DEDHAM, Mass. — The sports staff at Boston 25 News announced Tuesday that they have assembled an eight-person panel to amass a High School Football Top 10 Poll each week during the fall season.
On Tuesday evening, that panel released their first poll of the season, with the Catholic Memorial Knights leading the way as the state’s top-ranked team. CM, who went 4-0 in a COVID-shortened spring season earlier in 2021, received five first-place votes and was ranked second in the three other polls.
On their heels are the Central Catholic Red Raiders, who are also coming off of an undefeated (7-0) spring season. Central garnered a pair of No. 1 votes.
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The only other team to enter the season with a vote to be the top team in the state was Everett High School. And while the Crimson Tide were 3-0 in their short season this spring, Everett earned the fourth seed by virtue of their ranking in other panel members’ polls. The Xaverian Hawks (5-1 a season ago) ranked just above them at No. 3 entering the upcoming season.
Fellow previously undefeated programs Mansfield (6-0) and Lincoln-Sudbury (7-0) enter the year ranked at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the poll. St. John’s Prep comes in as the seventh-ranked team in the state after winning the last two Division 1 Super Bowls before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A trio of public school programs round out the Top 10 Poll, with Melrose coming in at No. 8, Natick at No. 9 and the Reading Rockets at No. 10.
BC High, Marshfield, Andover, Marblehead, Barnstable, Bishop Fenwick and Duxbury also received votes.
- Catholic Memorial (5)
- Central Catholic (2)
- Xaverian
- Everett (1)
- Mansfield
- Lincoln-Sudbury
- St. John’s Prep
- Melrose
- Natick
- Reading
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