High School: Steve Dembowski
MIAA football tourney plan clears another hurdle
May, 10, 2012
May 10
7:40
PM ET
By Shawn Myrick | ESPNBoston.com
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
Statewide football playoff system in the works?
February, 10, 2012
Feb 10
6:00
AM ET
By ESPNBoston.com
Could the latest push for a state-wide football playoff system have legs to it?
Yesterday the MIAA Football Committee unanimously in favor of the latest proposal for a six-division, statewide state championship from the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association that looks appealing.
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.
One of the key detractors working against the last state championship proposal, in 2010, was that it did away with some traditional league and non-league rivalries. That, in turn, led to concerns about gate receipt. Keeping traditional league games and non-league rivalries intact could be a factor this time around. The committee will meet on March 12 to finalize their vote before taking it to the MIAA's Tournament Management Committee on May 12.
The entire 14-page proposal can be found here in its entirety, courtesy of Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski. We've also posted the sample schedules for 12-team and 16-team divisions.
Yesterday the MIAA Football Committee unanimously in favor of the latest proposal for a six-division, statewide state championship from the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association that looks appealing.
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.
One of the key detractors working against the last state championship proposal, in 2010, was that it did away with some traditional league and non-league rivalries. That, in turn, led to concerns about gate receipt. Keeping traditional league games and non-league rivalries intact could be a factor this time around. The committee will meet on March 12 to finalize their vote before taking it to the MIAA's Tournament Management Committee on May 12.
The entire 14-page proposal can be found here in its entirety, courtesy of Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski. We've also posted the sample schedules for 12-team and 16-team divisions.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Vengeance was in sight when Longmeadow faced off with Springfield Central for the Western Mass. Division 1 Super Bowl this afternoon at Gillette Stadium. And boy, did the Lancers return the favor to the Eagles, scoring a 35-7 win over Central to win the title for the second straight season.
Swampscott's Steve Dembowski, Norwood's John Sarianides and ESPN Boston High Schools co-editor Scott Barboza break down the action:
Swampscott's Steve Dembowski, Norwood's John Sarianides and ESPN Boston High Schools co-editor Scott Barboza break down the action:
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Leominster scored a historic victory this afternoon in beating rival St. John's (Shrewsbury), 21-6, to claim the Division 1 Central Mass Super Bowl title.
With the victory, the Blue Devils are now tied with Brockton for most championships in the Super Bowl era. It's also their first title under new head coach Dave Palazzi.
Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski and Norwood head coach John Sarianides break down the game ESPN Boston high schools co-editor Brendan Hall:
With the victory, the Blue Devils are now tied with Brockton for most championships in the Super Bowl era. It's also their first title under new head coach Dave Palazzi.
Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski and Norwood head coach John Sarianides break down the game ESPN Boston high schools co-editor Brendan Hall:
Swampscott High head football coach Steve Dembowski released a statement apologizing to the Boston area media regarding some critical comments he made following yesterday's 21-13 win over Beverly.
Dembowski was referring to a hit that Beverly linebacker Dan Brown made on Richard Sullivan on a swing pass late in the second quarter, which resulted in an incompletion. Sullivan was slow to get up, but returned to the game.
After the game, when asked about a trick play that gave the Big Blue the lead for good, Dembowski told several newspapers, "I wanted to score, I was mad. I thought that was a dirty play, I thought the way it was celebrated was disgusting, and the lack of a call...that was terrible.’"
He issued the following statement:
Dembowski was referring to a hit that Beverly linebacker Dan Brown made on Richard Sullivan on a swing pass late in the second quarter, which resulted in an incompletion. Sullivan was slow to get up, but returned to the game.
After the game, when asked about a trick play that gave the Big Blue the lead for good, Dembowski told several newspapers, "I wanted to score, I was mad. I thought that was a dirty play, I thought the way it was celebrated was disgusting, and the lack of a call...that was terrible.’"
He issued the following statement:
After our game verse Beverly Saturday, I was asked about a sequence of plays which began with Beverly’s Dan Brown delivering a big hit on Richard Sullivan during a 3rd and three pass from our 43 yard line yard. Sullivan was trying to catch a bubble screen and I thought that he was in a defenseless position when Brown tackled him. Brown’s head struck Sullivan’s head, but it was a perfect form tackle otherwise and in my cases would never be a penalty. In my opinion I thought otherwise but no penalty was called and Sullivan was shaken up on the play.
In my post game comments about the sequence of plays starting with the hit I used some words that were not appropriate calling it a “dirty play” and calling the celebration “disgusting” which was unfair to the Beverly football program. Coach Bauer and his staff are some of the best around and they settled the players down quickly while Sullivan was down.
I have already apologized to Dan Bauer as my emotions got the best of me and I didn’t intend any disrespect to Dan Brown, Dan Bauer or the Beverly Football program. Coach Bauer runs a great program and is an excellent football coach. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and enough experience that I should have selected my words more carefully.
Recap: Swampscott 21, Beverly 13
November, 5, 2011
11/05/11
6:40
PM ET
By Adam Kurkjian | ESPNBoston.com
BEVERLY, Mass. -– As far as momentum swings go, you won’t find many that top the one that happened Saturday in Swampscott’s 21-13 victory over Beverly.
With the host Panthers up 13-7 late in the first half, Swampscott quarterback Michael Walsh swung a pass to Richard Sullivan in the right flat, but Beverly’s Dan Brown arrived when the ball did and with authority.
The hit, which caused an incompletion, elicited a roar from the Beverly crowd and a corresponding one from Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski, who barreled over from his sideline to argue for either a personal foul or taunting penalty.
Neither came, but Dembowski ended up getting an even better result. On the next play, Walsh (240 all-purpose yards) converted a fourth and 3 when he picked up nine yards. Then, Walsh threw back to A.J. Baker, who found Walsh in the left flat with a wall of blockers leading him to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown. Nick Meninno’s PAT gave the Big Blue a 14-13 halftime lead and they never trailed again.
Walsh added a 12-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and the defense forced two turnovers on downs in Swampscott (8-1, 3-0 in the NEC/Cal Tier 2) territory later on to seal it. It was a satisfying win for the Big Blue, who hadn’t beaten Beverly (6-3, 2-1) since 2007.
“It feels incredible,” said Swampscott linebacker Zach Kalapinski. “They’re a great team.”
“This was huge,” said Walsh. “This was another step towards winning the NEC and that’s where we want to be. So this was a big step towards that.”
Beverly nearly took that step, as Brendan Flaherty (137 yards rushing, 91 receiving) was a major weapon for the Panthers, scoring on a 49-yard run on their first drive and a 27-yard reception on their second.
But Swampscott made just enough plays in the final minutes to hold off the hosts, turning the ball over on downs twice deep in Big Blue territory.
Swamp monsters: The Swampscott offensive line may not be the biggest around, but it’s an underrated group that made the difference in the second half. The all-senior group of Mark Lausier, Sam Gold, Michael Wynne, Michael Bagarella and Abdi Yusef paved the way for 108 yards on the ground between Walsh and Evan Rhodes (71 yards rushing) in the final 22 minutes.
“We thought we could win the trench war,” Dembowski said. “Last year we lost the trench war. We won the yards and all that stuff, but we didn’t get the touchdowns.”
No huddles here: Swampscott’s offense is well-known for its no-huddle spread, but Beverly showed at times that its Wing-T could be executed at just as quick a pace. For much of the game, the Panthers operated without a huddle and kept the Big Blue on their heels for the entire first half. The tempo at which the Panthers played was impressive, and by the looks of it, will only be more elevated in the future. With quarterback Dave Rollins, running backs Flaherty, Dom Abate and Kenny Pierce and four offensive linemen returning next year, expect more defenses to be sucking wind when the Beverly offense takes the field.
SWAMPSCOTT 21, BEVERLY 13
SWA (8-1, 3-0) 7 - 7 - 0 - 7 --– 21
BEV (6-3, 2-1) 7 - 6 - 0 - 0 –-- 13
First quarter
B – Brendan Flaherty 49 run (Dave Rollins kick)
S – Michael Walsh 1 run (Nick Meninno kick)
Second quarter
B – Flaherty 27 pass from Rollins (kick failed)
S – Walsh 49 pass from AJ Baker (Meninno kick)
Fourth quarter
S – Walsh 12 run (Meninno kick)
SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. -- WIth their 33-19 win over Lynn English on Saturday, Swampscott Big Blue football remained undefeated and worked their way into our Top 25 poll for the first time this season.
On Wednesday, ESPN Boston's Brendan Hall took a visit to the Big Blue's "man cave" to sit down with head coach Steve Dembowski for the latest installment of our Chalk Talk series. Dembowski broke down and analyzed six plays from the Big Blue's victory with a detailed look behind the X's and O's to some key plays.
Take a look:
On Wednesday, ESPN Boston's Brendan Hall took a visit to the Big Blue's "man cave" to sit down with head coach Steve Dembowski for the latest installment of our Chalk Talk series. Dembowski broke down and analyzed six plays from the Big Blue's victory with a detailed look behind the X's and O's to some key plays.
Take a look:
ONE FOOT IN, ONE OUT
Could it be that the No. 1 team in the land took a step back in a win, and the state’s No. 3 team took a step forward in a loss?
That appears to be the scenario that unfolded last Saturday, as No. 1 Everett struggled early en route to an eventual 35-21 win over rising Cape power Barnstable while No. 3 BC High showed flashes of good promise in a 35-19 loss to New Jersey power St. Peter’s Prep.
For the No. 1 Crimson Tide, who took a 14-0 lead into the break before opening up the passing playbook and putting this one away, the victory came at the cost of one of their defensive stalwarts. Senior co-captain and linebacker Chris “Buck” McCarthy is lost for the season after leaving Saturday’s contest with both a dislocated ankle and broken fibia. The 5-foot-11 Stetson-bound McCarthy -– an ESPN Boston preseason All-State football selection, and an ESPN Boston baseball All-State selection last spring at catcher (which he’ll play for the Hatters) –- was the leader of a defense that was allowing just 8.3 points per game headed into the contest. Head coach John DiBiaso relied on his high football IQ and fundamentals to lead by example in a defense long on athleticism.
Barring catastrophe, the Tide figure to enter Oct. 15’s contest with Xaverian undefeated and holding on to the No. 1 spot. After Xaverian, it’s arguably the most anticipated matchup of the season, a visit from No. 3 BC High.
Simply put, the Marauders outmatched BC High everywhere, from size in the trenches to the athletic secondary, to the elite speed of West Virginia-bound quarterback Brandon Napoleon and the matchup problem posed by 6-foot-5, 240-pound Rutgers bound tight end Mike Giacone.
"This is why we play this game," Eagles head coach Jon Bartlett said. "Obviously, we're disappointed with the loss, but we want our guys to play at a different level leading up to the [Catholic] Conference. Hopefully this helps. Again, [we're] disappointed, but in the big picture, playing faster, playing stronger, playing at a different level...right now Northern New Jersey is a little ahead of Massachusetts, but this is good for us in the long run."
The St. Peter’s faithful took note of BC High quarterback Bartley Regan’s sound delivery and footwork; but while Preston Cooper, Gordon McLeod and Temple commit Jameson McShea have garnered most of the attention so far, the emergence of Lincoln Collins (6 catches, 84 yards, TD) maybe most paramount as the season progresses.
“Lincoln is developing as a real good receiver,” Bartlett said. “He has real good hands, won’t beat you long – he’s working on that – but he’s a steady receiver. He can block, too.”
Quite frankly, there isn’t a team in this state as talented as the one that visited Dorchester last Saturday. How much do you think that will pay off as the Eagles make a stretch run?
ON SECOND THOUGHT…
As each week passes, that week one score between Chelmsford and Westford seems less and less of an aberration.
The game, a 54-34 Chelmsford win, raised eyebrows both for how many points the historically-conservative Lions put up, and for how many points Westford was able to score on a vaunted Chelmsford defense led by Boston College-bound linebacker Tim Joy and a slew of versatile athletes in the front seven.
Three weeks out, two things are clear:
Chelmsford can score. The Lions had their way with upstart Lawrence on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, winning 42-16 and making it look easy. They started out in a variety of power packages out of the I formation, and paved favorable holes for the quick Eddie Sheridan to burst through. But when they went to a spread scheme at the end of the half, they marched 75 yards in just four plays in 41 seconds, capped with a nifty flea-flicker to quarterback Colby Emanouil.
"We're capable of opening up, we've always been," head coach Bruce Rich said. "I know it's generally out of the I, running power, but we're able to open it up. Our quarterback is dangerous, he's got good wheels. We're able to run with him, and we've got some pretty good receivers as well. We got protection tonight [too], which I thought was good."
Alex Eaton is underrated. We’ve said it before, practically ad nauseum, and we’ll say it again: there is significant crossover between lacrosse and football (see: No. 2 Duxbury). Westford running back Alex Eaton, a Lehigh commit in lacrosse, torched Groton-Dunstable for over 330 yards and five scores in last Friday’s 33-8 win, and through four games he has 785 yards of offense.
“The best thing we do is give the ball to Alex,” remarked Westford head coach Rich McKenna, with a laugh. “He makes us look good.”
Whether he’s catching balls out of the backfield or running straight up the gut, Eaton is making people miss; and if you watch enough lacrosse, and then think back to high school lacrosse/football legends like Ryan Izzo (Walpole) and Sean Morris (Marshfield), you can make some educated guesses. The proof is in the running stride, keeping one’s hips active enough where your average defender might have difficulty squaring up.
ROCKETS SOARING AT FULL THROTTLE
And while we’re on the subject of lacrosse guys leaving their footprints all over the gridiron…how ‘bout them Needham boys?
Tight end (and lax star) Mark Riley and quarterback Drew Burnett grab the headlines for the Rockets – who debut in the polls at No. 21 this week following their upset of previous No. 6 Weymouth – but in an interview with ESPNBoston.com late last week, head coach David Duffy said he felt his athletes can hang with the Wildcats’ attention-grabbing receivers like Khary Bailey-Smith and Ozzy Colarusso.
Turns out he was right, although it was another Riley doing the damage. Senior running back Ian Riley led the way with 186 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, and also hauled in two passes for 29 yards. That was part of a 279-yard rushing effort by the Rockets, who also got crucial yardage from fullback Mike Vespa.
Nico Panepinto led the way through the air, hauling in two touchdown passes from Burnett, while Dan Pierce provided some flair in the return game.
Meanwhile, tight end Mark Riley found himself covered up most of the afternoon, which should speak to a larger point.
“He’s just clobbering everybody and we put a great athlete on him, our quarterback, which is double duty for him, so maybe that hurt a little offensively,” Weymouth head coach Kevin Mackin told ESPN Boston correspondent Matt Noonan, of Mark Riley. “Who knows, but he covered him and we had Bailey-Smith over the top. We maybe over-committed a little bit, but clearly that kid is the best tight end in the state and we [wanted] to make sure that we slowed him down, [and] unfortunately they had way too many weapons to go to other than him.”
LITTLE HOCK, BIG HOCK?
Mansfield and King Philip produced the instant classic that we though the game could be with the Hornets once again escaping with a one-score victory thanks to some late dramatics. On Friday, defensive back Kevin Makie's pass defensed on a KP 2-point conversion try for the win provided the heroics. While both head coaches looked shell-shocked after a tense 44 minutes of football, both Mansfield head Mike Redding and KP boss Brian Lee struck on one surprising trend of the early season: Could the Hockomock's little division, the Davenport, be better than the Kelley-Rex?
OK, that might sound like hyperbole, but hear us out here. First case and point, Stoughton's "shocking" 8-0 win over Mansfield in the previous week.
"I wouldn't say they shocked us," Redding said of Stoughton, "that team can play."
There's also undefeated Oliver Ames, which plays King Philip this weekend, who is coming off a win over Kelley-Rex opponent Franklin.
"You can't look past those teams," Lee said Friday night, looking ahead to the challenge ahead, "if you, they're very capable of beating you."
The rest of the Davenport's teams - Canton, Foxborough and yes, even Sharon - are all even on the season at 2-2. And they'd all love to throw a monkey wrench in any Kelley-Rex's teams postseason prospectus. Just ask the Hornets.
"It's not often that way, but it's truly wide open this year," Redding said. "Any of those smaller division teams are capable of winning. We know that firsthand, even look at Canton, they're playing well and they gave North [Attleborough] all they could handle [a 7-0 game]. You're not going to be able to sleep walk through any of those games."
LET THERE BE LIGHTS
It might not be Wrigley Field, but Thursday night's Swampscott home game versus Triton will be the first Big Blue home game held under the lights ever. Swampscott wide receiver Nick Meninno's father helped procure the lights, which are typically used for nighttime highway paving projects.
"We're very excited about it and hopefully the town is, too," Big Blue head coach Steve Dembowski said. "We'd like to make it a tradition."
Could it be that the No. 1 team in the land took a step back in a win, and the state’s No. 3 team took a step forward in a loss?
That appears to be the scenario that unfolded last Saturday, as No. 1 Everett struggled early en route to an eventual 35-21 win over rising Cape power Barnstable while No. 3 BC High showed flashes of good promise in a 35-19 loss to New Jersey power St. Peter’s Prep.
For the No. 1 Crimson Tide, who took a 14-0 lead into the break before opening up the passing playbook and putting this one away, the victory came at the cost of one of their defensive stalwarts. Senior co-captain and linebacker Chris “Buck” McCarthy is lost for the season after leaving Saturday’s contest with both a dislocated ankle and broken fibia. The 5-foot-11 Stetson-bound McCarthy -– an ESPN Boston preseason All-State football selection, and an ESPN Boston baseball All-State selection last spring at catcher (which he’ll play for the Hatters) –- was the leader of a defense that was allowing just 8.3 points per game headed into the contest. Head coach John DiBiaso relied on his high football IQ and fundamentals to lead by example in a defense long on athleticism.
Barring catastrophe, the Tide figure to enter Oct. 15’s contest with Xaverian undefeated and holding on to the No. 1 spot. After Xaverian, it’s arguably the most anticipated matchup of the season, a visit from No. 3 BC High.
Simply put, the Marauders outmatched BC High everywhere, from size in the trenches to the athletic secondary, to the elite speed of West Virginia-bound quarterback Brandon Napoleon and the matchup problem posed by 6-foot-5, 240-pound Rutgers bound tight end Mike Giacone.
"This is why we play this game," Eagles head coach Jon Bartlett said. "Obviously, we're disappointed with the loss, but we want our guys to play at a different level leading up to the [Catholic] Conference. Hopefully this helps. Again, [we're] disappointed, but in the big picture, playing faster, playing stronger, playing at a different level...right now Northern New Jersey is a little ahead of Massachusetts, but this is good for us in the long run."
The St. Peter’s faithful took note of BC High quarterback Bartley Regan’s sound delivery and footwork; but while Preston Cooper, Gordon McLeod and Temple commit Jameson McShea have garnered most of the attention so far, the emergence of Lincoln Collins (6 catches, 84 yards, TD) maybe most paramount as the season progresses.
“Lincoln is developing as a real good receiver,” Bartlett said. “He has real good hands, won’t beat you long – he’s working on that – but he’s a steady receiver. He can block, too.”
Quite frankly, there isn’t a team in this state as talented as the one that visited Dorchester last Saturday. How much do you think that will pay off as the Eagles make a stretch run?
ON SECOND THOUGHT…
As each week passes, that week one score between Chelmsford and Westford seems less and less of an aberration.
The game, a 54-34 Chelmsford win, raised eyebrows both for how many points the historically-conservative Lions put up, and for how many points Westford was able to score on a vaunted Chelmsford defense led by Boston College-bound linebacker Tim Joy and a slew of versatile athletes in the front seven.
Three weeks out, two things are clear:
Chelmsford can score. The Lions had their way with upstart Lawrence on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, winning 42-16 and making it look easy. They started out in a variety of power packages out of the I formation, and paved favorable holes for the quick Eddie Sheridan to burst through. But when they went to a spread scheme at the end of the half, they marched 75 yards in just four plays in 41 seconds, capped with a nifty flea-flicker to quarterback Colby Emanouil.
"We're capable of opening up, we've always been," head coach Bruce Rich said. "I know it's generally out of the I, running power, but we're able to open it up. Our quarterback is dangerous, he's got good wheels. We're able to run with him, and we've got some pretty good receivers as well. We got protection tonight [too], which I thought was good."
Alex Eaton is underrated. We’ve said it before, practically ad nauseum, and we’ll say it again: there is significant crossover between lacrosse and football (see: No. 2 Duxbury). Westford running back Alex Eaton, a Lehigh commit in lacrosse, torched Groton-Dunstable for over 330 yards and five scores in last Friday’s 33-8 win, and through four games he has 785 yards of offense.
“The best thing we do is give the ball to Alex,” remarked Westford head coach Rich McKenna, with a laugh. “He makes us look good.”
Whether he’s catching balls out of the backfield or running straight up the gut, Eaton is making people miss; and if you watch enough lacrosse, and then think back to high school lacrosse/football legends like Ryan Izzo (Walpole) and Sean Morris (Marshfield), you can make some educated guesses. The proof is in the running stride, keeping one’s hips active enough where your average defender might have difficulty squaring up.
ROCKETS SOARING AT FULL THROTTLE
And while we’re on the subject of lacrosse guys leaving their footprints all over the gridiron…how ‘bout them Needham boys?
Tight end (and lax star) Mark Riley and quarterback Drew Burnett grab the headlines for the Rockets – who debut in the polls at No. 21 this week following their upset of previous No. 6 Weymouth – but in an interview with ESPNBoston.com late last week, head coach David Duffy said he felt his athletes can hang with the Wildcats’ attention-grabbing receivers like Khary Bailey-Smith and Ozzy Colarusso.
Turns out he was right, although it was another Riley doing the damage. Senior running back Ian Riley led the way with 186 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, and also hauled in two passes for 29 yards. That was part of a 279-yard rushing effort by the Rockets, who also got crucial yardage from fullback Mike Vespa.
Nico Panepinto led the way through the air, hauling in two touchdown passes from Burnett, while Dan Pierce provided some flair in the return game.
Meanwhile, tight end Mark Riley found himself covered up most of the afternoon, which should speak to a larger point.
“He’s just clobbering everybody and we put a great athlete on him, our quarterback, which is double duty for him, so maybe that hurt a little offensively,” Weymouth head coach Kevin Mackin told ESPN Boston correspondent Matt Noonan, of Mark Riley. “Who knows, but he covered him and we had Bailey-Smith over the top. We maybe over-committed a little bit, but clearly that kid is the best tight end in the state and we [wanted] to make sure that we slowed him down, [and] unfortunately they had way too many weapons to go to other than him.”
LITTLE HOCK, BIG HOCK?
Mansfield and King Philip produced the instant classic that we though the game could be with the Hornets once again escaping with a one-score victory thanks to some late dramatics. On Friday, defensive back Kevin Makie's pass defensed on a KP 2-point conversion try for the win provided the heroics. While both head coaches looked shell-shocked after a tense 44 minutes of football, both Mansfield head Mike Redding and KP boss Brian Lee struck on one surprising trend of the early season: Could the Hockomock's little division, the Davenport, be better than the Kelley-Rex?
OK, that might sound like hyperbole, but hear us out here. First case and point, Stoughton's "shocking" 8-0 win over Mansfield in the previous week.
"I wouldn't say they shocked us," Redding said of Stoughton, "that team can play."
There's also undefeated Oliver Ames, which plays King Philip this weekend, who is coming off a win over Kelley-Rex opponent Franklin.
"You can't look past those teams," Lee said Friday night, looking ahead to the challenge ahead, "if you, they're very capable of beating you."
The rest of the Davenport's teams - Canton, Foxborough and yes, even Sharon - are all even on the season at 2-2. And they'd all love to throw a monkey wrench in any Kelley-Rex's teams postseason prospectus. Just ask the Hornets.
"It's not often that way, but it's truly wide open this year," Redding said. "Any of those smaller division teams are capable of winning. We know that firsthand, even look at Canton, they're playing well and they gave North [Attleborough] all they could handle [a 7-0 game]. You're not going to be able to sleep walk through any of those games."
LET THERE BE LIGHTS
It might not be Wrigley Field, but Thursday night's Swampscott home game versus Triton will be the first Big Blue home game held under the lights ever. Swampscott wide receiver Nick Meninno's father helped procure the lights, which are typically used for nighttime highway paving projects.
"We're very excited about it and hopefully the town is, too," Big Blue head coach Steve Dembowski said. "We'd like to make it a tradition."
Recap: Swampscott 33, Lynn English 19
October, 1, 2011
10/01/11
8:41
PM ET
By
Scott Barboza | ESPNBoston.com
SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. -- Lynn English football head coach Peter Holey put it bluntly that turnovers not only kill football teams.
“They kill football coaches, too,” Holey added.
And so there was no way to look past the Bulldogs’ six turnovers as their undoing in a 33-19 loss at Swampscott on Saturday. Despite drawing even with the Big Blue for a time during the third quarter, Lynn English’s miscues had a multiplying effect, letting Swampscott’s spread offense get into rhythm.
“I thought when we threw the pick and they tied it up, 12-12, our guys really bore down,” Big Blue head coach Steve Dembowski said. “I thought Mike Walsh was stronger in the second half than the first, somewhat [like] last year.”
After throwing a pick-six to Lynn English's Malcolm Brown-Simpson to open the third quarter, Walsh rebounded to lead Swampscott on three scoring drives, with the Brown commits scoring once with his feet and throwing for another two touchdowns.
A sloppily played first half rife with penalties and (you guessed it) turnovers meant both teams weren’t able to establish much by the way of offensive momentum. But Swampscott (4-0) clung to a 12-5 halftime lead after Walsh found his favorite target, wide receiver A.J. Baker on an 11-yard touchdown pass.
In the second half, Big Blue had its opportunistic defense to thank for several scores and good field position. Defensive back Aiden Lang recovered two key fumbles, thwarting promising Bulldogs drives and setting up Swampscott scoring drives.
“We go over all week that we need to get turnovers,” Lang said. “Joe DeSalvo had one and Frank Legere had a pick and a couple of kids had forced fumbles. But it was basically a team effort throughout the week.”
FAMILIAR FACES, FAMILIAR SCHEMES
There is much in common in the offensive schemes run by both Dembowski and Holey. So Saturday’s matchup was a little bit like boxing against your shadow.
“It’s the same way we see it against Lynn English in practice,” Holey said. “They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect them to do.”
Add to the equation that Lynn English senior quarterback Jermaine Kelly started his high school career at Swampscott before moving across the town line, so Big Blue was more than familiar with the quarterback’s tendencies.
“It’s always nice getting to practice against a spread because our scout team knows what they’re doing,” Lang said. “We knew Jermaine’s cadence so we could figure out when to move and stuff, so it helps.”
Lining up against a spread team plays into Big Blue’s strengths with a host of athletic players on the second and third tier of the defense. But, more than that, Swampscott’s defensive line was able to keep Kelly, who can make plays happen with his feet as well and is a hard-to-tackle runner in the open field, in check for the most part.
“They run a lot of the same stuff that we do [offensively], so we were prepared,” said Walsh, who also plays at safety. “[Defensive backs] Coach [Peter] Bush prepared us the whole week for this offense. It really started up front though, Mike Wynne, Patrick Sheehan. Joe DeSalvo and Mark Lausier got penetration the whole day and the linebackers filled the gaps.”
The familiarity paid off.
“We thought we had a great game plan going in against them, for the most part,” Dembowski said. “I thought we did a good job except for when we went into a little bit of a prevent there. Our defense, overall, was awesome today.”
FRIENDLY RIVALRY
Even after beating up on each other all afternoon, a host of Swampscott players took extended time to talk with and extend best wishes to Kelly following the contest, including a hug from his former head coach.
But, in between the lines, friendship was put aside.
“I’ve talked to Jermaine a lot and he’s still a friend of mine,” Lang said. “But it meant a little bit more [to beat him].”
The town of Swampscott has dedicated Saturday September 10, 2011 as Coach Stan Bondelevitch Day. The selectmen passed the request of Bill Bush and will honor the legendary coach, athletic director and Father of Big Blue Football by naming the entrance to Phillips Park between the tennis courts and the Bertram House “Bondelevitch Way”.
A ceremony unveiling the street sign will begin at 10 a.m. Bill Bush will serve as master of ceremonies. Top assistant Dick Lynch, former player and channel 5 sports broadcaster Mike Lynch and former player and current coach Steve Dembowski will speak. The Big Blue kicks off the 2011 season at noon verse Somerville High School. All Swampscott Alumni and citizens are invited to attend.
Coach Bondelevitch arrived in Swampscott in September of 1953 as the athletic director and head football coach. He quickly renamed the Swampscott athletic teams the “Big Blue”.
Bondelevitch had two tours in Swampscott, 1953-1976 and 1983-1986. The first was unparalleled in high school football compiling undefeated football teams in 1957, 1958, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972. His 1972 team won the first ever high school Super Bowl played in Massachusetts, defeating Catholic Memorial at Boston University's Nickerson Field, 28-21.
He won 187 games, four Class B State Championships, one Super Bowl and 10 NEC League titles, but he was best known for his ability to motivate young people, creating a buzz in Swampscott high and placing his players in colleges. He also coached four players whom played in the National Football League: Bill Adams, Dick Jauron, Ed Toner and Tom Toner. Bondelevitch is a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, as well as the Halls of Fame at Saint Anselm College and Swampscott High.
A ceremony unveiling the street sign will begin at 10 a.m. Bill Bush will serve as master of ceremonies. Top assistant Dick Lynch, former player and channel 5 sports broadcaster Mike Lynch and former player and current coach Steve Dembowski will speak. The Big Blue kicks off the 2011 season at noon verse Somerville High School. All Swampscott Alumni and citizens are invited to attend.
Coach Bondelevitch arrived in Swampscott in September of 1953 as the athletic director and head football coach. He quickly renamed the Swampscott athletic teams the “Big Blue”.
Bondelevitch had two tours in Swampscott, 1953-1976 and 1983-1986. The first was unparalleled in high school football compiling undefeated football teams in 1957, 1958, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972. His 1972 team won the first ever high school Super Bowl played in Massachusetts, defeating Catholic Memorial at Boston University's Nickerson Field, 28-21.
He won 187 games, four Class B State Championships, one Super Bowl and 10 NEC League titles, but he was best known for his ability to motivate young people, creating a buzz in Swampscott high and placing his players in colleges. He also coached four players whom played in the National Football League: Bill Adams, Dick Jauron, Ed Toner and Tom Toner. Bondelevitch is a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, as well as the Halls of Fame at Saint Anselm College and Swampscott High.
With football practice kicking off across Massachusetts on Monday, we went into the studio to handicap the season ahead with a preview edition of the ESPN Boston High Schools podcast.
Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski was in-studio to lend his view of the new season, joining co-editors Scott Barboza and Brendan Hall . We also break down our preseason Top 25 football poll.
Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski was in-studio to lend his view of the new season, joining co-editors Scott Barboza and Brendan Hall . We also break down our preseason Top 25 football poll.
PEABODY, Mass. -- Linebacker Tim Joy will be a happy guy if his senior season at Chelmsford High School mirrors what happened Saturday at the Northeast 7v7 Tournament at Bishop Fenwick High School, where Joy’s Lions went undefeated and earned a trip to Gillette Stadium.
Chelmsford won each of its eight contests, including a 20-13 victory over Oliver Ames in the championship game.
The victory earned Chelmsford some extra Under Armour apparel, and a trip to Gillette to compete in the Under Armour/New England Patriots 7v7 event Saturday.
“It’s exciting to be playing where the Patriots play,” Joy said. “Hopefully we’ll be playing there in December. It doesn’t get better than that.”
Chelmsford’s Colby Emanouil, who will shift from receiver to quarterback for his senior year, tossed three touchdown passes against Oliver Ames. Chelmsford built on its 14-6 halftime lead by scoring on its first second-half possession. It remained 20-6 until Oliver Ames scored on the game’s final drive.
“We came into this and we didn’t know what to expect because it’s our first year, but we kept winning and kept advancing so I think it was a very successful tournament for us overall,” Oliver Ames quarterback Jared Schneider said.
This year’s tournament featured 48 teams – 47 from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut (St. Paul’s). Both Chelmsford and Oliver Ames went 4-0 during pool play to earn a bye in the opening playoff round.
Twenty four of the 48 teams qualified for the playoffs. Methuen, Duxbury, Swampscott, Norwood, Longmeadow and North Andover were the other teams that earned a bye.
In addition to Chelmsford and Oliver Ames, Reading, Duxbury, Winthrop, Cathedral, Dracut and Marshfield made it to the quarterfinals. Chelmsford reached the championship game by beating Duxbury 20-12 in the semifinals. Oliver Ames advanced with a 32-20 victory over Cathedral.
Chelmsford also won the Bentley Shootout by beating BC High in the championship game earlier this summer.
“We play every day Monday through Thursday at our high school,” Emanouil said. “We pretty much practice all our plays. In an event like this it’s all about the intensity, and our intensity was the best.”
Chelmsford will be one of eight teams competing at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The field will be divided into two four-team pools, and two teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.
“This is the biggest field we’ve ever had,” Northeast 7v7 director Steve Dembowski said. “Last year we had 32, which was a record.
“My dream is to host three regional events in New England with maybe 42 teams maximum at a location. We would have a regional champion and then have the top teams come back for a 12-team tournament at Gillette.
“The key to this tournament are the refs. It would just be an average tournament if we didn’t have high school refs here with the stripes on. I think at this point the credibility of the tournament is growing.”
It was the second time Chelmsford has won the Northeast 7v7, which was formerly known as the Swampscott/Lynnfield Shootout. Chelmsford, which has reached the championship game in each of the last four years, also won the 2009 title.
“When you’re having fun out there is when you’re playing your best,” Joy said. “That’s what we were doing.”
Swampscott QB Walsh commits to Brown
July, 1, 2011
7/01/11
4:03
PM ET
By
Brendan Hall | ESPNBoston.com
Swampscott High senior quarterback Michael Walsh has verbally committed to Brown University after receiving a verbal offer from the Bears following their football camp this past week, head coach Steve Dembowski wrote in an email to the Boston media.
Walsh was also considering Harvard, UMass, Dartmouth and UNH at the time of his commitment.
"This is accumulation of year’s hard work in the class room, weight room and athletic fields for the three-sport athlete," Dembowski wrote. In a follow-up email confirming the commitment with ESPNBoston.com, he wrote, "He has verbally committed to them and loves the school."
The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Walsh is a three-year starter for the Big Blue at quarterback and free safety, and will also captain this year’s team. At the conclusion of the 2010 season, he was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Northeastern Conference's Small division.
Walsh completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,265 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for 756 yards and 14 touchdowns last fall for the 8-3 Big Blue. Defensively, he registered 36 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.
Walsh also plays basketball and baseball for Swampscott.
Walsh was also considering Harvard, UMass, Dartmouth and UNH at the time of his commitment.
"This is accumulation of year’s hard work in the class room, weight room and athletic fields for the three-sport athlete," Dembowski wrote. In a follow-up email confirming the commitment with ESPNBoston.com, he wrote, "He has verbally committed to them and loves the school."
The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Walsh is a three-year starter for the Big Blue at quarterback and free safety, and will also captain this year’s team. At the conclusion of the 2010 season, he was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Northeastern Conference's Small division.
Walsh completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,265 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for 756 yards and 14 touchdowns last fall for the 8-3 Big Blue. Defensively, he registered 36 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.
Walsh also plays basketball and baseball for Swampscott.
(Editor's note: This is the first in our "Chalk Talk" series, where ESPNBoston.com staff take a look into a coach's playbook. Today, Swampscott head coach Steve Dembowski takes us inside his vaunted spread offense.)
All over the state, from Dracut to Barnstable to Wilbraham, the spread offense and its many forms has slipped its way into many a high school football program over the last decade. But programs like Swampscott have been ahead of the curve on this trend for years now. Head coach Steve Dembowski sat down with ESPNBoston.com and opened up his playbook, to show why the spread has had so much success.
Part I:
Part II:
All over the state, from Dracut to Barnstable to Wilbraham, the spread offense and its many forms has slipped its way into many a high school football program over the last decade. But programs like Swampscott have been ahead of the curve on this trend for years now. Head coach Steve Dembowski sat down with ESPNBoston.com and opened up his playbook, to show why the spread has had so much success.
Part I:
Part II:
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Scott Barboza
Scott Barboza joined ESPNBoston.com as a high schools editor/reporter in May 2010. He spent the previous three seasons working in the New England Patriots media relations department after a stint at the Taunton Daily Gazette, where he covered everything from Little League baseball to the Boston Red Sox. The Fall River native is a graduate of Emerson College. He can be reached at sbarboza@espnboston.com.
Brendan Hall
Brendan Hall joined ESPNBoston.com as a high schools reporter/editor in May 2010, after four years covering high schools for The Boston Globe. The Westminster, Mass. native also served on the Globe's Bruins beat last season. Hall is a graduate of UMass Amherst. He can be reached at bhall@espnboston.com.
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