hingham hopes to contain John Roberts this weekend. (Photo Courtesy: Todd Maddock/Duxbury Clipper)

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

It's sectional final weekend across Massachusetts with 52 different teams hoping to be crowned champions by the time Saturday night rolls around.

For those in Divisions 1 and 2 as well Divisions 4 and 6 South a win this weekend would clinch an appearance in their respective super bowls at Gillette Stadium.

Otherwise, this weekend serves as a chance for teams to advance to the state semi-finals where they would be one win away from a state championship berth.

Heading into a weekend that is filled with league rivalries, rematches from past years, and star players, here are our top five sectional final matchups to watch.

MIAA Football: Top Sectional Semi-Final Performances

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612)

Despite being only a sophomore, Nick Mazzie has already etched his name in Central Catholic program lore.

With two-time defending Div. 1 champion Everett and fourth-seeded Central Catholic tied at 20 and less than a minute remaining, Raiders kicker Nick Mazzie drilled the game-winning 33 yard field goal as Central Catholic stunned the Crimson Tide, 23-20, at Everett Memorial Stadium.

The Raiders win not only means a new Div. 1 North representative at the Super Bowl, but it also snaps Everett's 27-game winning streak dating back to October of 2016. Central Catholic will take on St. John's Prep in the Div. 1 North Final on Friday night.