HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Hull, Randolph each in uncharted territory in Div. 8 Super Bowl
So who's the underdog in this one?
On the one hand you have the Hull High football team that came into this fall with zero MIAA playoff wins since capturing the Division 4B EMass Super Bowl in 1996, which – let's be honest here – to the teenagers on this year's team might as well be 1896.
On the other hand you have Randolph High, which has never – to anyone's knowledge – played for a football crown of any sort under any of the various playoff formats the MIAA has used over the years.
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So, again, who's the real underdog in Wednesday's Division 8 state championship game, which kicks off at 3 p.m. at Gillette Stadium – No. 2 seed Hull (9-3) or No. 10 Randolph (7-4)?
"It can kind of go either way," Hull senior linebacker/tight end Aidan Robey said after mulling the question over for a few seconds. "We have a smaller school population. But then again, we beat them earlier in the year. It can kind of go either way, I think."
"We're two small towns," noted Hull junior linebacker/center Aidan Murphy. "But we always have the underdog mentality going into every game. You look at our sideline, we have way fewer kids (than whoever we're playing). We always like being the underdog."
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The counterpoint is provided by Randolph junior defensive back Gardy Augustin. "I would say we are" the underdog, he insisted, "because we did play them before and they won (26-6 in Week 4). Also the fact that we're the lowest seed."
Both sides make compelling arguments. So let's split it down the middle and say that both teams can play that card in what is undoubtedly the most unlikely of all the state finals.
Which makes it kind of special.
Abington vs. Rockland in Division 6 is the Border War. Scituate vs. Duxbury in Division 4 is The Patriot League Championship.
Hull vs. Randolph might be dubbed the "Hey, Remember Us?" Bowl.
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Hull had fashioned eight consecutive losing seasons from 2012-2019 before hinting at better times to come with a 5-2 record in Fall II last spring. And even though Randolph authored back-to-back 6-5 records in 2018 and 2019, the Blue Devils kicked off the 2000s with 15 straight losing campaigns.
"You have a Super Bowl with two South Shore League teams that have had their struggles in football," Randolph athletic director Tony Price observed. "Ironically, this is the year that they both come together. I think it's a good thing."
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All those previous struggles just serve to make this double breakthrough season all the more enjoyable. And to crank up the excitement at both school to absurd levels.
"Honestly, it's the been the talk of every class so far," Pirates junior quarterback Luke Richardson noted. "The whole town is relying on us to bring home this win because we haven't done it in so long."
"It's definitely the happiest we've been in a while," Murphy agreed. "The whole student body is really excited. They're wicked pumped up for Gillette."
And it's not just in the hallways and locker rooms at the high school.
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"Just walking into a store, everybody's saying how proud they are of us," Murphy said of the town's reaction. "It just shows how small this town is because everybody knows what's going on."
It's more of the same over in Randolph, where second-year coach Jonathan Marshall, an ex-Marine-turned-history-teacher, says "the energy is palpable around the school."
Said senior running back/linebacker Malik White: "A lot of people have been coming up to me, asking me about Gillette, Gillette, Gillette, you know what I'm saying?"
"Everybody is so enthusiastic and excited to be able to be the first-ever team at this school to go to Gillette Stadium," agreed senior running back/linebacker Paul Goggin, whose dad Rick is a Randolph assistant coach. "Everybody is so excited. Even today, one of our guidance counselor's sons came in and we all signed his football. The whole town is excited."
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Price, in his 11th year as AD, said this big-event vibe is what he wanted to bring to the school ever since he sat in the stands at the Division 4A EMass Super Bowl in 2011 and watched Blue Hills Regional win it all. Price remembers seeing all the Blue Hills alumni in the stands sporting varsity jackets and thought, "Why can't Randolph do that one day?"
One day appears to have finally come. Price rattled off a list of people he wanted to thank for this – everyone from the players and coaches to the school administration, the district superintendent, the school committee, the town council and the town manager.
"I think it just confirms what maybe we know here in the district but that people (outside the district) don't know – that we have some great students here," he said. "We have wonderful and talented students. We've always had them. And now we're fortunate to have a platform where everybody gets to see what we see every day. It's a chance to show who Randolph is.
"There have been a lot of things written about Randolph and said about Randolph; this team has given us that platform to dispel some of those myths and stereotypes, I hope."
The dream matchup, which was locked in on Nov. 20 (when Hull upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley in one semifinal) and Nov. 21 (when Randolph knocked off No. 11 Oxford on the other side of the bracket) got a little bit more real last Tuesday when the captains and coaches from both Hull and Randolph took part in the traditional media breakfast at Gillette.
That usually generates a high wow factor.
"To stand on the field at Gillette, it's insane," Hull's Murphy said. "Growing up as a kid watching Tom Brady play there and now you're going to play there? Surreal."
"I'm not going to lie, that was breathtaking," agreed Randolph's Augustin. "I was kind of speechless."
Now all that's left is the game itself. Amid all the hoopla and high-fives and back-slapping, the Pirates and Blue Devils have tried to remember that the journey isn't quite finished yet.
"It's a great feeling, honestly," Murphy said of the build-up to this game, "but we're not done. We have more to prove."
"I was just telling the team before they left (a film session), a student who I didn't even know stopped by and said they can't wait to take a photo of the Super Bowl trophy," Marshall said with a chuckle. "I had to re-focus them and say, 'Well, we have a game to play before that can happen.'"
REMATCH LOOMS
Hull scored a knockout in Week 4 with that 26-6 home win, but Randolph was missing several starters, and both sides agree there's been a lot of water under the proverbial bridge since then.
"There's been so much time since that game was played," Marshall said. "It was October 1st and now we're almost into December. A lot happens in two months of football. We've certainly progressed as a team, and looking at Hull's film they've progressed, too. You look at that one but realize how much growth has happened in that time."
Hull did most of its damage on the ground in the regular-season meeting. That's generally the Pirates' style with a running game keyed by junior John Gianibas (171 carries, 1,316 yards, 13 TDs). But Hull has diversified its offense lately as Richardson has started to blossom as a passer. He's completing 56 percent of his throws for 1,303 yards and eight touchdowns (plus eight more scores on the ground) and had a big night against Hoosac Valley (6-of-8 passing, 159 yards, 2 TDs).
"I don't know if my season stats reflect it, but I'm definitely happy with what I've accomplished so far with my passing game this season," Richardson said. "Hopefully we can come out throwing against Randolph."
A varied attack might be needed against the Blue Devils, who have been extremely stingy in winning their three playoff games by scores of 24-9 (over No. 7 Lee), 16-10 (over No. 2 Ware) and 8-6 (over No. 11 Oxford).
"Twenty-five points allowed in the first three games? That's amazing," said White. "Our defense actually stepped it up in practice (during this run). The energy from the defense has been great, over the top."
Marshall, who credits defensive coordinator Lou Ottaviani for cooking up great schemes, says Randolph relies on elite speed on defense and asks a lot of its three-man defensive line of juniors Chris Paul and Vidnic Bembelezza and senior Kairis Kodio.
Their matchup against Hull's offensive line of left tackle Joe Johnson, left guard Ryan Dunn, Murphy at center, right guard Sean Reilly and right tackle Conner Sordillo could decide the game.
Meanwhile, Randolph runs a double-wing offense that tries to grind defenses into powder with a deep backfield stable that includes White, Osaruyi "Greg" Izedonmwen, Mahki Barnes, Goggin and Bembelezza. QB Sebastian Jouissance throws every once in a while, usually after the Blue Devils have tempted safeties to creep up into the box to stop the run.
Hull has talent on each level of its defense, especially with end Tyler Sordillo (55 tackles, 6 sacks), Murphy at linebacker (83 tackles, 2 sacks) and free safety Austin Bongo (38 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 2 INTs).
SOUTH SHORE INVITATIONAL
By now you might have heard that the South Shore League is having quite the football postseason with Hull, Randolph, Abington, Rockland and Cohasset (Div. 7) all playing for state championships.
"I think that speaks volumes about this league," Price said.
It also highlights the minefield that both Hull and Randolph had to navigate just to get to the playoffs.
Off to a 3-1 start, Hull got battered by Mashpee, 30-6, in Week 5. The Falcons wound up losing to Cohasset in the Div. 7 semifinals.
"I had a terrible game," Richardson said. "I did not do well that game. I decided to look at my mistakes, what I did wrong, and come back better. We all came back better after that game. That was devastating. But we came back better."
Indeed, Hull's starters haven't lost since, winning six in a row before the Pirates used their JV lineup in a Thanksgiving loss to Cohasset.
"It was kind of a wake-up call," Robey said of the Mashpee game. "We realized that we had to get our act together if we wanted to make it to the playoffs and go far in the playoffs."
It wasn't always smooth sailing for Randolph, either. The Blue Devils were 4-2 before losing back-to-back games to Cohasset (33-10) and Mashpee (31-0) heading into the playoffs. Like Hull, Randolph responded well to getting socked in the jaw.
"It was our belief -- and sometimes it's hard to communicate this to teenagers -- that steel sharpens steel," Marshall said. "We play in a tough league -- the evidence (of that) is very clear now. (It was important) for our kids to not beat themselves up over two games but to look at the season as a body of work and realize there were some really good wins (and celebrate) the fact that they had earned the right to be in the playoffs.
"Once we put it behind us that first week of the playoffs, we said, 'Everybody is zero-and-zero. Records are out the window. It's now one game at a time and everyone's the same.'"
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Hull vs. Randolph: Longshots square off in Div. 8 football state final
