ESPN

BB&N football seniors Nick DiChiara and Eric Olson pass along a video compilation of the former pulling off various "trick shots" from the long-snapper position.

Watch as the Colgate-bound senior pulls off several feats, including one from stands at Harvard Stadium, with the help of a few friends -- namely, Olson (who himself is bound for Northwestern as an offensive tackle) and baseball outfielder Rhett Wiseman (a projected top-five round draft pick for next month).

Is this the real thing? Olson claims the video is "100 percent real". Either way, there's some nice camera work involved here.

Here is the video:

We caught up tonight with new BC High head football coach Joe Gaff, who was officially elevated from Defensive Coordinator and named successor to Jon Bartlett this afternoon. Over our half-hour conversation, Gaff discussed his new responsibilities, as well as the gameplan going forward and the talent coming up through the program's ranks.

Gaff, a member of the Everett Police Department by day, has served the last four years as Bartlett's defensive coordinator. The two teamed up for Division 1 Super Bowl titles in 2008 and 2011. Prior to that, he had a two-year stint as the head coach at Catholic Conference rival Malden Catholic.

His reaction to being named the new head coach: "I am just humbled. There are so many great people over there, so many great guys already there on the staff that have really pulled a lot of hard work. And to take over one of the elite programs in the state not just on the field, but off the field -- these are such quality kids outside of football -- it's a remarkable feeling."

On the element of continuity with this hire: "It's huge, and I think that's what they saw throughout this whole process. Jon has done such a wonderful job putting together such a great staff together, and we've had hardly any turnover in my four years here. I want to keep that going. It's not just about wins and losses, it's about getting kids into the right schools and playing the right way, that's really what BC High is all about. The whole message we try to preach over there is it's more than just wins and losses at BC High. It's about life."

What working under Bartlett has meant to him, and how those roles will change going forward: "I just think that it's just a friendship that we've bonded these last four short years. We're best friends, and we talk all of the time. Even in the offseason, we spend time together in the offseason. The friendship we've developed is amazing. It's a nice thing that he'll still be in the corner office. It's nice to know I have a friend there, and that the door's always going to be open."

Lessons learned from his last head coaching stint in the Catholic Conference, at Malden Catholic: "I think it's just that kids, no matter where you are, are great kids, and while some situations are different, all kids everywhere I've been at just want you to give them the best chance to win. I think that's going to be the philosophy at BC High. I'll still be coaching varsity swimming at Malden Catholic. I've got great swimmers -- we're not the best program in the world, but we started off with 15 kids and now we've got 43. And it's worked out, I'm going to be able stay in that position over there as well, so I'm ecstatic about that. It's hard going between two schools, but we're all in this business to teach kids right and wrong, and try to give them the right direction in life. I don't care what sport, what school, that will always be my mission."

His coaching style, and the philosophy going forward: "When Jon and I talked four years ago, that's what the whole idea was, our coaching styles were the same, and that's why it's worked so well. His idea of a pro-style offense with multiple formations is what I like. You have to adapt to different players, and we have to go with what best suits us every year, and for that I like the system Jon has put in. You don't want to be one-dimensional. Some years you'll have a great stable of running backs, other years its the wide receivers and quarterback, and I think it helps us to be a multiple-formation team.

"Defensively, we're going to stay very physical and very aggressive. The other thing is you really have to make sure the kids are very disciplined on the field, and these kids do such a good job with being disciplined off the field. They know why they're there -- academics, spiritual life and sports. We did mostly a four-man front, and I think we're going to stay with that. With the manpower we have, we're going to play with some things in the secondary and with the linebackers. We've got a great linebacker in Luke Catarius coming back, he is a heck of a player. We'll be mostly a four-man front though, but with the way teams can be pass-happy now, we'll have a little bit of three-man front. But we'll stay mostly in a four-man front, and adapt to what we need to."

On the coordinators situation: "I'll stay at defensive coordinator. Offense, I'm just getting the job today, we've got some quality guys on the staff, but it's something that I really haven't had a chance to talk about yet. We just have some great guys and friendships on the staff, and that's leads over to the kids' comfort zone. Offensive coordinator is going to be a big thing. Jon was head coach and offensive coordinator, and they averaged quite a few points in his career. It's going to be tough to match that."

On replacing the Class of 2012 talent, and the talent coming up: "We've got a good core of players coming back between Lincoln Collins, [Jack McDonald], Lucas [Catarius], Billy Breen. [Brendan] Craven hopefully will fill in for Bartley Regan at quarterback. It's going to be tough to replace Preston Cooper and Deontae [Ramey-Doe] at running back. Deontae did a tremendous job for Preston after he went down. We're going to have to find a tailback, but I think we've got a few guys that can fill the spot nicely.

"McDonald, he's got a bunch of offers. We haven't gotten into that yet though, we're meeting next week to set up a lot of that stuff. We've got Mark McGuire [senior tight end/defensive end] coming back, he's going to be great. Tim Johnson [senior defensive back], he had a great interception in the Super Bowl [last December], he's back. We do have some good kids coming up. Brandon Owens is another one coming back, we'll use him at outside linebacker some with his speed, and he'll play a little tailback for us too."

The most important thing to take care of between now and August: "Getting everyone comfortable with everything, try to get everyone on the same page. The offensive and defensive terminology might change a little, but as long as we continue to put in hard work in the weight room we'll be OK."

How he will handle college recruiting inquiries: "That's something me and Jon haven't yet worked out. Unfortunately I'm out of the building because I'm a police officer, but it's something we're working on. Jon will help me out with that. They already have a system over there, but we'll try to continue that. We've sent a player to Harvard four years in a row -- that's not too bad. Jon will be a big part, guidance will be a big part, and I think we'll all work together to get these kids into college."

Boston College High has gone in-house in naming a new head coach for its football program, elevating defensive coordinator/associate head coach Joe Gaff this afternoon, Athletic Director Jon Bartlett has confirmed.

Gaff joined the Eagles' coaching staff in 2008 after a two-year stint as the head coach at Malden Catholic. He previously found success over nine years as head coach at Chelsea and Matignon. He also has served as an assistant coach at Tufts for 3 years. He previously played for Xavier University and for juniors football in Nova Scotia.

He will be taking over for Bartlett, who stepped down late last month after going 33-12 in four seasons, with two Division 1 Super Bowl titles.

“We are thrilled to have Joe lead our program”, Bartlett said in a press release. “Joe has been with us for the past 4 years as Defensive Coordinator, so he understands the vision of our program and the core values of our school.”

Gaff, a 26 year veteran of the Everett Police Department, lives in Everett with his wife, Nancy. He has two sons.

“I’m extremely humbled and very excited to be taking on this position,” Gaff said in the release. “BC High is a warm and welcoming community that has provided me with great opportunity for personal growth. Jon Bartlett is certainly a tough act to follow, but squad coming up is a very fine group of young men.”

Has Mark Ecke's tenure as Cheshire High School's varsity football coach come to an end?

Right now that's a question Ecke can't answer.

Ecke was suspended following an incident during a junior varsity lacrosse game between Cheshire and Glastonbury on May 3. According to published reports, Ecke berated officials after his son Tucker, a freshman who plays for Cheshire, was hit by a Glastonbury player. Ecke apparently felt the hit was illegal and was upset that no penalty was called.

“Whatever happen with my future as a coach at Cheshire High, it doesn't matter,” Ecke told the Connecticut Post. “For me, my family is first priority. This was about my son and I'm very protective of him. That's what this was about.”

Ecke was reportedly escorted from the field by three police officers. According to the incident report, police were summoned to deal with “unruly behavior.”

Ecke, who is employed as a Cheshire police officer, is awaiting a personnel hearing with the Cheshire Board of Education. He was reportedly asked to resign, but refused.

“It was among one of the worst hits I've ever seen in lacrosse,” Ecke told the Post. “I've been involved in lacrosse for 15 years. I've been a player. I've been a coach. I've taken officiating courses. The official didn't call a blatant illegal hit.

“That's what got me. That's what brought this all about. And as a father, watching this happen, I got upset. I probably yelled more than I should have and I regret that it went down the way it did.”

Ecke has guided Cheshire to four state titles in his 17 years as the program's head coach. He coached under current Temple coach Steve Addazio on the Cheshire staff, and was promoted to head coach after the 1994 season.

Cheshire had a 49-game winning streak, which ended in 1996.

Ecke's overall record is 118-64-3.

SOFTBALL STREAK ENDS
When the St. Joseph softball team defeated Westhill 10-6 on May 7 it ended the Vikings' 54-game winning streak in FCIAC games.

Westhill grabbed a two-run lead by scoring three runs in the sixth, but the Cadets responded with a six-run seventh. Taryn Figmic collected the game's big hit, a three-run double with two outs in the seventh and the score tied, 6-6. Figmic had two hits and five RBIs in the victory.

It was Westhill's first regular-season FCIAC loss since a 3-2 setback against Darien in 2009. The program's only other conference loss since then came against Fairfield Ludlowe in the opening round of last year's playoffs.

RALLY KILLER
The Simsbury baseball team was in position to hand Northwest Catholic-West Hartford its first loss of the season. Trailing 7-5, Simsbury loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Northwest Catholic-West Hartford erased the threat by turning a game-ending triple play.

Second baseman Ryan Coursey fielded a soft liner for the first out. The runners were moving on the pitch, so Coursey stepped on second for the second out and then threw to to first for the game's final out.

KINGS OF THE HILL
The first victory of Noah Hahn's varsity pitching career was a memorable one. Hahn, a sophomore, pitched a no-hitter to lead the Avon baseball team to a 12-0 victory over Windsor on April 30.

Hahn, who plays shortstop when he's not pitching, struck out 12 and walked three.

Three other no-hitters have been thrown since that contest. Bristol Central's Matt Blandino didn't allow a hit during a 7-0 triumph over Maloney on May 7, Hamden Hall's T.J. Linta tossed a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over Greens Farms Academy on May 8 and John Amoroso tossed a no-hitter to help St. Joseph defeat McMahon on May 12.

Blandino struck out 16 and walked one. Linta, a sophomore, struck out six. Amoroso struck out seven and walked two, but wasn't in position to collect the win until Mark Hirschbeck singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh.

LAX POWERS
Henry West and Peter Lindley each scored four goals and Case Matheis collected five assists as the Darien boys lacrosse team defeated Ridgefield 14-11 on May 8 in a matchup between teams that entered the contest undefeated in the FCIAC.

Roger Brown is a freelance writer who has been reporting on high school sports in New England since 1992.

The following coaches will be honored at the Second Annual Coach of the Year/Student Athlete Banquet on May 30, 2012. Each coach below has been named Coach of the Year by the MIAA for their respective sport:

Robert Mahoney, Notre Dame (Tyngsborough) -- Girls Volleyball
Amelia Davis, Algonquin -- Gymnastics
Kevin Burchill, Braintree -- Girls Ice Hockey
Jack Stoddard, Duxbury -- Boys Golf
Alex Naumann, Everett -- Boys Ice Hockey
Michael Foley, Framingham -- Swim
Fred Jewett, Hingham -- Indoor Track
Jim Leonard, King Philip -- Softball
Phil Maia, Lowell -- Cross Country
David Duffy, Needham -- Football
Frank Carey, North Reading -- Baseball
Rick Kates, Notre Dame (Hingham) -- Outdoor Track
David Gianferante, Notre Dame (Hingham) -- Girls Golf
Kim Penney, Reading -- Girls Basketball
David Curley, Rockport -- Boys Soccer
Ed Scollan, Westford -- Boys Basketball
Leslie Frank, Westwood -- Girls Lacrosse

Dave Teggart is sitting in a hotel in the Chicago area right now with one pair of clothes, and no plans to return home to Northborough.

But it's a good luxury.

Teggart was one of seven free agents to ink a three-year contract with the Bears following the final session of rookie minicamp today, and recalls being taken aback when initially pulled aside by Bears head coach Lovie Smith.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"To be honest with you, I was caught off-guard when he called my name in the hallway and said 'Hi' to me -- like, wow," Teggart said tonight by phone. "You see these guys on TV all the time, and it’s a real honor to be coached by him and now to have the opportunity to be coached by him. I think I'm in a good place right now, and I'm going to learn as much as I can going forward, earn my spot and keep kicking."

The former Algonquin Regional and UConn standout kicked in six training sessions during the three-day camp in Lake Forest, Ill., and may have impressed the most with the field goal units. Teggart said he hit from as far as 60 yards out, and was pretty consistently accurate overall, but the wind was a formidable challenge.

"It's pretty windy up here, they don't call it the Windy City for nothing," he said. "It's a challenging wind. Some days it's with you, some days it's against you, other days it's side to side. It's definitely a good training experience."

Teggart was initally offered a tryout on April 30. He shares the same agent, Paul Sheehy, as Bears special teams coach Dave Toub, and recalled first meeting him during the NFL Draft combine, recalling a "great guy who definitely knows his stuff", and someone who was "very helpful".

For now, though, Teggart remains waiting, but ready, for the next step in his NFL journey. He will be at the Bears' Organized Team Activities in a few weeks.

"Life of a kicker -- you could be here one day, gone the next," he chuckled. "I've got to keep that in mind. It's more motivation."

The Chicago Bears announced today they have signed seven players from rookie minicamp this weekend to three-year contracts, including Northborough native Dave Teggart.

Teggart is a 2007 graduate of Northborough's Algonquin Regional High, and statistically one of the best kickers to ever come out of the University of Connecticut. He was offered a tryout with the Bears on April 30, and shares the same agent, Paul Sheehy, as Bears special teams coach Dave Toub.

In the 2011 preseason, Teggart was named to the watch list for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top placekicker, but did not make the cut of semi-finalists. He left UConn as the program's all-time leader in points, extra points and field goals made, as well as the single-season record holder for field goals made and consecutive extra points made. He told ESPNBoston.com he had hit field goals from as far as 64 yards out this spring in preparing for the NFL Draft.

Millis/Hopedale head coach Dale Olmstead told ESPNBoston.com this afternoon that Boston College has extended a scholarship offer to sophomore two-way lineman Jon Baker, making that his third offer in the last month.

UMass was the first to offer the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder last month. UConn was the second to offer Baker, this past Tuesday.

At the Massachusetts State High School Football Coaches Association's annual combine last weekend at Gillette Stadium, Baker told ESPNBoston.com that he plans on participating in camps this summer at Virginia, Boston College, Wake Forest and possibly Michigan.

DANVERS, Mass. -- Notre Dame football coach and St. John’s Prep graduate Brian Kelly was the guest speaker at a St. John’s Prep Alumni Foundation event, tonight at the Danversport Yacht Club. Kelly is deeply rooted in the Bay State, growing up in Chelsea, attending St. John's Prep, and graduating from Worcester's Assumption College in 1983.

Kelly discussed a wide range of topics with reporters before the event.

On how the SJP campus has changed since he was a student there: “It looks like a totally different campus from when I went there. It was just in transition from a boarding school my first year there. You didn’t have the arts building, the football facilities, you didn’t have all the other sports facilities that are there today. But people say that when they ask me about Notre Dame as well. I just think it’s the development of great high schools and college campuses have changed dramatically over the past 15 to 20 years.”

On his playing career at St. John’s Prep: “I think for me, I was undersized, but I loved to play. I think it’s always been with me, every team that I’ve coached, that I want to recruit guys that love to play the game, and I love to play the game. Coach (Fred Glatz, his coach at the Prep) gave guys like myself an opportunity to be a part of the program. Even if we weren’t frontline guys, he was always going to have guys that really loved to play the game. I’ve always tried to mirror that in the teams that I’ve put together. Certainly you need great players as well, but I think you can round off a good team with guys that love to play.”

On what he took with him from playing for Coach Glatz: “Discipline. Attention to detail, which I carry with me today. I’ve credited him, many times, for that. I take all that with me. I carried it with me throughout my entire career that I’m going to reward those guys that put in the time. I’ve taken a lot of great things with me, and that’s why I’m back here.”

On what type of kid he gets when he recruits a player from Massachusetts: “First of all, the game in the state has changed dramatically since when I played. There were very few that came out of the state of Massachusetts and played bigtime college football. That’s changed. I think that’s probably changed across the country. You’re in a large metropolitan area, so when I look at Massachusetts, you don’t poo-poo it and go, ‘Oh they don’t have players.’ There’s going to be BCS players in the state of Massachusetts, so it’s part of our recruiting grid now. It wasn’t when I was at Central Michigan, but we certainly didn’t recruit nationally like Notre Dame. We never felt like Massachusetts was on the grid, and I think that’s just a testament to the development of players here and the game of football.”

On more public school players now being recruited to play Division 1 football: “Well when I was growing up, it was Brockton High School. Brockton was the program, and now Everett High School has taken over that moniker. So there’s still the public school influence in Massachusetts, and obviously you have the private schools that have always been there and have always churned out good players. I think, more than anything else, is that you have some public schools now that play at a high level, coupled with the private schools that have done well for a number of years.”

On what convinces him that a public school player can make the jump to play at a high Division 1 level, like at Notre Dame: “There are so many opportunities for kids now to be measured nationally with exposure camps, that it makes it very easy to see how they stack up nationally with other kids. They all go to these high-exposure camps now so you get an opportunity to see how they measure, so if their competition isn’t quite up to maybe some of the other levels, you can still come up with good information as to how they’re going to make that transition.”

On the pressure of coaching at Notre Dame: “I needed all of my 17 years of experience to sit in that seat. I learn every day. I’ve learned a lot in my first two years. I think, for me, I just focus on why I’m there, and that’s to coach the kids.”

Whether he fears the future of the game, with concussions and preventing brain injuries being an important issue in the sports world today: ”I don’t. I believe the game, if conducted in the right fashion, is a game that can be played safely. Now, there are going to be the incidents that we’ve seen, but I am very confident, and I’ve been involved in the game now for about 25 years, that you can teach this game safely and you can play it safely.”

On dealing with outside forces (like booster involvement and players using social media) while coaching at a high-profile college like Notre Dame: “My job is to eliminate confusion on a day-to-day basis, and that’s not easy. You’ve got Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all the things that are out there, I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. It’s made being a head football coach today so much more difficult. If there’s one thing that has changed dramatically in the last five years, it’s not recruiting, it’s social media and what we have to do to educate our players. Listen, it’s not going away. So for me to say we’re going to take it away, and we’re not going to let them use social media, it’s not going away. So you better be figuring out how to educate your players, and that’s what we do on a day-to-day basis. "

His early impressions of Charley Molnar, his former offensive coordinator, in his first year as the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts: “I’m really excited for Charley. He’s high-energy. He knows the game. He knows what the landscape of college football looks like as UMass makes that big move up to the BCS and that’s a huge move. But he understands that, because he came from I-AA and he came from a lower Division 1-A background, so he knows what it looks like, and he knows what’s in front of him. They could not have gotten a better guy for the job. Now, they’re not going to go out and win 10 games next year, but they’ve got the right guy to take UMass to that next step and I think he’s going to do a great job.”

On whether there are any SJP players he might be having his eye on: “Let’s put it this way, when you have a name like St. John’s Prep, and you have a connection with Notre Dame... I’ll let you guys fill in the blanks. You’re always going to have an eye towards how they’re doing. Absolutely.”

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The possibility of a statewide football championship in Massachusetts took another leap forward this morning.

In what was the second consecutive day of meetings for the MIAA Football Committee and the MIAA Tournament Management Committee on a proposed statewide tournament, voters once again favored the proposition with a 10-4 vote at the MIIA headquarters in Franklin. Combined with a 15-2 sanction by the football committee yesterday, the plan -- which cuts 19 regional winners down to six divisional state champs -- will move to the the board of directors for review in June.

“Every kid or coach who puts the work in wants the chance to get in and you have that opportunity by having a successful pre-qualification period,” said Swampscott football coach Steve Dembowski. “Obviously today's approval plus the endorsing of the finance committee are a big plus. (The board of directors) can decide that they don't like it or they can decide they do like it and want to implement it.”

Concerns were aired about the proposal during the meeting, but no official changes were made . Tantasqua principal Michael Lucas, Dracut athletic director Tim Woods, Malden principal Dana Brown, and Belmont athletic director James Davis all voted against the plan.

Opposition noted problems with the value of the Thanksgiving rivalry, the system assigning divisions and schedules, revenue sharing, the shortening of in-conference games, and the philosophical change of playing regular season matchups during the postseason.

“[Leagues] do not like that they will not know their last three opponents of the year and are sketchy about traveling to East Oshkosh to play teams they have never played before,” said Woods. “Had the football committee spent more time with individual athletic directors they may have overcome some of those fears. If you are going to have a league championship you are going to do it without playing all the teams in your league.”

The intended method would maintain Thanksgiving rivalries, while allowing leagues to schedule their first seven games. A scheduling committee would fill the remaining games for non-qualifying teams based of competitiveness.

Each squad nets revenue from five-and-a-half games, an equal average to the current 11 game regular season. Playoffs run from weeks eight to 13, excluding 11 and 12, with the top two teams in each division facing off at Gillette Stadium in the final week.

The same number of teams will play in the arena as did the previous season.

“If a team knows they are going to be playing in Gillette Stadium the week after, then why are they going to risk their varsity players on the field,” Woods said. “It becomes scrimmage.”

“We have been in the [playoffs] ten times and, even when we played the Super Bowl, it was not the same as the Thanksgiving game against Leominster.” argued Ray Cosenza, Fitchburg athletic director and former football coach.

Similar to other state tournaments, regions will be split into North, South, Central and West, with the later two not competing in Divisions 1 or 3. Leagues larger than five teams will be granted an additional playoff spot, along with available wild cards for all schools based off a regional power ranking system.

“By dissolving Division Three you are going to have schools half the size of other schools playing each other in the playoffs,” Brown said. “They split the third division by moving teams up or down a division and bumped down schools in the first division. Now, you have Division Three teams playing top division schools.”

The four-year plan, which would initiate next season, can be reviewed in two years with the availability of change.

“Two things we are going to keep an eye on are the scheduling committee to make sure they are serving their division and the power rating,” said retiring MIAA deputy director Bill Gaine. “We have already had it tested in the west for a dozen years, but not in the east. We think it is going to work, but we have to make sure it does.”

ESPNBoston.com has obtained the football state championship proposal being presented tomorrow morning to the MIAA Tournament Management Committee. Follow the links to find the full documents.

For the updated 29-page proposal which was approved earlier today by the Football Committee, you can CLICK HERE.

For the estimated financial projections, CLICK HERE.

And for the proposed Eastern Mass. alignment, CLICK HERE.

A source has confirmed to ESPNBoston.com that the MIAA Football Committee voted 15-2 this morning in favor of the amendments made to the football playoff proposal that will be presented to the MIAA's Tournament Management Committee tomorrow morning.

Amendments to the plan include guaranteeing a home game in the post-qualification season for teams that don't make playoffs, and clarifying the process of whittling down divisions over-subscribed with automatic qualifiers. In such a scenario, power rankings would be compared amongst second-tier qualifiers, with teams being eliminated until the number is down to eight.

The Tournament Management Committee will vote tomorrow on the proposal, at MIAA headquarters in Franklin. A vote in favor would be a significant step toward making a true state championship a reality for the fall of 2013.

Over the next two days, both the MIAA Football Committee and MIAA Tournament Management Committee will discuss the latest football proposal for a statewide state championship system, in place of the current Super Bowl system, for the fall of 2013. A vote in favor of this proposal would be another big step towards a reality.

Last February, the MIAA Football Committee voted unanimously in favor of the latest proposal for a six-division, statewide state championship from the Massachusetts High School Football. Last month, the MIAA's Finance Committee gave its support to the proposal -- an important endorsement, considering that wasn't attached to the last playoff proposal laid forth in 2010.

Playoffs would start in Week 8 under this latest proposal, with all six state championships being held at Gillette Stadium the week after Thanksgiving. All Thanksgiving Day rivalries would be kept intact, and a scheduling committee would fill out the remaining weeks for teams that do not qualify for playoffs.

Like the state tournament in many other spots, the state is split up into North, South, Central and West regions, with the former two competing in all six divisions while the latter two just four. Each region will have eight playoff spots, with the exception of the West region (which will have just four). Each league and school is left to determine its own schedule, with leagues containing more than five teams getting two automatic bids, and seeding being left up to power rankings.

Would this work? Is this a viable, reasonable plan? We asked our usual panel of correspondents, along with some special guests: Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski, Norwood head coach John Sarianides, and Franklin Athletic Director and head coach Brad Sidwell.

What do you think of this plan? Let us know in the comments section.

Brad Sidwell
Athletic Director and Head Coach, Franklin High School
First of all, I was in favor of the Burkhead Plan back when it was voted down in 2010, and I think this answers a lot of those concerns raised and create a playoff system similar to what was proposed then, while keeping the leagues involved and Thanksgiving involved. I’m pretty much willing to change, which I think some don’t want to do, to establish a playoff setting in football. I don’t like this more, but to be honest with you I certainly like it more than current one we have.

There are a couple ways to deal with the Thanksgiving problem, where games traditionally have league implications. Leagues could come up with a point system and not have it counted in representation and as a way of determining playoff representatives. You’d probably have to play your Thanksgiving Day opponent earlier in season, or come up with an earlier option based on the seven league games,

We have not had a serious discussion within our league on how the vote will be, but personally I am willing to play our Thanksgiving opponent twice to create a playoff system for sure, certainly at least on a trial basis for sure.

I’m not concerned with gate, if you look at the Financial Committee report, from an MIAA perspective they, do think it is a viable option, depending on what teams already do. A lot of teams split Thanksgiving gate. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal, but there needs to be a little bit of clarification. Leagues may do it different ways, there might need to be standardization of where it is. I don’t think that’s really that big of a deal. It certainly can seem like something where you feel like you’re losing home gate, but I think if you look at it thoroughly it’s not that big of a deal.

Even though things might not be advantageous to a specific school, I’d urge everyone to take a good look at this proposal. It answers questions raised with the last proposal. I think we can all benefit from a true playoff-type system. It may be a little difficult at first, but like anything once it gets settled, I think people will enjoy it.

John Sarianides
Head Coach, Norwood High School
I think we need a new playoff system. I do, however, have mixed feelings on the current proposal.

I'm not crazy about shortening the season. It creates a nightmare scenario for schools especially for those that don't make the playoffs. I know the MHSFCA has been selling it as a chance to build momentum into the following season for those schools because they would be playing comparable schools with similar records, but I think it'll be tough to keep kids focused if they're out of it.

The positive with the proposal is that it gives a school like ours an opportunity to play in the playoffs. Under this system, we would have gotten in last season. I think it's as good as it's going to get for now but I still think we need enrollment based divisions. I know people want to keep leagues together, but I just don't see how we can in the long term? Schools with enrollments of 2,000 or more shouldn't be playing schools with half their enrollment!

I say let's try it for two years and re-visit it in 2015.

Steve Dembowski
Head Coach, Swampscott High School
I am in favor of the proposal. Here are my reasons:

" Every team that deserves a chance at the playoffs will get one with 160 teams across the state qualifying. This is the “Dumb and Dumber” part –- “so you’re telling me I got a chance”.

" Leagues in the east become less important but not eliminated. The need to change leagues because of enrollment changes, competitiveness, or chance to rebuild as an independent become eliminated. But league championships are still a great goal.

" Better games – with five weeks of playoffs, the cream will raise to the top. Just as important, rebuilding teams will not have to play an unwinnable game in November. Those that argue kids will quit once the eliminated from the playoffs, fail to recognize that competitive games along with Thanksgiving will keep any true player to the end.

" Thanksgiving becomes more important, because for all but 12 teams this is the last game of the season. Attendance for T-Day won’t change; the better the two teams are, the better the attendance period.

" Individual placement – each team in the east will know have the option to appeal placement in its division. For Example, Everett can play D1 and Medford can play down in D3 while both can stay in the GBL.

" Scheduling – with weeks 8-10 being completed for you once you add in league games, only most teams will have three or less open dates to fill.

" Sectional Championships – Great way to award teams for being the best in their area, local games with local teams and fans. I predict attendance will be high at these games and schools will benefit.

" Revenue sharing (weeks 8-10) will help schools stay consistent with regard to revenue and reward schools that build/support their programs with larger gate revenue and other on site revenue; concessions, 50/50, etc.

" Only 12 teams miss the start of the winter season, and all the athletes will have more recovery time between games.

Scott Barboza
ESPN Boston High Schools Editor
Tradition has been the one thing preventing Massachusetts high school football from progressing.

Recent attempts a wide-scale realignment in MIAA football were dead on arrival, largely because they threatened to break up the state's historic Thanksgiving Day rivalries and other traditional league games. Thankfully, with the latest proposal to get before the football committee for vote on Wednesday, we all should come away feeling satisfied.

My biggest gripe with the current system has always been how, comparatively, easier it is for teams in certain leagues to qualify for postseason play. In the Big Three, New Bedford has simply needed to beat Brockton to gain entry into the D1 EMass playoffs. In fact, last year the Whalers lost to Brockton, sinking their league record to 1-1, while the Boxers were 2-0, and yet New Bedford advanced to the playoffs for a second straight year because Brockton failed to finish the season at .500. Nothing against Dennis Golden and his team, but what's fair about that scenario?

Meanwhile, you have leagues like the Hockomock. Such as last year, the Hock had three legitimate teams that would've posed problems to opponents in an open playoff system, as the new proposal provides, only to see King Philip survive the gauntlet. While league games shouldn't be devalued, there's certainly a way to balance those traditional matchups without turning them into de facto one-game playoffs.

The new proposal is able to balance all of this. Instead of a league game equating to a playoff game, we will get an actual in-season playoff game. I believe this might be the most attractive part of the proposal. I think the prospect of playoff game built into the schedule will only generate greater interest in those school communities by increasing the stakes. Plus, teams will have the opportunity to represent their particular regions as champions. I'm not an advocate for handing out trophies for the sake of doing so, what this proposal will create is greater buzz from Week 8 and on, and it invites more deserving teams to the table than ever before.

The secondary benefit of this plan is that it will actually reinforce the importance of leagues. About this time a year ago, speculation was the Dual County League and Merrimack Valley Conference were going to look much different. While that didn't pan out, what had shaped up as a race to realign, with schools seeking out conferences that fit their own mold, might be quelled. This system levels the playing field by enrollment, but also allows schools to appeal for divisional placement.

So thankfully, we might be saved from the scenario that Eastern Mass is opened up like quagmire that's unfolded with the NCAA's conferences. Plus, at the end of they day, teams will still have the chance to earn their league championships, which should count for something -- not everything.

That's progress we can all agree on.

About this proposal, in not so many words, I say, sign me up.

Brendan Hall
ESPN Boston High Schools Editor
Like pretty much everyone, I’ve got issues with the proposal, but they’re mostly just tweaks. For now, this is the best resolution for a true state championship. There are so many reasons why 160 teams fighting for six state championships is a more exciting environment than 19 regional championships, I’m not sure where to start.

But the one obstacle in all of this is Thanksgiving game traditions, and the league implications with many of the most historic ones. I understand the hesitance, but please consider that this conflict arises in other Thanksgiving football states like Pennsylvania and Missouri, and they seem to do just fine working around it.

My girlfriend is a pharmacist from Indiana, who barely recognizes Peyton Manning and knows about as much about football as I know about prescribing pills. But she presented me this radical -– but, in my opinion, sensible –- idea. Why not move the Thanksgiving games up to Labor Day?

Hear me out. A big draw of attending a Thanksgiving game is its reinforcement of community, catching up with the folks you grew up with while jeering your opponents from the across the town line. College kids are home on break. Relatives are visiting for the weekend.

Could that same community spirit be reinforced on Labor Day? For some of us, it’s another gathering-type holiday; some college kids have not yet taken off for school. I would think playing some of these games on a Saturday afternoon or night during Labor Day weekend would be a terrific draw.

That's one of many ways we can solve some of the concerns with this current proposal, which I think is the best one to be presented the MIAA yet, but the Thanksgiving dilemma is an interesting one. On one hand, you're never going to get rid of or diminish the importance of some of the nation's oldest rivalries like Boston English-Boston Latin, Needham-Wellesley and Fitchburg-Leominster. On the other hand, you ask most kids whether they'd rather play a Thanksgiving game or play at Gillette, and more often than not they choose the latter.

But evidently, whenever you expand to 19 glorified bowl games in lieu of a true state championship, you are going to have headaches. That’s just pure logic.

Ten years ago, when I played my high school ball at Oakmont Regional, there were six Super Bowls played between Western and Central Mass. Now, Central Mass has six of its own bowl games to be played amongst 12 of the 50-plus teams in the region. Western Mass. now has four, and Eastern Mass. has a ridiculous nine.

Over the last several years, the drum has been beaten for Central and Western Mass to have a piece of the marquee venue, Gillette Stadium, as well as some of the schools from lower divisions. An idea of even adding another day of Super Bowls at Gillette, crazy as that sounds, was kicked around but quickly defeated.

Ultimately, the MIAA made the King Solomon decision to give everyone a piece of the Gillette pie over the next two years, and we saw the best and worst of it on December 3.

One the one hand, you had Leominster High and its raucous, loud, blue-clad crowd; some have said was the largest fan section ever gathered for a high school game at Gillette. And then in the game preceding it, you had the top two teams in Western Mass squaring off in front of a ghost town of a crowd.

After that, you had Duxbury blowing through an overmatched Tewksbury squad that finished the season 7-6. Then the nightcap, Mashpee’s Jarod Taylor ran in every which direction for a record 308 yards, but once again in front of a pretty light crowd. Meanwhile, the No. 1 team in the state was playing in its Super Bowl at Bentley University, while Atlantic Coast League champion Dennis-Yarmouth had to trek all the way from South Yarmouth up to Lynn to play in its championship.

All the while, thanks to the current format of awarding berths to league champions, many more suitable would-be playoff participants such as Bridgewater-Raynham, North Attleborough, Natick, Xaverian and Catholic Memorial all sat at home wondering what could have been.

As long as there are 19 Super Bowls without a true state championship, there will continue to be calls for expansion, complaints about the structure, and still others waiting for their piece of the pie. How much is too much before we’ve totally diluted the meaning of postseason football?

We’re reaching a critical turning point in the development of grassroots football in Massachusetts, where the exposure and respect have both increased. Catholic Memorial is sending two of its seniors to Ohio State on full scholarship. Miami has reportedly offered one of BC High’s linemen. Everett’s prized left tackle is ranked as one of the nation’s best at his position, and just committed to Notre Dame over nearly two dozen other offers. UMass is moving to the Division 1 bowl subdivision, just offered a sophomore lineman from Millis, and has made it abundantly clear the Bay State is a primary target for them on the recruiting trail.

I’m no historian, but you probably have to go back quite a ways to recall the last time we’ve seen so many sought-after kids in such volume. Is how we want to showcase our rising talent to the rest of the country?

Adam Kurkjian
ESPN Boston correspondent

Personally, I would like to see the new playoff proposal pass. Will it? I have my doubts, but I hope it does.

The reason I want it to pass is because the current system we have in place is dreadful. There are way too many divisions and the postseason is so watered down right now it’s embarrassing.

This last round of Super Bowls at Gillette was the worst I’ve ever seen from a competitive balance standpoint, and it is directly correlated to the league-jumping teams do every year in order to achieve the exact opposite result.

We currently have a collection of regional Super Bowl winners that haven’t won anything nearly as valuable as what they could with a more efficient system. This past year was a perfect example. Did BC High and Everett really need to be in separate divisions? What about Duxbury and Dennis-Yarmouth or Concord-Carlisle?

The fact of the matter is that the kids themselves want to play and beat the best. The trophy means more if it is won that way.

That is exactly what would happen if this proposal goes through by cutting the number of champions down by over a third.

Don’t get me wrong. The plan is by no means perfect and there are those who have voiced legitimate gripes about certain details, including the ambiguity over scheduling for teams that don’t make the playoffs and the multiplier for parochial schools.

But while there are nits to pick, this plan gets the big issues right. With the addition of more playoff berths, it will reduce the number of absurd league tiebreaker controversies we’ve seen over the years. A true state champion has never been crowned on a Massachusetts football field. That would come to an end, too.

The bottom lines is the current system, whether people are willing to recognize it or not, is broken. Would this plan fix it? Maybe. Would it be better than what we have now? Absolutely.

John Botelho
Staff Writer, Brockton Enterprise
The proposed plan for a state-wide playoff system is not only exponentially better than the system currently in place, but it also addresses nearly every single concern people might have with the way things are already done.

First and foremost, this new system would eliminate high football players suiting for three games in nine days. Every other time they play during their career is with six or seven days between games, and the current system in Massachusetts asks kids to play their three most physically demanding games of the season in such a short amount of time, significantly increasing risk of injury. Whether kids are more fired up for rivalry games on Thanksgiving, or they're facing the biggest, strongest, fastest and most talented players they've seen all season in playoff games, the level of play at the end of the season always feels like it goes to a new level of intensity.

Beyond safety, which should always be priority number one any time high school athletes are involved, this new system would do a much better job of giving real champions. As it stands right now, the state names 19 Super Bowl champions. That number is beyond outrageous, especially when you consider no other team sport names more than four state champions. Furthermore, football is the hardest team to field a quality squad based on numbers alone, and naming that many simply waters things down.

Every other sport in the state takes into account a team's whole season, and uses overall record to determine whether or not a team qualifies for their respective sectional tournaments. Football stands alone, however, in that the only way to reach the playoffs is by winning your league. That doesn't leave room for a team to have one off night in three months. It also doesn't factor in that not all leagues are created equal.

For anyone who believes the current qualifying system of league champions actually works, needs to look no further than "Super" Saturday at Gillette Stadium this year. Of the six games played there -- EMass. Div. 1,2,3,4, Central Mass. Div. 1 and Western Mass. Div. 1 -- exactly zero were played in close fashion. The closest game of the biggest stage of the year in this state was a 21-7 win by BC High.

It gets worse though, if you look at all 19 games played that day. Just six games were decided by a touchdown or less, meaning 13 teams won the Super Bowl in pretty easy fashion. Isn't the Super Bowl supposed to feature the two best teams finding out who the top dog is? Even teams that went undefeated and rolled through the playoffs were tested more during the regular season than many were in the title game.

Of the unbeatens that won at Gillette -- Everett, Duxbury, Mashpee and Concord-Carlisle -- none played their closest game of the season that day. Duxbury and Mashpee both featured wins by a touchdown or less at some point during their seasons to reach the Super Bowl.

The current system means the teams that played them tight, but ultimately lost, had no shot to reach the postseason. Consider that teams like East Bridgewater (10-1, 6-2 SSL), Whitman-Hanson (8-3, 2-2 Patriot) and Bridgewater-Raynham (8-2, 2-1 OCL) would've replaced playoff teams if things had gone better for them on nights when these teams lost to the eventual league champions.

The proposed system would not only give teams like this a second chance, it would make football games matter a lot more for a lot more teams as the season wore on. As it stands now, teams are, for all intents and purposes, eliminated from playoff contention as soon as they lose a league game right now. You can still find your way in, but it is out of your hands. Once a team loses, they need help from another team or two to make up for that. Often times, the best you can hope for with a loss is a three-champion situation that comes down to a coin flip. Do we really want to see football league champions settled by whose better at calling heads or tails?

When you consider the new proposal has plans to keep both league play and Thanksgiving games intact, there is really no reason not to go to this. Anything has to be better than seeing 19 one-sided "Super Bowl" games early in December every year.

Millis/Hopedale head coach Dale Olmstead told ESPNBoston.com tonight that UConn has offered a scholarship to 2014 offensive/defensive lineman Jon Baker this morning, his second offer in a month.

Last month, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Baker received an offer from UMass, his first. Baker told ESPNBoston.com earlier this week that he plans on participating in camps this summer at Virginia, Boston College, Wake Forest and possibly Michigan.

Roxbury Latin quarterback Mackay Lowrie verbally committed to Boston College for the fall of 2013, Rivals.com reports.

At this time, his only scholarship offer is from the Eagles. However, Rivals reports that Maryland, N.C. State, UConn and Virginia were also recruiting the 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect.

Boston College now has three verbals for 2013.