Bishop Feehan coach Bryan Pinabell soaked in the moment after his Shamrocks rallied from a 14-0 deficit for a 31-27 Division 2 semifinal win over Bridgewater-Raynham.
Bishop Feehan coach Bryan Pinabell soaked in the moment after his Shamrocks rallied from a 14-0 deficit for a 31-27 Division 2 semifinal win over Bridgewater-Raynham.Paige Berry/Bishop Feehan High School
When they were put on upset watch this past weekend in their respective state semifinal matchups, several top seeds showed their championship mettle with comeback victories.
On Friday, Bishop Feehan overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to best Bridgewater-Raynham, 31-27. Grayson Foley carried Scituate down the stretch in a 34-21 win over Duxbury, and Shawsheen’s Jake Banda came up clutch to seal a 22-14 overtime victory against North Reading.
Saturday saw two-time defending Division 1 champion Xaverian rattle off a 36-8 run after falling behind, 14-0, to dispatch Springfield Central. Amesbury scored with 10 seconds remaining to beat Clinton, 20-16, and Norwell’s offense broke through with 21 points in the fourth quarter to top Hudson, reaching the program’s first Super Bowl since 1999.
For Feehan, the No. 2 seed in Division 2, comebacks have been routine. A group with 28 seniors has come from behind five times during a nine-game win streak.
“We came into the locker room (down 27-14), and there was nobody yelling or screaming, nobody panicking, just talking about what we need to do to get it fixed,” said Feehan coach Bryan Pinabell.
“I really believe that our tough schedule helped us get through that game [Friday] night. Our coaching staff made great adjustments, and credit to our kids. One thing we haven’t done this year is flinch in these tough situations.”
Xavier Baker (176 all-purpose yards) led the Shamrocks (9-1) with solid blocking from his offensive line. Kane Mankins (12 tackles for loss this season) and Colin Lahiff set the tone on the defensive line with Kaden Baltazar (4 interceptions, 10 pass breakups on the season) and Nick Bryant leading the secondary.
On the season, Owen Mordas (1,956 passing yards, 15 TDs, 3 INT) has been rock solid for Feehan, with Momo Mills (99 tackles) leading the defense.
“I tend to be more of an old-school guy, but there’s a lot of trust between the coaches and players and I find myself coaching this group a bit differently,” said Pinabell, a veteran coach with a 50-20 record over seven seasons at Feehan. “It’s definitely a fun-loving group, but I’ll say, when the lights go on they come to play.”
The beat goes on for defending Super Bowl champions Scituate and Shawsheen.
Shawsheen (11-0) graduated an all-time great in Sid Tildsley, but there are plenty of gamers left on the roster for the top seed in Division 5. Banda has led the Rams on both sides of the ball and the senior carried the rock 38 times for 266 yards and all three touchdowns Friday, then put the cherry on top of a fantastic performance with the clinching interception in overtime. The Rams take a state-best 25-game win streak into Thanksgiving against Arlington Catholic, with a Super Bowl rematch to follow against Foxborough.
Scituate graduated record-setting receiver Lawson Foley, but his younger brother led the No. 1 Sailors (10-1) to a third straight D4 Super Bowl with 137 yards, two touchdowns, and a pivotal fourth-quarter interception. Sophomore receiver Tyler Stelljes had a key drop early as the Sailors fell behind, 14-7, to Duxbury. He responded resoundingly with 157 yards and two touchdowns, plus a 60-yard touchdown pass, and four extra points to account for 22 points.
“It happens,” Scituate coach Herb Devine said about the early drop. “Love to see a kid that plays the next play.”
Amesbury (11-0) couldn’t get its vaunted running game going against a stout Clinton front Saturday at Lynn’s Manning Field. The second-seeded Redhawks have rarely played from behind, yet they came through with several key defensive plays down the stretch, including a forced fumble by Connor Scialdone and a sack by Evan Murphy that led to a botched punt, setting up Justin Dube‘s winning rushing score.
“We talked at halftime about sticking to what we do,” said ninth-year coach Colin McQueen. “We weren’t hitting holes, weren’t rallying to the football, so it was kind of a wake-up call in that sense. When the guys got on the same page and started playing harder, things started going our way. It’s funny how that happens, but it’s usually the case.”
Extra points
▪ North Attleborough is riding Frankie Strachan back to the Super Bowl. Seeded seventh this year, the defending Division 3 state champions upset No. 2 Barnstable and No. 3 Milton on the back of head coach Michael Strachan‘s nephew, a 6-foot-1-inch, 245-pound fullback and linebacker.
With 545 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in three playoff wins, Strachan is up to 1,291 yards for the season, approaching Ted Barrett’s single-season rushing record of 1,450 set in 1982. Strachan also has 90 tackles, including 14 for loss, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery.
“Frankie’s been our leader on and off the field. He’s been a force to be reckoned with in the run game and he’s also a great blocker with tremendous hands,” said Michael Strachan ('85), at the helm of his alma mater since 2022. Strachan’s brother, Frank (’84), is a lead assistant and resides in the Hall of Fame for North and Stonehill College.
▪ Cohasset senior Gus Greene set a single-season touchdown record with 26 scores while posting 235 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-15 win over Northbridge in the D7 semifinals . . . For the first time in program history, St. John’s Prep has two 1,000-yard rushers (Jordan Toribio and Maxwell Parent), a 1,000-yard passer (Chris Vargas), and a 1,000-yard receiver (Riley Selvais). Vargas is injured and backup quarterback John Budrow has led the Eagles to the D1 Super Bowl.
▪ Diman (9-2) upset top-seeded Greater Lawrence, 21-20, and set up a date with Whittier (9-2) in the Vocational Large Super Bowl. In the close loss, Greater Lawrence senior Gustavo Varela topped 2,000 yards for the season. He needs 201 yards in a Thanksgiving eve matchup with Whittier to break Cedric Washington’s 30-year-old state record of 6,688 career yards . . . Blue Hills (7-4) and Tri-County (9-1) clash for the Vocational Medium Super Bowl, and South Shore Tech (6-5) faces Cape Cod Tech (7-4) in the Vocational Small Super Bowl. Times and dates to be announced for those matchups.
▪ Prior to the Vocational Super Bowls and MIAA Super Bowls (Dec. 4-6 at Gillette Stadium), teams across the state will line up for their annual Thanksgiving rivalry clashes. There are four games at Fenway Park, with Melrose and Wakefield (5 p.m.) preceding Brookline and Newton North (7:30 p.m.) Tuesday night, followed by matchups between Plymouth South and Plymouth North (4 p.m.) and Lexington and Concord-Carlisle (6 p.m.) Wednesday.
Thanksgiving games to watch
Foxborough at Mansfield, Thursday, 10 a.m. — The winner of the 94th installment of this rivalry will share the Hockomock Davenport crown with North Attleborough. Foxborough looks to build more momentum ahead of a D5 Super Bowl appearance.
Walpole at Weymouth, Thursday, 10 a.m. — Walpole pulled away in the second half last year to continue its dominance in this relatively new rivalry. Weymouth (7-3, 3-0) has been excellent this year and can win the Bay State Herget outright with a win.
St. John’s Prep at Xaverian, Thursday, 10 a.m. — Just like in 2023, these rivals will meet on Thanksgiving before playing the following week in the D1 Super Bowl. This time, the Catholic Conference title is on the line, so both teams should go all out once again.
Needham at Wellesley, Thursday, 10 a.m. — This is the 138th edition of the oldest public school rivalry in the country. Needham has won three straight after a rough 0-5 start this season. Wellesley looks to end a two-year losing streak to the Rockets.
Hanover at Norwell, Thursday, 10 a.m. — First-year Norwell coach Jason Pithie will have some decisions to make with the Clippers playing in their first Super Bowl since 1999 the week after battling Hanover in the 59th installment of this rivalry.
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com. Follow him on X @nweitzer7.