Massachusetts Moving Closer...Again...to Statewide Football Playoffs

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

March 12th will be a big day in Massachusetts high school football history.

That's the day that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Football Committee will vote again on a new proposal that would create a statewide playoff system.  Two years ago, another statewide proposal was voted down 190-114 by the MIAA's member schools.

On Thursday, the MIAA Football Committee voted in favor of scheduling a meeting on March 12th at which time it will vote on whether to forward a new playoff proposal to the MIAA's Tournament Management Committee that has the power to implement.

The latest proposal that has been constructed by the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association preserves the current league structure, which would have been scrapped under the 2010 plan, plus Thanksgiving Day games will not be touched.

Massachusetts and New Jersey are the only two states that don't conduct statewide football playoffs.

National Letter of Intent Signing Day - Massachusetts High Schools

Casey DeAndrade - DB/RB (East Bridgewater) - New Hampshire
Ryan Farrell - DB/WR (Xaverian Brothers) - New Hampshire
Marcus Grant - WR (Lawrence Academy) - Boston College
Abner Logan - LB (Dexter School) - Maryland
Tim Joy - LB (Chelmsford) - Boston College
Sacoy Malone - RB (Springfield Central) - Maine
Eric Olson - OL (Buckingham, Brown & Nichols) - Northwestern
Patrick Ricard - DE (David Prouty) - Maine

City Gloucester Trying to Sell Naming Rights to Newell Stadium

by Jeff Fisher
Massachusetts High School Football Huddle

Gloucester city officials are hoping to hop into the naming rights game by offering title sponsorship rights for Newell Stadium.

According to the Boston Globe, the city is selling the naming rights to its high school sports stadium for $500,000.

The Gloucester High School Fighting Fishermen are the defending Division 1A Eastern Massachusetts champs.  Last year, Gloucester beat Bridgewater-Raynham 34-13 last year to cap a perfect 13-0 season.

The championship was the third in the last four years for the Fighting Fishermen.

Central Mass Beats Western Mass in Shrine Chowder Bowl Classic

by Jeff Fisher
Massachusetts High School Football Huddle

Central Mass continued its dominance over the western part of the state in Friday's 11th annual Shrine Chowder Bowl Classic at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Springfield.

The Central stars rolled to a 35-0 victory to give them a 9-1-1 advantage in the game that began in 2001.

Click here to learn more about the game.

Massachusetts - 2011 National Signing Day

Taariq Allen (The Rivers School, WR) - Nebraska
Manny Asprilla (Everett, DB) - Boston College
Dalton Gifford (Bridgton Academy, OT) - Connecticut
Marcus Grant (Lawrence Academy, WR) - Iowa
Al Louis-Jean (Brockton, DB) - Boston College
Brian Miller (Andover, TE) - Boston College
Paul Nwokeji (Thayer Academy, OT) - Connecticut
Mike Orloff (Lawrence Academy, LB) - UCLA
Liam Porter (Natick, OL) - Boston College
Max Ricci (Lawrence Academy, DL) - Boston College