DISQUS

Stead · 1 month ago

Hey Name, you got some face time from HL, You da man! Now skip to whatever post is after mine because you will only want to rip PA and that’s not right. The PA Brockton game was way closer than the score indicates with a couple of letdowns at the end. The fact of the matter is PA handed it to them for three quarters as the ET article states which bodes well for PA going forward. I think that PA has a shot at running the table heading towards the playoffs although it is no cakewalk with South, Central, and North upcoming. I will say that many of the Brockton players and coaches hung around for a few minutes after the game, mixing with PA players and fans, class act after a hard fought game. I came away from the game disappointed that PA didn't get the W but proud of their level of intensity and execution. Brockton for their part weathered the blows and stayed focused and executed at the end when it counted. Having seen BG, Salem, and Brockton in PA's three losses. I would rank them like this 1. BG 2. Brockton 3. Salem with BG ahead by a decent amount and Brockton, Salem pretty close. I would watch PA going forward, getting ready for a run. Hey BG check out Catholic Memorials blog pasted below, they are partially blaming the Refs, Cheap hits, c’mon sour grapes to the max 52-13. http://catholicmemorial.blogspot.com/ what a joke!

Wildcat. · 1 month ago

Hec,

Great article. I always look forward to these rantings of high school football. My question to you is when will you show some love to Whittier Tech. Although they really havn't played anyone, they have really shallacked the teams they've played. And they have a strong following of students, parents, and alumni. It's a quality program that has been set up in northern haverhill.

Name · 1 month ago

WOW, H.L. you got some you know what. Pinkenton ( CC of N.H. ) is dead and now your focus has to be on Merrimack Valley and Southern NH teams. According to your blogger friends you can add BG to your fan. # 4. Why not you aways try to find a way to add Pinkenton ( CC of N.H. ) into it one way or another. But they ( Pinkenton CC of N.H. ) loss this weekend and we both know there is no such thing as a good loss like your blogger friends want you to believe. This should be about Merrimack Valley and Southern NH teams not Merrimack Valley and all of N.H..

Methuen Fan · 1 month ago

Name look at a map of the schools in the eagle tribune reader area, than go jump in Beaver Lake in Derry...

Stead · 1 month ago

Hey Name, how is Pinkerton dead with one conference loss and Methuen is right in the mix with 2 conference losses, This must be the new math that I don't understand. My point all year with you has been that you don't just route for your team, you try to tear down other teams that have no impact on the outcome of your teams season. I route for Lawrence and Methuen and even Salem if it doesn't affect PA. This is why I think your advocacy actually hurts Methuen instead of helping them.

James_2 · 1 month ago

Hector, believe me when I tell you, Nick LaSpada is the best player in the state right now and he'll end up being better than Mastrullo. Mastrullo (and I've seen both) was every bit the athlete as Nick is, but he doesn't have LaSpada's size and strength. LaSpada is a nightmare right now as a sophomore, can you imagine him as a junior and a senior after he adds more size and strength to the 6'2" 190lb frame? Look out !

You are correct about the field, I was there Friday night, it was a mess and has been for years now. We see Woburn and all of these other towns, even Chelmsford just put in a new field and we can't seem to do anything field wise in this town. For a great sports town like Billerica, it's hard to believe how bad the playing facilities are.

raider55 · 1 month ago

people need to stop talking up LaSpada. the kid is good. . .he is not great. he still has a long way to go. as far as the MVC is concerned Oullette from central and Hennessy from andover are playing better. will LaSpada be a very good player in the next two years? yes. but he still has a long way to go. if you disagree, i played against him and if i remember correctly he got benched in the second half last year.

James_2 · 1 month ago

I was at every Billerica game last season and the only time he was benched was in the Dracut game when yes the game was completely out of hand. Grimard was a one man wrecking ball and he was the man that night. LaSpada was only a freshman playing in a huge football game, ESPN was there writing an article about him and he just tried to do to much that night when the team got behind and he has learned from that experience.

This kid is only a sophomore who plays at an elite level on both sides of the football, not sure we can say the same for Oullette and Hennesey, who I know are great QB's but they are not the threats on every snap that LaSpada is from kick returns to safety to QB. This kid is an elite athlete and only a sophomore, I believe Hennessey and Oullette are both seniors.

The head to head games with CC and Andover coming up will show the proof, my money is on LaSpada.

He was already named Large MVC MVP by Ventura of the Herald. Not to mention, he's the only sophomore from this area to be listed on the country's Max Preps top 100 of 2012.

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/p754CHpUEd6OEwAcxJ...

http://www.hssinsight.com/HSSInteractive/

raider55 · 1 month ago

he only lasted one half at quarterback in the central game last season and i doubt they put him out at receiver for the second half to try him out. there are at least 100 players from texas and florida alone that are better so dont get too excited about the max preps.

James_2 · 1 month ago

You are correct, he did struggle in that game and if I remember, he was put out at WR and low and behold he caught a TD pass if you remember in the corner of the endzone.

Look Raider55, you guys have a great team this year, and with Andover losing to Methuen it looks like it's going to come down to CC and Billerica and what a huge game that is going to be in Lawrence. I will be there, I can't wait for that one. Both teams are playing at a high level right now. But believe me when I tell you, ask the Haverhill Hillies, LaSpada right now as a sophomore is a Division 1 prospect that can single-handedly take over any football game.

raider55 · 1 month ago

please dont come back with him taking over the haverhill hillies. haverhill is the detroit lions of the MVC and yes he did score a touchdown on central's JV defense last year. it will be a good game and both teams are playing very well.

Name · 1 month ago

Hey Stead, Mike Slonina of CM writes like David Willis of the eagletribune. One way.

Name · 1 month ago

Stead, Methuen is 1-0 in the small MVC. There in 1st place. I said Pinkerton ( CC of N.H. ) is dead, meaning they can't beat a good team. This is fact.

Stead · 1 month ago

We'll see and they would beat Methuen

John Stark · 1 month ago

Hec, I think many of us are also thinking about Thanksgiving. But in the interim, the Raiders have to take care of biz vs. Lawrence this week (a potential career-maker for the Lawrence kids), only to get Chelm, Methuen, and Billerica in consecutive weeks. That's a grind.

A question: As you look a what BG, Exeter, and Timberlane have done this year, would you agree that NH D2 is actually better than NH D1 in '09? I agree with Stead in his pecking order, but when you consider how Timberlane took Salem to OT last week, then what Exeter did to the Owls on Saturay, you really have to give kudos to NH D2.

Ma transplant · 1 month ago

Hi John,
BG is definitely the best team in the state of NH. They should be in D1 in NH though. It would be like central catholic being in the Cape Ann League because of enrollment. I have seen most of the NH teams in D1 and D2 play and still feel D1 has six legit teams opposed to three for D2. Last year Timerlane would have ranked higher. If I had to make a top ten it would be:

1) BG
2) Salem
3a) Exeter
3b) Pinkerton
5) Nashua North
6) Nashua South
7) Londonderry
8) Central
9) Timberlane
10) Alvirne

BG wins D2 easy and believe it or not I think South wins D1 assuming they beat Pinkerton this weekend. I see South against Pinkerton in the final. Salem's year is next year.

Paul Sullivan · 1 month ago

First of all I enjoy your columns very much.

Could you clear something up for me?
How do Large school losses to Small schools in the MVC hurt the chances of the Large schools to make the playoffs?(Chelmsford to Lawrence and Billerica to Tewksbury).
I thought the Large and Small teams were separate for playoff purposes.

THANKS.

longosresponse · 1 month ago

Got this one.
Large win over large gets 2 points
Large win over small gets 1 point
Small win over small gets 2 points
Small win over large gets 1 points
ironically lawrence's win over Tewks is worth 2 but Lawrence's win over Chelmsford is only worth 1.
Billerica's loss to Tewksbury means it doesn't get the one point that Andover and Central have already gotten.

Name · 1 month ago

Paul Sullivan, I know you are looking for the correct ans. so I will give it to you. There is a MVC large school Conference and a MVC small school Conference. So if they play in there Conference it's win is good for 2pts. Outside there Conference it's good for 1pt ( If a MVC large school beats a MVC small school or if a small school beats a large school, it's win is good for 1pt. If a large MVC school beats a MVC large school or if a MVC small school beats a MVC small school it's 2pts. ) So winning does matter in the MVC. Not like in N.H.. If a N.H. team beats a Ma. team or a Ma. team beats a N.H. team, It really doesn't matter.

topps · 1 month ago

The Wildcats are for real their QB is very talented along with the rest of the team they play tough no matter the opponnet the QB has 15 TD passes in 6 pames 3 of those games he played the first half only imagine if the cats threw the ball 30 times a game to bad Haverhill lost out on this kind of talent!

John Stark · 1 month ago

Name, as an MVC guy perhaps you could expain the whole Large vs. Small breakdown. It's clearly not based on enrollment, so why even call it "Large" and "Small", except to pacify some pc types who cringe at the notion of some schools being stronger than others. btw: If this is the case, why is Dracut in MVC Small? Also, why does the football Large/Small dichotomy not resemble the basketball Large/Small dichotomy? Seems to me that you're either "Large" or you are not. Am I wrong here, or is this simply a cover to get two football playoff births instead of one?

hecslatestresponse · 1 month ago

JS (a great Granite Stater if there ever was one by the way),
The MVC has been split in two divisions over the years, solely for competition purposes whether it be swimming or boys hoop.
Honestly, it's been an absolute wasted night for Central's boys hoop team to play say Tewksbury or Billerica twice, so they split by divisions.
Sometimes, it's easy to do, like boys hoop.
Other times, it's a fist fight by the teams in those swing spots.
Why does Haverhill baseball play small when basketball is large?
In all the other sports, it was clearly done to get teams into the state tournament and give a smaller team the chance to win a "title."
I put "title" in quotes, because we all know the large champ 99 percent of the time is the best team in the conference.
In the rare situation that the small champ can compete with the big - say Tewksbury baseball in 2007 or 08 - it kind of stinks.
Football was done this year, solely to get the extra playoff team.
Billerica, small in baseball and basketball, plays in the large because Peter Flynn has a power program there.
I heard insider that there was a huge scramble to be in the small by a couple of schools slated for the large.
Does it make sense enrollment-wise?
Not often.
That's why the MVC folks go Division 1 and Division 2.
In my eyes, if you were going to split, I would have done it geographically in all sports.
East: Methuen, Haverhill, Central, Lawrence, Andover
West: Lowell, Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica
That would keep the rivalries in tact. The teams that you want to face would face each other twice.
But hey, that would be a little too sensible.
HL

Football fan 4 · 1 month ago

Hec, I am going to have to say, after seeing most of the teams you cover around the NH and MVC, I have finally came to a conclusion. The Salem High School backfield is the best and most talented I have seen in years. Jacques, Fedrick, and Big number 48. But It all starts with the Qb. Cannone is one of the best in the business right now. I think it will take a lot to bring this team down this year.

Name · 1 month ago

John Stark, I'm sure H.L. can ans. your question.

Name · 1 month ago

hecslatestresponse (a great Granite Stater if there ever was one by the way), what are you 5yrs old. The only way you can make the MVC fair. You have to get rid of CC in all sports. They have to go to another Conference. This is the only way it can be fair in the MVC. This is coming soon.