Back from an extended break to deliver the latest City League Notes.

Game(s) of the Week

I don't need to tell you there were two games of the week two weekends ago, when both the Boston North and Boston South titles were decided on back-to-back days. We'll focus first on Friday, when Brighton claimed the South title with a win over Dorchester.

Some leftover thoughts from the game: The contest was essentially decided as Brighton's defense shut down Eric Lott. Dorchester couldn't get anything going offensively without their star running back. Much is made of Brighton's offense led by quarterback Kameel Lashley, but the Bengals have quite the defense as well.

Brighton could have won by even more if the offense didn't get too fancy for its own good. With the score 6-6 in the second quarter, Brighton found itself facing third and goal from the 1. If they sneak it twice with Lashley, I guarantee the Bengals score. Instead, Lashley throws on third down (good pass, but dropped) and Dorchester stuffed the hand off up the middle on fourth down. Dorchester didn't stop Lashley all game, why not let him run it in?

In the same vein, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lashley dropped back to throw on first and goal from the 8. The pass was intercepted. Brighton was abusing the ground game all day, and a couple Lashley runs probably would have lead to another score. Alas, good teams find a way to win games even when mistakes are made.

Brighton's triumph, combined with a Pope John win, means we could see an amazing rematch in the Division 4 Superbowl (too bad its not at Gillette, but that's for a different blog entry). If you remember, Brighton won that Week 2 matchup, 60-58, in triple overtime. If both teams win their first-round playoff games, they will meet again in the Superbowl and all football fans will be happy.

On Saturday, East Boston beat Madison Park to claim the Boston North title.

Some thoughts: Why play this game so early? First off, it was cold. Very cold. And 10 a.m. is very early. Sometimes, I'm not up by 10 a.m. I can't imagine running full force and hitting people. A noon start time would have been better for the players and anyone wishing to watch the game. It also would have been nice if Brighton-Dorchester had been moved to 6 p.m., so people could have got there after work.

Madison Park outgained the Jets' offense, partially because East Boston had some great field position, but also in part because the Cardinals played some pretty good defense. Aside from Tyrone Figueroa's long run in the first possession of the game, the Madison Park defense kept the team within striking distance.

Coach John Sousa told me that Frank Brown will almost certainly not be back to play the rest of the season with his broken thumb. This could be bad news for the Jets. Brown provided a great change-of-pace back in combination with Figueroa.

Top Performers

1. Tyrone Figueroa, East Boston - Not only did he rush for two touchdowns and 113 yards, but his interception towards the end of the first half set up the Jets to take a two-score lead into halftime, a huge momentum boost. When I saw the ball floating into Figueroa's hands, I said, "that's the last person they want to throw it to." After Figueroa's 40-yard return, Madison Park was in trouble.

2. Kameel Lashley, Brighton - Lashley had a monster first half with 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and finished the day with 117 yards overall on the ground. He could have had a passing TD if it wasn't dropped, but that interception drops him down to the second spot for the week.

3. Jonathan Turner, Charlestown - The talented QB ran for a touchdown and threw two more in Charlestown's 24-12 victory over South Boston.

Look Ahead

As always, the game to watch in the City League on Thanksgiving will be Eastie vs. Southie. It has no playoff implications, it just gives Southie the chance to put a blemish on the Jets' perfect season. But this game is always a big one.

I myself won't be there unfortunately (headed to Blue Hills to see if that's who East Boston will play first round) but the Globe will have someone there and we'll have all the details.

As for my pick, well, it's gotta be East Boston. They're undefeated, and I don't see them losing the perfect record here. But I don't expect to see all that much of Tyrone Figueroa either, maybe just the first half to keep him fresh. As for the other games this week: