Preseason Sweet 16: Are you ready for some football?

At long last the Friday night lights are heating up Every year thousands of athletes around the commonwealth lace up their cleats all with dreams of playing at Gillette in December Last fall chalk held true in Divisions and with Xaverian - and Catholic Memorial - continuing their reigns of dominance with Super Bowl titles The Catholic Conference is a minefield with titans such as BC High and St John s Prep ready to knock them off But how could you bet against either effort MIAA realignment has rearranged the landscape In North Attleboro - bulldozed its way to a championship only to see juggernauts like King Philip and Marshfield join them among its Div ranks months later Could we see a shakeup come the fall You d have to say it s accomplishable if not probable As we enter the season in the Bay State we are proud to unveil our preseason Sweet continuing a proud tradition that longtime editor Danny Ventura started in PRESEASON SWEET Xaverian When your group competes in the daunting Catholic Conference or Div for that matter there is no such thing as an easy tournament The Hawks have won two consecutive state titles in spite of both and are your top-ranked gang entering the campaign Catholic Memorial It does not matter which division the Knights play in they would perpetually be one of the favorites Having won three Div titles in the past four seasons in dominant fashion you could make a situation that John DiBiaso s group has earned the top spot overall even with the up-to-date loss of Mekhi Dodd St John s Prep Losing starters might doom the greater part programs The Eagles are cut from a different cloth with one of the state s top recruits in sophomore Christian Vargas returning under center BC High Following a scarce precarious years former NFL guard Paul Zukauskas took over as coach of the Eagles in and right away led them back to the Div semifinals With a stacked roster it would not be surprising to see a similar finish for the Catholic Conference heavyweight King Philip After the MIAA s new realignment the Warriors dropped to Div this past summer This expansion came in spite of the fact the school had made trips to the Div Super Bowl every single year since winning one in the process Is it a fait accompli that the unit will win it all this year Not necessarily but pretty darn close Needham Replacing latest graduate Aidan Williams will be a major challenge However the Rockets remain one of the top constituents schools to watch this year in a very strong Bay State Conference Leominster Possibly the top school from the Central Massachusetts ranks the Blue Devils are poised for success This is partially due to the fact they re bringing back highly-touted quarterback Osiris Lopez who has already committed to Coastal Carolina for next year Bishop Feehan Inevitably a threat in Div the Shamrocks have high hopes Owen Mordas is back at quarterback leading a undertaking filled with up-and-coming stars Central Catholic Since John Sexton took over the venture in the Raiders have continued to find new strategies to compete in a loaded Div field Following a trip to the Round of in it would not be surprising to see this group take things a step further this fall Springfield Central A perennial powerhouse from Western Massachusetts the Golden Hawks look to continue their new success The school s nonleague slate includes star-studded foes including St John s Prep Mansfield and Xaverian Bill Watson s association is still expected to be a threat North Attleboro The Div Super Bowl champion looked just about unbeatable once the postseason began outscoring opponents at a whopping - clip This included a - shutout of Mansfield in the state championship Corey Rufino and Frank Strachan remain as heavy-hitters for the campaign but the road back to Gillette could be rocky Marshfield The Rams might have one of the toughest schedules in Massachusetts this year facing Methuen St John s Prep Bridgewater-Raynham and Mansfield to start It might just be a long-term play for Chris Arouca s squad ahead of a competitive Patriot League slate Should they weather the storm they might just be one of the more dangerous teams come the playoffs Wellesley How do you replace stars such as Lukas Prock and Jake Broggi both of whom transferred to the Hun School in New Jersey You put your fate in the hands of the other players who helped your group reach the Div semifinals This year expect the athletic Bobby Shanahan to play a vital role for the Raiders Tenney Charney yards receiving seven touchdowns and Matthew Leibman yards seven touchdowns receiving will join him Scituate It s tough to build upon a perfect season especially the one the Sailors just experienced where they averaged points per meeting The school lost multiple key pieces including wideout Lawson Foley Look for the crew to lean on Pomona-Pitzer commit Jonny Donovan with hopes of a repeat Mansfield Chosen thought the Hornets would take a step back in Not so fast Even with a younger group they still made an impressive journey to Gillette for the Div Super Bowl With particular seasoning we can definitely expect bigger things this upcoming fall Duxbury For almost two decades now the Dragons have been a model of consistency The school has been to four consecutive Super Bowls since winning two Matt Landolfi s squad has a meager new pieces looking for a similar finish On The Sideline Shawsheen Methuen Winchester Brockton Franklin Hudson Uxbridge West Boylston Barnstable