Massachusetts
Ranking the top 25 MIAA high school football teams in Massachusetts ahead of Week 9
Meet the Week 8 High School Football Player of the Week candidates
These baker’s dozen candidates were cooking in Week 8. Vote for the Daily News High School Football Player of the Week.
Our No. 1 stayed firmly in place. After weeks of coming close, St. John’s Prep grabbed the top spot in our poll from Catholic Memorial with all four first-place votes and a unanimous 100 points last week. The Eagles stayed firmly in place following a convincing 37-15 win at Malden Catholic last Friday night.
This is the final week of the regular season before a much-anticipated MIAA tournament, and teams across the commonwealth are staking their places in league standings and the statewide power rankings.
Kyle Grabowski (MetroWest Daily News), Jason Snow (The Patriot Ledger), Tim Whelan (Gannett New England) and Chris McDaniel (Gannett New England) will collectively rank the top teams in the state every week this season. These are the rankings heading into Week 8.
Watch MA high school football on NFHS Network
MA high school football top 25 rankings
1. St. John’s Prep- 100 points (4 first-place votes)
2. Springfield Central – 96 points
3. Xaverian – 92 points
4. Catholic Memorial – 88 points
5. King Philip – 84 points
6. Natick – 79 points
7. Methuen – 73 points
8. Central Catholic – 70 points
9. Bishop Feehan – 63 points
10. Tewksbury – 61 points
11. Barnstable – 60 points
12. Marshfield – 54 points
13. Scituate – 53 points
14. Foxborough – 50 points
15. Mansfield – 49 points
16. Andover – 39 points
17. North Attleborough – 37 points
18. Shawsheen Valley Tech – 31 points
19. Milton – 30 points
20. Winchester – 23 points
21. Bridgewater-Raynham – 14 points
22. Abington – 9 points
23. Canton – 8 points
T-24. Hingham – 7 points
T-24. Hanover – 7 points
Other receiving votes: Leominster (6), Duxbury (6), Archbishop Williams (5), Wachusett (5), Bedford (1)
Who jumped into the top 25?
Hanover (5-2) moved into the poll after a 42-21 victory over Quincy, the Hawks’ fourth straight win.
Other notable activity
The top eight remained the same as last week, but Bishop Feehan moved up three spots to #9 after a 27-21 win over a tough Franklin team. North Attleborough, meanwhile, moved down seven spots from #10 to #17 after a 24-14 defeat to Mansfield. The Hornets moved from #20 to #15 with the Hockomock League Davenport triumph.
Massachusetts
Man arrested after injuring Massachusetts State trooper, K-9 in wrong-way crash in Chicopee
A man has been arrested after injuring a Massachusetts State trooper and a K-9 in a wrong-way crash in Chicopee Saturday morning.
It happened around 4 a.m. on Interstate-91. State Police said they received a report that someone was driving very fast heading south on the north side of I-91. Officers began a “rolling roadblock” in the area “with emergency lights activated, in an effort to safely stop the vehicle and protect other motorists.”
The driver swerved and struck the rear driver’s side of a K-9 cruiser. He then hit another car head-on, according to state police.
The trooper and his K-9 were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the car that was hit head-on also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a hospital.
“I want to commend the bravery and quick actions of our Troopers, whose efforts to stop this wrong-way driver likely prevented further injuries and potentially saved lives,” State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said in a statement. “These incidents demonstrate the risks our Troopers and all of law enforcement face every day on our roadways. The Massachusetts State Police remain committed to enforcing impaired driving laws and holding accountable those whose dangerous decisions put lives at risk.”
The driver, identified as 28-year-old Jose Santiago from Holyoke, Masaschusetts had minor injuries. He has been charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and other charges.
Chicopee, Massachusetts, is around five miles from Springfield and 90 miles from Boston.
Massachusetts
Officials ID man and woman killed in Route 6 crash in Dartmouth
An Acushnet man and a New Bedford woman are dead, and two others are injured after a crash in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, that left Route 6 completely impassable for a period of time Friday evening.
Police from Dartmouth and Westport responded just after 7:30 p.m. to 911 calls about a crash on Route 6 near the Dartmouth/Westport line, and arrived to find two vehicles were involved, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said.
A blue Toyota Camry sustained catastrophic damage in the collision, officials said. The male driver, identified as 34-year-old Tristan Bedient, and his female passenger, 51-year-old Kate Aldrich, were taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead shortly after.
Two people in the SAAB suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials added.
Route 6 was closed westbound at Route 177 and eastbound at Highland Avenue. Police warned drivers to avoid the area, seek alternate routes, and expect significant traffic delays.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by Dartmouth police, Westport police and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office. Further information was not immediately available.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man charged in N.H. and N.J. bank robberies caught in Capital Region
GLENS FALLS, NY (WRGB) — A Massachusetts man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he robbed two banks in separate states and tried to evade investigators by switching license plates—before evidence gathered in New York’s Capital Region helped lead authorities to him.
Joseph Sawyer is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from St. Mary’s Bank in New Hampshire and a Chase Bank in New Jersey last month. In both robberies, prosecutors say Sawyer fled in a Honda Odyssey minivan.
Prosecutors say the minivan originally had Massachusetts license plates, but Sawyer swapped them out with stolen New Jersey plates in an attempt to cover his tracks.
After the second robbery, highway cameras in Albany County captured the minivan as it tried to flee the tri-state area, prosecutors said. The FBI later tracked the vehicle to a motel near Glens Falls, where Sawyer was staying.
Prosecutors also say Sawyer’s own family helped identify him through surveillance photos, linking him to the robberies.
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