Taunton rises, B-R steady in latest football power rankings. Who could see the playoffs?
The MIAA released its latest tournament power rankings of the 2022-23 school year on Friday.
The rankings only include results entered before Friday, Oct. 18 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 morning, two Greater Taunton area teams are on pace to qualify for the playoffs.
Division 1
The field
Franklin
Springfield Central
Central Catholic
Xaverian Brothers
Andover
Taunton
St. John's Prep
Attleboro
Methuen
Brockton
Wachusett Regional
Everett
Lynn Classical
Shrewsbury
Boston College High
Weymouth
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
The Tigers (4-2) moved up two spots from a week ago following their big 46-14 win over Division 3 No. 13 Oliver Ames last Thursday and look to be solidly in a playoff spot with two games remaining, but will need to stay at No. 8 or above in order to secure a home playoff game. Taunton will look to secure their standing and earn their first Hockomock Kelley-Rex win of the year tonight as they host Division 3 No. 4 North Attleboro (3-2) in their first matchup with the Red Rocketeers since 2015.
Second life: A look at what it's like living in these 3 former Taunton factories
Divison 2
The field
Milford
King Philip Regional
Peabody Veterans
Catholic Memorial
Chelmsford
Reading Memorial
Marshfield
Mansfield
Wellesley
Woburn Memorial
Hingham
Leominster
Westford Academy
Concord-Carlisle
North Andover
Bridgewater-Raynham
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
The Trojans (4-3) stay steady in the No. 16 spot following their best showing of the year Thursday night as they shut out Division 3 No. 20 Dartmouth 37-0 thanks largely to a four touchdown, 231 rushing yard performance from running back Dawson DuBose and a shut down effort by the B-R defense. The Trojans now have just one game left to secure their spot in the postseason next Friday when they host Division 4 No. 6 Middleborough (5-1).
Women of Taunton: Serial killer Jane Toppan spent her final years at Taunton State Hospital
Division 3
The field
Milton
Plymouth South
Hanover
North Attleboro
Wakefield Memorial
Billerica Memorial
Walpole
Marblehead
Whitman-Hanson Reg.
Westwood
Westfield
Silver Lake Regional
Oliver Ames
Stoughton
Somerset Berkley Reg.
Revere
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
Division 4
The field
Duxbury
Holliston
Grafton
Bedford
Tewksbury Memorial
Middleboro
Scituate
Pembroke
Foxboro
Marlboro
East Longmeadow
Melrose
Northampton
Danvers
Newburyport
Nashoba Regional
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
Division 5
The field
Maynard
Hudson
Shawsheen Valley Tech
Dover-Sherborn
North Reading
Bishop Fenwick
Apponequet Regional
Watertown
Old Rochester Regional
Auburn
Triton Regional
Fairhaven
Worcester Tech
Swampscott
Bishop Stang
Groton-Dunstable
What locals are outside the Top 16?
Bristol-Plymouth (22), Dighton-Rehoboth (27)
Despite being on a six-game winning streak and securing the Mayflower League Large title with a 34-17 win over Division 5 No. 31 Southeastern Thursday, with all five touchdowns coming via running back Ryan Barnes, the Craftsmen (6-1) slipped two spots from last Friday and again sit six spots out of a playoff place. It appears that their latest win was not counted in time, however, so they should be in for a boost when the next poll comes out Tuesday and will hope to further it next Friday as they travel to Division 7 No. 12 West Bridgewater (4-2).
Still how can a league champion with a 6-1 record not be a playoff team? It comes down to the details of the power ranking system. While B-P has the best average margin of victory of any Division 5 team outside the top 16 (10.2857), they have the second-worst opponent rating (-13.2295) in all of Division 5, with only No. 33 Belchertown (3-3) having a worse rating (-18.3144). What could help them though is the requirement for teams to have at least three MIAA wins to make playoffs, so if No. 13 Worcester Tech (2-4) fail to win their next two contests, they would be ineligible for the postseason, as would No. 18 Dedham (2-4) and No. 19 Northeast Metro (2-4) if they fail to win, while No. 20 Greater Lawrence Tech (0-6) has already been eliminated from playoff contention.
As for the Falcons (1-5), who fell 30-6 to Division 5 No. 7 Apponequet last Friday, they stay put at 27 but have already been ruled out of playoff contention since they will be unable to make the three MIAA win threshold with two weeks remaining. Their only win so far came against Austin Prep, who left the MIAA for the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) ahead of the season, and they have another non-MIAA contest tonight as they host Plainfield (1-3) of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC).
Division 6
The field
Rockland
Stoneham
St. Mary's
Winthrop
Abington
Blackstone Valley RVT
Lynnfield
Bellingham
Sandwich
Assabet Valley RVT
Arlington Catholic
Norwell
East Bridgewater
Oakmont Regional
Seekonk
Archbishop Williams
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
Division 7
The field
West Boylston
Amesbury
Millbury
Cohasset
Uxbridge
Saint Bernard's
Wahconah Regional
Clinton
Tyngsboro
Boston Latin Academy
Northbridge
West Bridgewater
Ayer Shirley
Hamilton-Wenham
Lunenburg
Mashpee
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
Division 8
The field
Hull
Lowell Catholic
Manchester Essex
Oxford
Old Colony RVT
Cathedral
KIPP Academy Lynn Coll.
Nashoba Valley Tech
Lee
Carver
Quaboag Regional
Brighton
Randolph
Ware
Taconic
Murdock
What locals are outside the Top 16?
None
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton rises, B-R falls in latest football power rankings
