The Forsberg 7

Barring a desire to throw out a prediction on the annual Shriner's games, this is our final pigskin prognostication column of the 2007 season. On one hand, we're sad to see the season come to end; on the other, we're jacked and pumped for Saturday's Super Bowls. It should be a phenomenal day down at Gillette Stadium (and at Stonehill College). Everyone come out and support your school.

Boston Globe high school sports editor Bob Holmes did a fantastic job providing preview capsules, along with his predictions, for each of Saturday's seven games. Click the links below to check them out as they include the nitty-gritty:

preview capsules Division 1 | 1A | 2 | 2A | 3 | 3A | 4

Here's my take on each game:

Everett vs. Dartmouth

We ask ourselves the same question each time Everett faces a quality opponent: What does this opponent have to do to beat the Tide? And the answer is almost always the same: Play mistake-free football and somehow jump on top early.

But do you know how many times Everett has trailed during its current 24-game winning streak? Once. A 2-point conversion pass in the first quarter of last year's Thanksgiving Day tussle with Cambridge put the Falcons out front momentarily, 8-7. Everett soon motored away for a 44-22 triumph.

Maybe it's psychological. It's hard enough for some teams to get over the mental hurdle associated with playing the mighty Tide. But to fall behind early seems demoralizing.Nowhere was that more evident than Tuesday night in Lowell. After the game, coach John DiBiaso told reporters, "Thank God we won the toss." Everett lives off of putting the opposing team on its heels and it did just that to BC High when Isaac Johnson broke free on a 47-yard touchdown on just the third play from scrimmage (this after he set the tone for the night with a long kickoff return out near midfield).

You could almost feel the air leaving the BC High sideline. Johnson punched in the second of his three touchdown runs later in the first quarter and it just sort of felt like the game was over.

If we're Dartmouth, we're praying we win the toss Saturday. The Indians need to take the ball and move downfield. We're not even sure it's critical to get points on the board, but at least move the chains and don't give Everett a short field. In the same breath, Dartmouth has to be fearless. Fourth and short near midfield... go for it. Heck, Everett went for it on fourth and short from its own 16 last year against Brockton, and look what happened (an 84-yard TD run by Johnson).

Dartmouth needs to do to Everett what the Tide do to every other team they play: Put the pressure on them.

We also think there's a little something to the notion that Dartmouth is a loose cannon here. Few pegged them to topple Brockton and even fewer likely expect them to stay within three touchdowns of Everett. With no expectations and nothing to lose, the Indians can just go play football. Use all that David vs. Goliath propaganda and try to take down the giant.

This one is decided in the opening 10 minutes. If Dartmouth sticks close, they have a chance. An early deficit is crushing. We see a big first-half play by the Tide propelling them to another Super Bowl crown.

The pick: Everett 28, Dartmouth 14

Chelmsford vs. Marshfield

Everyone needs a little luck getting to the big game. But good teams make the best of those opportunities when they come their way. No teams personify that notion better than Chelmsford and Marshfield.

The Rams endured a late-season loss to Plymouth North that seemed to derail their playoff chances in the Atlantic Coast League. Even after defeating frontrunner Dennis-Yarmouth a week later, the league seemed destined for a three-way tie and the Rams, having made a Super Bowl appearance a year ago, appeared ready to be eliminated based on the conference's last-to-go tiebreaker.

Then Plymouth South upset Plymouth North on Turkey Day and, fast-forward 10 days, here is Marshfield in another Super Bowl.

A year ago the Rams ran into a team of destiny in Wayland. This year they seem destined to relive that fate at the hands of the team that toppled the Warriors: Chelmsford.

Where to start? Flying quietly below the preseason radar in a stacked Merrimack Valley Conference, Chelmsford did little to stick out, especially after falling in Week 2 to Acton-Boxboro in a non-conference matchup.

Even a 28-6 shellacking of Tewksbury in Week 4 -- a win that looks more impressive looking back -- did little to take the spotlight off league rivals Billerica and Andover. Most prognosticators figured the Lions would falter when they got to the meat of their conference schedule later in the season.

Never happened. Not even close, really. Chelmford waltzed through the remaining brass of the conference over the final four weeks of the regular season, locking up the league crown in Week 10 when Billerica faltered against Tewksbury.

Chelmsford appeared dead in the water after falling behind Wayland, 17-0, during halftime of Tuesday's playoff semifinal. A late-game interception thrown by quarterback Tim Rich should have sealed the Lions' demise, but an improbable forced fumble and recovery by Anthony Iovino gave Chelmsford new life.

The Lions made the most of that second chance. They'll make more of it Saturday.

The pick: Chelmsford 24, Marshfield 14

Walpole vs. Bishop Feehan

The Boston Globe school sports staff heard more than a few groans when Bishop Feehan entered the top 20 poll a few weeks back. The Shamrocks have been making us look good ever since.

On the heels of an improbable upset of Mansfield in the playoff semifinals -- a win aided by an improvised 2-point conversion pass on a botched PAT attempt -- we're left wondering if Bishop Feehan is itself a team of destiny, or if they used up all of that four-leaf clover the other night.

Here's what we do know: Tony Wood is going to have this team ready to play. His teams always come out fired up for big games (Just ask North Attleboro or Hingham this season). So even if Walpole is firing on all cylinders, we don't see the Rebels running away with this one.

Unless, of course, sophomore sensation Ryan Izzo takes his firework display to the season's biggest stage. But therein lies the strength of this Walpole squad: For as much talent as this sophomore class brings (including Izzo and quarterback Sonny Mastromatteo), there's a senior nucleus that fuels the Rebels including captains Billy Hickey, Joe Drinkwater, and Andrew Fellini. Sprinkle in vets like senior wide out Marc Carrie and senior running back Niccolo Mastromatteo, and it's easy to see how this team thrives with a youthful infusion.

The pick: Walpole 21, Bishop Feehan 14

Gloucester vs. Hingham

We really dig this matchup. Maybe it's because there's no common opponents between the two sides, so it's really like two different worlds colliding. North vs. South for Division 2A supremacy.

Gloucester appears to be the team to beat here after its annihilation of Masconomet. Hingham, meanwhile, needed a little rally to edge Seekonk in a low-scoring affair during its playoff semifinal Tuesday. We think the two will meet somewhere in the middle, with both sides putting up points and both defenses coming up with key stops at different junctures of the game.

If the Fishermen come out with the sort of energy they brought Tuesday night, they might give an upper-division team a run for their money. Like Isaac Johnson against BC High, Andrew Fulford really set the tone with a long opening kickoff return and, five touchdowns later, the senior said his squad was ready for the next challenge.

Hingham has shown it can hang with some big boys. An early season win over Lincoln-Sudbury looks mighty impressive after the Warriors went on to earn a share of the Dual County League title in Division 1A. The Harbormen's only loss came to Bishop Feehan, and we've already documented how the Shamrocks play up to quality opponents.

So what gives here? Hingham really needs its defense to bring its A game. Few teams will win a shootout with the Fishermen. Lynn Classical and Swampscott kept things close early and that allowed them to take Gloucester to the wire.

But it Fulford and Co., start finding the end zone with alarming frequency early on, watch out.

The pick: Gloucester 31, Hingham 21

Swampscott vs. Medfield

Who is the bigger Blue? I suppose we'll find out Saturday. But these two sides are about as different as you'll find in this weekend's Super Bowls.

Swampscott entered the year ready to build behind the arm of senior quarterback Peter Kinchley and a large group of returning starters. Running a spread offense, the Big Blue averaged 24.2 points per game this fall, and coupled it with a defense that allowed fewer than 21 points in every game this season (that blackjack coming in Swampscott's lone loss to Gloucester). Nine times Swampscott held an opponent to two touchdowns or less.

Medfield, meanwhile, graduated 20-plus seniors from last year's Super Bowl squad and lost the quarterback it had planned to build its offense around when Matt Schairer's family moved before the start of the school year (he landed at King Philip this fall).

As the Globe's Pat Ouellette wrote in his preview of Tuesday's semifinal matchup with Abington:

Medfield knew its defense would be solid, but there were concerns about an inexperienced offense. There were early struggles when senior Luke Swain moved into the starting quarterback role after incumbent Matt Schairer moved out of town.

Medfield coach Mike Slason had planned on running a spread offense but changed to a short-pass, run-oriented system that gives teams many looks. Slason stuck with Swain, and his loyalty has paid dividends, as Swain became an effective game manager who rarely makes mistakes.

"Luke's done an admirable job leading this offense," Slason said. "He wasn't put in the easiest position but has gotten better as the season's progressed."

That defense continues to lead the way for Medfield, but it's pretty obvious the Warriors are going to need to put some points on the board to be successful Saturday. Medfield gutted out a 12-8 win over the Green Wave Tuesday, but we think a few more points on the scoreboard will be necessary. Gotta make those conversions in the big game.

Either way, we see this one staying close. And defense wins championships, right?

The pick: Medfield 14, Swampscott 13

East Boston vs. Greater Lawrence

Greater Lawrence's turnaround is a great story and with Nate Adames in the backfield, anything is possible with this team. But it's hard to overlook the fact that the Reggies' opponents had a combined record of 48-81 this fall.

The positive spin is that Greater Lawrence defeated some quality teams including 8-2 Georgetown and 9-2 Shawsheen. The negative is that Greater Lawrence fell to 3-8 Lawrence on Thanksgiving Day and barely edged 5-6 Amesbury in a semifinal playoff matchup. That's not exactly turning heads down the stretch.

But, as we said before, that's all a moot point if Greater Lawrence topples East Boston. And to do that the Reggies are going to need to do what few else teams have done: Bottle up Tyrone Figueroa.

The Jets bowling ball of a back has rumbled for 24 TDs and scored 148 points overall this fall. Not only did he rush for a trio of scores against Blue Hills in the semifinals, he also hauled in a game-winning 39-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to lift his squad to a come-from-behind 38-34 triumph.

The Reggies are going to put points on the board and, much like Blue Hills forced, we can see this one materializing into a bit of a shootout. The question is whether Greater Lawrence can stop (or maybe just slow) these high-flying Jets. We're not certain it can.

The pick: East Boston 30, Greater Lawrence 21

Brighton vs. West Bridgewater

As impressive as West Bridgewater looked in blanking Pope John and its high-octane offense Tuesday night, we're pretty sure Brighton was happy to see the Wildcats prevail. Now the Bengals have a shot at redemption following last year's 34-14 Super Bowl loss to WB.

This is the moment the Bengals have been building towards. Take away that 2-point, triple-overtime nail-biter with Pope John and no team came within two touchdowns of Brighton this fall. That's downright Everett-like.

But the crazy part of this matchup is the final scores against Pope John. How exactly do the Bengals give up 58 points to a team that is blanked by the very team they'll meet in the Super Bowl?

West Bridgewater gave up no more than 18 points this fall, dropping only a one-point decision to Blue Hills during the regular season. The Wildcats gave up a touchdown or less in five of their last seven games. West Bridgewater remains a bit of an enigma coming out of that Mayflower Small, where they play league opponents twice. We're thinking Brighton puts up just enough points to emerge with that crown, but if the Wildcats bring the defense that tames the Bengals, they could easily emerge as repeat champs.

The pick: Brighton 14, West Bridgewater 13

Last week: 9-5 (.643)
Year to date: 113-43 (.724)