Grayson Foley (left) leads Scituate into a huge matchup with Duxbury, a rematch of the last two Division 4 Super Bowls.
Grayson Foley (left) leads Scituate into a huge matchup with Duxbury, a rematch of the last two Division 4 Super Bowls.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
It might seem far-fetched to the football players lining up against each other in Friday’s Patriot League bout between Scituate and host Duxbury, but there is a chance some of those rivals could become lifelong friends.
Scituate’s Will Sheskey and Duxbury’s Tim Landolfi battled in 2018 and ’19 before playing together at Williams College. They happened to commit on the same day and the first member of his class Sheskey met after arriving on campus was his old foe, Landolfi.
Over the next four years, with Landolfi shifting from running back to linebacker, the duo became best friends, and recently moved into a North End apartment together. Their alma maters continued to thrive, meeting in the Division 4 Super Bowl in 2021, ’23, and ’24, and each season they watched closely while arguing about which graduating class was most talented.
“We’ve argued about it close to a million times,” said Sheskey, who led Scituate to a Division 5 Super Bowl in 2018.
“My side is, I’ve got a ring on my finger, and his is that we pounded you guys [in the regular season]. I’m sure we’ll still be arguing when we grow old.”
With so many connections between South Shore towns with excellent athletics, Sheskey and Landolfi aren’t the only ones to see the rivalry from a different perspective.
Lyla Devine, a multi-sport star and daughter of 18-year Scituate football coach Herb Devine, just started her freshman year at UMass Amherst. Her assigned roommate? Former Duxbury field hockey star Annabelle Sbragia.
Devine’s wife, Kelly, is best friends with fellow UMass Dartmouth alum Julie Medina, who is married to Duxbury offensive line coach Glenn Frazier. And Frazier was on the other side of this rivalry in 2021 when Scituate scored a 14-13 win in the Division 4 Super Bowl, but now he coaches at Duxbury with his son, Hank, serving as junior captain.
Then there’s Mark McKeever, a Scituate assistant with ties to the program over multiple generations, who grew up best friends with Duxbury head coach Matt Landolfi in Hanover.
“There’s a lot of respect between our staff and [Duxbury’s] staff,” Devine said. “Not only as coaches but as people. We’re both doing what’s best for the kids, coaching the game with passion, and at the end of the day, all of us enjoy talking football.”
Scituate coach Herb Devine led his team to a Super Bowl win over Duxbury last December.
Scituate coach Herb Devine led his team to a Super Bowl win over Duxbury last December.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Prior to 2018, the neighboring programs rarely played due to league alignments, but things have ramped up with annual regular-season bouts and three Super Bowl matchups in a four-year span.
Duxbury cruised past Grafton for a title in 2022 before beating Scituate, 62-33, in the 2023 Division 4 Super Bowl. Last December, Scituate clapped back with a 29-13 win, and both programs are contenders to return to Gillette this fall, thanks in no small part to roster continuity with multiple sets of brothers stepping into key roles each year.
Grayson Foley is taking the torch from his brother, record-setting receiver Lawson Foley, as Scituate’s top offensive weapon. The junior opened the season with a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and scored twice more in a 33-29 win over Westerly (R.I.).
Owen Morley is one of the leaders on Scituate’s offensive line, following the example of his cousins, two-way standouts Shea and Colin Morley. Will Sheskey played with his brother, Mike, who also played at Williams.
Duxbury’s quarterback and senior captain, Brady Rhinesmith, learned from his brother, Bowman, who played football for the Dragons and won consecutive Division 3 national championships with Tufts lacrosse.
Coach Matt Landolfi led Duxbury to Super Bowl titles in 2022 and 2023.
Coach Matt Landolfi led Duxbury to Super Bowl titles in 2022 and 2023.MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
John Ciesielski, Cole Barberia, Everett Pang, and Jake and Lucas Falls are all following in the footsteps of older brothers who won Super Bowls with Duxbury. The next generation is coming, too, with junior Colin Murray’s younger brother, Liam, quarterbacking the Duxbury freshman team.
“It certainly helps the program when you’ve got families coming through,” Landolfi said. “The one thing about Duxbury football is we stay in contact with our guys through college and after. It’s really fun to see what these kids accomplish.”
Barberia, an outside linebacker, said it’s easy to find extra motivation for a Week 2 matchup with Scituate after watching his brother, Joe, walk away from Gillette disappointed last December.
“The energy level is ramped up and we’re ready for a battle,” Barberia said, noting the Dragons have a lot to work on after edging Abington, 52-44, in a triple-overtime victory last Friday.
While the players are intensely competitive between the lines, there is mutual respect between the programs. Rhinesmith and Scituate quarterback Jonny Donovan have played youth football together and trained together in the offseason.
Donovan is committed to Pomona-Pitzer. Scituate has nine players from last year’s title team playing college football, and Duxbury sent seven kids to the next level. Will we see more connections between former rivals after their high school glory days?
“I feel like these rivalries go beyond sports itself,” Foley said. “Those Super Bowl matchups will be talked about for years to come. It’s a great thing to be part of and you’ll always get fired up to talk about it.”
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com. Follow him on X @nweitzer7.