Playoff fever grips CMass powers

Divisional realignment in Central Mass has succeeded in creating playoff fever, with a multitude of teams elbowing for postseason berths.

Division 1 North, a.k.a. "The Big Four," will send two teams to the new Tuesday night playoff games. With perennial CMass superpowers Fitchburg and Leominster fighting it out for the second spot, defending Super Bowl champion St. John's of Shrewsbury is still the team to beat in the North.

The Pioneers will return starters at every skill position on offense, and coach John Andreoli (three Super Bowl titles in his first three years in Shrewsbury) says this year's edition is the fastest squad he's had at St. John's.

"We should be able to open up the offense this year," Andreoli said. "With our experience at the skill positions and our speed, we should be difficult to match up with."

St. John's (S) should be able to create mismatches by utilizing a pair of running backs, seniors Brendan Coyne and Evan Wheeler. Andreoli puts both players' speed in the 4.5-4.6 range, and notes there are many different ways to get them the ball within the Pioneers' offense.

The attack will be led by John Andreoli Jr., a senior quarterback in his second year as the starter. Andreoli is also a dual threat, with 4.5 speed and the arm to keep defenses honest.

In Division 1 East, Milford will be looking to hold off Algonquin and Burncoat. The Scarlet Hawks went 11-1 last year and won the Super Bowl, and they return enough talent to make another strong push in 2007. The key is senior linebacker Nick DiAntonio. He is a force against the run, using his quickness to get into gaps and his tackling ability to bring down ballcarriers. Milford will have to lean on DiAntonio and the defense while the offense catches up.

The West is home to Holy Name, which is moving up from Division 2 after a perfect (11-0) Super Bowl season. The Naps were severely depleted by graduation, with just three starters returning to chase back-to-back championships. Luckily for coach Mike Pucko, one of those players is offensive lineman John Tozer.

Tozer is arguably the best building block in Central Mass, and his steady, wall-like presence at left tackle in the Naps' double wing system should give Pucko enough time to sort out the rest of the offense.

"John is a rock on the offensive line," Pucko said, "and he's also a great defensive tackle. With only two other returning starters, it will certainly help to have him there."

Worcester South is coming off a 12-0 season and appears to be the front-runner in Division 2 West, led by senior fullback Craig Shippee. Shepherd Hill should also make noise and contend for a postseason berth.

Division 2 East will likely to come down to the winner of the Auburn-Millbury game (Oct. 19) again, though the dynamic of the best rivalry in CMass may have changed now that both teams could qualify for the playoffs.

Millbury will once again feature a spread offense with a strong passing attack, headed by quarterback Bucky Richards and receivers Nate Wool and Raheen Lewis. Overall, the Woolies return seven starters from an offense that operated at a 56-44 run-pass ratio last season.

Millbury coach Dave Palazzi cautioned that defensive lapses by newcomers on that side of the ball were a recurring problem throughout training camp, but overall he liked the Woolies' chances.

"Our goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win it," Palazzi said. "We've got the kind of team that can do it this year."

Auburn is coming off back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and is led by junior quarterback Jon Leroux, a three-year starter under center. The Rockets (four Super Bowl berths in eight years under coach Jeff Cormier) will bring back just three other starters but remain talented enough to contend for one of the East's two playoff spots.

As an early co-favorite in Division 3 West, Ayer should get plenty of production on the ground with tailback Charlie Jones running behind a big, experienced offensive line. Hudson, the other top contender, is the only team in the division that can match Ayer's O-line.

Worcester Tech went 6-5 last year, but the Eagles could make a move to the top of Division 3 East this season on the strength of a talented defense. Assabet won the Division 3A Super Bowl last year, but lost 14 starters to graduation.

Realignment

Central Mass has realigned to hold Tuesday night playoff games before the Central-Western Mass Super Bowls.

CMass is now comprised of Divisions 1, 2, and 3. Divisions 2 and 3 are split into East and West leagues, with the top two finishers in each league meeting in the post-Thanksgiving playoff game, Nov. 27, to determine the division's Super Bowl representative.

The winner of Division 2 East will play the second-place team from D2 West, with the West winner playing the No. 2 team from the East. In Division 3, the East winner will play the second-place East team in the playoff game, and the West will follow suit.

The playoff winners will advance to face their Western Mass counterparts in the Super Bowl.

Division 1 is split into three leagues - East, West, and North. Only the winners of the East and West leagues will advance to the postseason, while the North will receive two bids. The Division 1 North first-place finisher will play the West champion in the Tuesday game, while the North's second-place team will face the East winner.

Opening weekend

Leominster will find out quickly what kind of team it has, facing EMass's No. 1-ranked Everett tonight. Leominster won Division 1 last fall before losing to Longmeadow, 42-0, in the Super Bowl. The Blue Devils will concentrate on containing Boston College-bound running back Isaac Johnson. No. 2 Brockton opens on the road, facing No. 18 BC High. Last fall Brockton was ranked No. 1 entering the opener against BC High and was stunned, 27-20 . . . There's an interesting doubleheader taking place at Endicott College in Beverly tomorrow. At noon, Masconomet faces Christ the King of Queens, N.Y., the high school of basketball stars Sue Bird (Connecticut) and Chamique Holdsclaw (Tennessee). At 3 p.m. No. 3-ranked Mansfield plays Holy Cross of Flushing, New York. Holy Cross coach Tom Pugh is the brother of Masco coach Jim. There's one admission price of $5 for adults, $3 for students . . . Winthrop puts its 13-game win streak on the line as the Vikings travel to Gloucester tonight. Winthrop was the highest-scoring team in the state last fall, averaging better than 40 points per game and finishing the year with an even 500 total points. It was just the fifth time in state history a team has scored 500 or more points. Gloucester went 9-2 last fall, including a 35-7 loss to the Vikings, and would like nothing better than to end Winthrop's streak. Because of the split between Northeastern Large and Small, this is a non-league contest . . . Bridgewater-Raynham had hoped to open the season on its new artificial turf field but the lack of stands and bathrooms has forced the Trojans to open tomorrow at 1 against Marshfield on its old field . . . Bay State defending champions Natick (Herget and ranked No. 5) and Weymouth (Carey, and No. 15) meet tonight in Natick . . . No. 4-ranked Woburn of the Middlesex League travels to Acton to face the No. 20-ranked Colonials of Acton-Boxboro and the Dual County League. Both teams finished second in their leagues last fall and both went 9-2.

Calling all scores

Coaches are asked to call in their scores as soon as possible following the conclusion of the game. All summaries should include: score by periods, chronological scoring, including first and last names from both teams, yardage, and success or failure of the conversion (with names). Scores should be called into 617-929-3235, or 929-2860, 2861, 2862, and 2863.