Playoff quarterfinals shake up bottom half of Top 10

DEDHAM, Mass. — For the third straight week, the Boston 25 High School Football Top 10 Poll saw a big shakeup following some high-profile losses in the postseason.

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The one team immune from the tumultuousness was once again the No. 1 Catholic Memorial Knights (10-0), who unanimously retained the top seed in the commonwealth after blowing out the previously-seventh-ranked Reading Rockets, 47-13, in the Division 2 Quarterfinals.

Hot on their heels are the No. 2 Central Catholic Raiders (9-1), who moved up in the rankings for the third straight week after defeating St. John’s Shrewsbury, 37-13, in the Division 1 Quarterfinals. The Raiders are set to battle the No. 4 St. John’s Prep Eagles (8-2) in the Division 1 Semifinals this upcoming week after the Eagles, who improved two spots from a week ago, crushed Wachusett, 57-20, in their quarterfinal matchup.

Lincoln-Sudbury (8-1) had been the second-ranked team in the state last week, but their 27-23 loss to Marshfield in the Division 2 Quarterfinals dropped them from the Top 10. The Rams (9-1), meanwhile, moved from No. 10 to No. 5 with the win.

This is the second straight week that the No. 2 team in Mass. has fallen in the postseason; a week ago, the Everett Crimson Tide (8-1) dropped their playoff contest to Methuen. That Methuen team moved on to face No. 3 Franklin (8-0), who continued their climb up the rankings with a 24-7 win over the Rangers (7-3). Meanwhile, Everett fell out of the rankings this week despite a 49-21 win over Andover in non-postseason play.

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The bottom half of the Top 10 saw a great amount of change this week, with four of the five squads joining the rankings after not being ranked a week ago. No. 6 King Phillip (8-1), No. 8 Milford (8-2), No. 9 Duxbury (8-1), and No. 10 Scituate (9-1) all earned their spots this week after playoff victories.

The lone team in the latter half of the Top 10 to make an appearance for a consecutive week was No. 7 Marblehead (9-0) who remained undefeated with their 21-7 win over Masconomet in the Division 3 Quarterfinals.

Xaverian (7-3), who fell out of the rankings after being drubbed, 40-15, by Springfield Central, also received votes this week, as did Lincoln-Sudbury, Reading, Everett, Billerica (9-1) and Foxboro (9-1).

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