High school Pickorama: Predicting top state semifinal football clashes

It s never easy to reach the state semifinals One win separates each of these schools from a trip to Gillette Stadium Several of the contenders have been to Patriot Place in recent months Others are looking to make history Which ones have the edge heading into this weekend It s time to find out with the Herald s latest installment of Pickorama Xaverian vs Springfield Central As fans were hoping there will be a rematch between the third-ranked Hawks - and the No Golden Eagles - The last time these schools met Sept Springfield Central rallied from a two-score deficit for a - win This Div battle is very tough to predict with teams of equal caliber squaring off Both schools enjoyed massive wins in the Round of and have combined for seven total Super Bowl appearances since Connelly s pick Springfield Central Murray s pick Xaverian Central Catholic vs St John s Prep Despite missing highly-touted recruit Chris Vargas leg injury the top-seeded Eagles - survived an impressive challenge from No Leominster - win and advanced to the Div semifinals behind Maxwell Parent school-record yards rushing five touchdowns overall The No Raiders won a thriller in the quarterfinals - overtime mastery against No Natick and have a knack for stunning the state s best Connelly s pick St John s Prep Murray s pick St John s Prep Bridgewater-Raynham vs Bishop Feehan Eian Bain has done a fantastic job since taking over at Bridgewater-Raynham last year The third-seeded Trojans - punched a ticket to the Final Four with a - win over No Billerica The last time the scheme reached the semifinals came in when Dan Buron was still roaming the sidelines After receiving a bye to the quarterfinals No Bishop Feehan - took care of business by rolling past Chelmsford - Should the Shamrocks win it would be their first trip to Gillette since Connelly s pick Bishop Feehan Murray s pick Bishop Feehan Milton vs North Attleboro It was a chess match to start last week for Steve Dembowski and his band but the third-seeded Wildcats got the job done by pulling away for a - win over Masconomet Patrick Collins may have had a career performance yards passing five total touchdowns for Milton - Now the school faces the reigning Div champion in North Attleboro - The seventh-ranked Rocketeers have identified new solutions to win Their latest might have been the preponderance eye-opening yet as they erupted for a convincing drubbing of No Barnstable Connelly s pick Milton Murray s pick North Attleboro Duxbury vs Scituate D j vu For the fourth time in the previous five seasons these Patriot League rivals will meet in the state playoffs The only difference is that the matchup will take place in the Div semifinals instead of at Gillette Grayson Foley all-purpose yards five touchdowns last week has returned for the top-ranked Sailors - who are attempting to win their second straight Super Bowl Brady Rhinesmith yards four touchdowns passing had a huge encounter for the No Dragons - as his group knocked off an undefeated Burlington squad - The schools faced off in Week with Scituate winning - Expect a nail-biter this time Milton s Patrick Collins right is tackled by Weymouth s Brendan Flynn during a football clash earlier this fall Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston Herald Connelly s pick Scituate Murray s pick Scituate Archbishop Williams vs Foxboro A classic event of a squad on the rise facing a perennial heavyweight Led by eighth-grade quarterback Hudson Garrity yards four touchdowns passing last week the sixth-seeded Bishops - rolled to an undefeated regular season They have since squeaked out incredible wins over No Swampscott - and No Hanover - to reach the semifinals Jack Martinelli is one of the winningest coaches in Massachusetts and has led the second-ranked Warriors - to two consecutive Div Super Bowl appearances with a championship in Foxboro coasted to a - win over No Gloucester but could face a challenge here Connelly s pick Archbishop Williams Murray s pick Foxboro Hudson vs Norwell A very tough tournament to project Top-ranked Norwell - has run roughshod through the Div field outscoring its opposition at a - clip with Jack Luccarelli being the catalyst However No Hudson - is the reigning state champion and has defeated several of the state s best with wins over programs such as West Boylston and Clinton These teams could be locked in a one-possession championship Connelly s pick Norwell Murray s pick Norwell Randolph vs Nashoba Tech The only downside to this matchup is the fact that both schools should be competing at Gillette for a Div title They will clash in the semifinals for a second straight season as the fourth-ranked Blue Devils - will look to rely on star running back Mehki White for firepower again Will the top-ranked Vikings - earn specific payback this year We shall see Connelly s pick Randolph Murray s pick Nashoba Tech Records Connelly s week - Murray s week - Connelly s season - Murray s season - Combined -