MIAA releases 1st power rankings: See which Taunton area teams are playoff prospects

The MIAA released its first tournament power rankings of the school year on Friday.

The rankings only include results entered before Friday at 4 a.m. For the football state tournament, the top 16 teams qualify and there's a three-win minimum to get into the field.

As of Friday, two Taunton Daily Gazette teams are on pace to qualify for the playoffs.

Division 1

Who's in?

1. 1. Springfield Central

2. Taunton

3. Andover

4. Attleboro

5. Xaverian Brothers

6. Central Catholic

7. Methuen

8. St. John's Prep

9. Franklin

10. Shrewsbury

11. Everett

12. Lawrence

13. Braintree

14. BC High

15. Weymouth

16. New Bedford

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

For the second year in a row the Tigers (3-0) are undefeated heading into their Hockomock Kelley-Rex schedule after big wins over D1 No. 16 New Bedford and Durfee and most recently ground out a 24-13 win over D4 No. 3 Middleboro thanks largely to a two-touchdown, 152-yard performance from senior running back Malachi Johnson. They now face their toughest challenge so far as they face D2 No. King Philip (3-0) on the road Friday, with the Warriors coming off a 19-14 win over D1 No. 5 Xaverian.

Division 2

The field

1. Milford

2. King Philip Regional

3. Catholic Memorial

4. Woburn Memorial

5. Reading Memorial

6. Hingham

7. Mansfield

8. Peabody Veterans

9. Wellesley

10. Natick

11. Bridgewater-Raynham

12. Durfee

13. Chelmsford

14. Quincy

15. Leominster

16. Bishop Feehan

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

The Trojans (1-2) bounced back from back-to-back shutout losses to D2 No. 1 Milford and D1 No. 5 Xaverian with a huge offensive outburst against Barnstable as junior quarterback Declan Byrne rushed for three touchdowns and junior running back Dawson DuBose had a touchdown on 190 rushing yards. Now the only thing standing in their way of improving to .500 is Marshfield, who sit just outside of the Top 16 in D2 and are coming off a 24-20 win over D1 No. 14 BC High.

Division 3

The field

1. Somerset Berkley

2. North Attleboro

3. Walpole

4. Milton

5. Hanover

6. Billerica Memorial

7. Wakefield Memorial

8. Plymouth South

9. Marblehead

10. Whitman-Hanson

11. Stoughton

12. Westwood

13. Oliver Ames

14. Sharon

15. Dartmouth

16. Masconomet Regional

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

Division 4

The field

1. Duxbury

2. Bedford

3. Middleboro

4. Tewksbury Memorial

5. Grafton

6. Scituate

7. Pembroke

8. Newburyport

9. Canton

10. Holliston

11. Melrose

12. Marlborough

13. Danvers

14. Ashland

15. Falmouth

16. Foxborough

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

Division 5

The field

1. Shawsheen Valley Tech

2. Triton Regional

3. Maynard

4. Dover-Sherborn

5. Essex North Shore

6. Bishop Fenwick

7. North Reading

8. Old Rochester Regional

9. Fairhaven

10. Apponequet Regional

11. Auburn

12. Watertown

13. Hudson

14. Worcester Tech

15. Bishop Stang

16. Dedham

What locals are outside the Top 16?

Dighton-Rehoboth (21), Bristol-Plymouth (35)

The Falcons (1-2) find themselves five places out of a playoff spot after a loss to D3 No. 13 Oliver Ames following a Week 1 loss to D4 No. 9 Canton and a Week 2 win over Austin Prep, a non-MIAA opponent. They now face their toughest challenge yet Friday as they play host to D3 No. 1 Somerset Berkley, who are coming off a 38-6 win over Durfee. As for the Craftsmen, they find themselves 19 places out of a playoff spot after winning back-to-back games against Upper Cape Tech and Diman, a game in which senior running back Ryan Barnes rushed for three touchdowns and 160 yards, following a Week 1 loss to D8 No. 13 Old Colony. They'll now look to improve their stature Friday as they host South Shore Tech, who are coming off a 6-0 win over Upper Cape Tech.

Division 6

The field

1. Rockland

2. St. Mary's

3. Stoneham

4. Abington

5. Arlington Catholic

6. Norwell

7. Winthrop

8. Lynnfield

9. East Bridgewater

10. Weston

11. Archbishop Williams

12. Sandwich

13. Bellingham

14. Nipmuc Regional

15. Ipswich

16. Seekonk

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

Division 7

The field

1. Cohasset

2. Amesbury

3. West Boylston

4. Wahconah Regional

5. Boston Latin Academy

6. Northbridge

7. Uxbridge

8. Millbury

9. Ayer Shirley

10. Clinton

11. Saint Bernard's

12. Hamilton-Wenham

13. West Bridgewater

14. Blue Hills

15. Tech Boston Academy

16. Sutton

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

Division 8

The field

1. Cathedral

2. Manchester Essex

3. Lowell Catholic

4. Hull

5. Lynn Vo-Tech

6. Randolph

7. Oxford

8. KIPP Academy Lynn Coll.

9. Nashoba Valley Tech

10. Millis

11. Lee

12. Brighton

13. Old Colony RVT

14. Minuteman Regional

15. Carver

16. Taconic

What locals are outside the Top 16?

None

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: What Greater Taunton teams made the cut in MIAA power rankings?