It’s hard to believe, but we are already midway through the regular season in high school football.
Four weeks are in the books, the first set of Power Rankings are out, and the eyes of the South Shore are quickly shifting towards the postseason.
Check out WATD’s Week 4 Fantasy Draft
The season to this point has offered some incredible football, and WATD has been fortunate to be on hand for much of it. Through the first four weeks alone, we have already called multiple double-digit comebacks, three final-minute game winning touchdowns, and more than a handful of individual standout performances.
We’ve seen some of what we expected, as well as some things that were not-so-expected. With the calendar turning to October, it seems the perfect time to recap it all.
Week 4 Patriot League Football Standings
Nine things I’ve learned in the first half
1. There is as much top-end quarterback talent on the South Shore today as there has ever been. Matt Festa (Duxbury) is keen to grab most of the headlines, but I have Owen McHugh (Milton) and Will Baker (Cohasset) right in that top tier with him. On the outskirts of our coverage area, Henry Hasselbeck (Xaverian) has rejuvenated the Hawks’ offense. In that next tier, names like Jacob Briggs (Middleboro), Jake Falco (Pembroke), Ben Scalzi (Hanover), and Tyler Lennox (Carver) litter the box scores weekly.
2. Zeroing in on the Patriot League Fisher Division, I feel like Steve Addazzio (as much as it pains me to say) as I look over the running back ranks—all I see is a bunch of DUDES.
Casious Johnson (Plymouth South) is entering the legend sphere, surpassing 2,500 yards rushing in his 14th career game last week vs Foxboro; even while having his touches limited this fall.
Nick Freel (Hanover) and Gabe Rodrigues (Quincy) are nearly unstoppable as well. Big, physical, two-way players that strike as much fear running with the ball as they do running towards it.
Jack Tosone is lighting in a bottle for Pembroke, and you’d be remiss to overlook Cydney Green (North Quincy) and Colin Morely (Scituate).
3. It is a new era at Pembroke under Steve Aborn.
It’s true, nobody in Titan Town will be patting their backs over a 2-2 start, especially when 4-0 was well within their reach. Somehow, though, it just feels so different.
Pembroke was 10-45 over the five seasons prior to Aborn’s arrival, and last posted a winning season in 2012, and had only four winning seasons in the prior 15.
While they’re still a ways from where they want to be, it’s hard not to be impressed with the turnaround we’ve seen spurred by the longtime star-assistant in his first foray as the head honcho.
4. Speaking of feeling different, for the second year in a row, Kevin Carey’s Quincy Presidents have started 3-0.
Last year, the good feelings were short-lived, as the Presidents were back to .500 by Week 7.
The schedule they’ll face coming out of their bye this year is no less daunting, but they appear more ready to tackle the challenge. Talent on the outside/defensive backfield with Jacey Hamm, Stephen Gallent, and Ruben Charles, a steady hand at quarterback in Andrew Novak, Luke Murphy, Alex Rheault, and Devin Nellany anchoring both sides of the line, and the aforementioned Rodrigues tying it all together makes Quincy a far more fear-inducing side this season.
5. Mansfield will run roughshod over the Davenport Division of the Hockomock League.
We got our first look at Mansfield on Thursday night, and their offensive firepower was only surpassed by their defensive tenacity.
The Hornets slid over from the Kelley-Rex this year due to enrollment changes, and there are four other area schools who are bemoaning the change. It’s Mansfield’s division to lose this year, and lose it they will not.
6. Defense will be the equalizer in the Patriot League Keenan Division this year.
Zack Botehlo has his Panthers looking fearsome defensively in his second year at Whitman-Hanson. With guys like Evan Casey and Nick Beauregard at linebacker, and Maddox Coclough anchoring a stout defensive front, the Panthers will be in most every game they play this season to the finish.
Hingham, who got the better of the Panthers last week, has built a perfect 4-0 record on the strength of its defense. Ronan O’Ciardubhain and John Heffernan center the unit with intensity and hair-on-fire abandon. If Will St. Pierre gets healthy, and the offense continues to grow in the next couple weeks, the Harbormen may be ready to give Duxbury it’s toughest challenge since Mark Nutley has been at the helm.
7. Allow me to confer some more praise upon the Harbormen. In a season where crowds and student enthusiasm has been high, the Red Army stands above the rest as the rowdiest student section going through the first half of the season.
8. If this is truly Peter Colombo’s last year at the helm for Brockton, he has a real chance to go out with a bang.
After a huge overtime win over Lincoln-Sudbury, the Boxers rolled through Natick with ease. There doesn’t appear to be strong likelihood of another loss on Brockton’s schedule this season in state, with only a matchup on Oct. 14 with New Hampshire power Pinkerton Academy as the last real test.
A 6-2 or 7-1 mark heading into the postseason would be quite the way to breathe further excitement into what could be Colombo’s final foray into the playoffs.
9. Finally, if you want to talk about being poised for something special, take a look at who remains unblemished across the South Shore.
There are seven teams left who have traversed their first four weeks without suffering a loss. We will be guaranteed to lose one this weekend with Mashpee (3-0) and Hull (4-0) meeting head to head. The rest, Quincy, Duxbury (both 3-0), Hingham, Plymouth South, and Milton (all 4-0) have less certain ends to their streaks.
Last year by this time, only four undefeated teams remained. By the end of Week 5, all but one (Rockland) had been downed.
How do you top the four-title season of 2021? Repeat, but mix in a perfect season or two.
Week 4 South Shore League Football Standings
Five questions I have for the second half
- Can Hanover and Plymouth South overcome key injuries? We saw David Quinlan (Hanover) and Casious Johnson (Plymouth South) both go down during our South Shore Game of the Week last Friday. While the former had a more certain severity, both teams could be without key stars for some time.
- How concerned should we be for Randolph? Coming off their first ever Super Bowl win, the Blue Devils are 1-3 and struggling to start the season. While a game with David Prouty (Oct. 14) should be a welcomed lay-up, a road test against Carver this week and meetings with Cohasset and Mashpee to close the season will be no walk in the park. Fortunately, Randolph has the strongest strength of schedule in Division 8 BY FAR, and is, for the moment, still firmly in a playoff position at number 6 in the Power Rankings. If they are forced to, can they play road warrior again?
- Will Duxbury’s ground game be its Achilles heel? Much like Boston talk radio critiquing the Patriots circa 2015-2018, this may seem like grasping at straws. I fully acknowledge that the Dragons floor appears to be the Final Four of Division 4. An absent ground-attack kept them from a title in 2021, however, so allow me to wonder aloud—if Duxbury meets a team equipped to handle their passing attack and challenge them up front, could their trophy case be left wanting again this year?
- Not who, but how many teams are going undefeated this year? It’s a long road home, but there are too many teams in position to allow me to believe we won’t see one perfect year this season.
- Will Michael Moriarty (Rockland) ever procure me a “Dogs Football” hat? We make every effort to cover the South Shore and Metro South equally, and I have no allegiances…except to high fashion. Since Moriarty and co. first visited the studio last season after their win over Abington, and I saw him wearing that hat, I knew I needed to add it to my wardrobe. Drop a line to an honorary dog Mike, I’ve got a blank check with “Dogs Bucket” in the memo line.
Nine players who starred in the first half
This is not a player ranking list, nor a list with any real parameters surrounding it. It’s just the first nine guys that jump to mind after the first half of the season
- Matt Festa, QB, Duxbury
- Will Baker, QB, Cohasset
- Casious Johnson, RB, Plymouth South
- Nick Freel, RB/LB, Hanover
- Jacob Coulstring, RB/DB, Rockland
- Cam Monteiro, WR, Brockton
- John Gianibas, RB/LB, Hull
- Owen McHugh, QB, Milton
- Liam Appleton, RB/LB, Cohasset