Randolph will rely on proven performers
Randolph was one of the surprise teams of the postseason.
The Blue Devils entered the Division 8 state tournament as the No. 10 seed, then proceeded to knock off three higher seeds to get to the championship game. Randolph then completed the storybook journey by avenging a regular season loss to defeat Hull in the championship game.
Randolph will lean on the likes of proven performers such as Greg Izedonmwen and Mahki Barnes to defend the crown. Hull has to be consider a viable contender to the crown as 1,000-yard rusher John Gianabas leads a slew of returning players to the field.
Like Hull, Manchester-Essex is a position to make some noise as many of their key starters are back. Upstart KIPP will rely on star quarterback Juan Setalsingh to continue progressing toward the top of the heap.
Cohasset opened the season with a pair of losses, then ended it with 10 straight wins, including a 27-12 triumph over Wahconah in the Div. 7 state final.
The Skippers will look to AllScholastic quarterback Will Baker to try and defend their title. South Shore League rival Mashpee, which fell to Cohasset in the state semifinals, should be in the mix once again.
West Bridgewater could have been one of the best teams not to make the postseason despite a 6-1 record, have taken steps to alleviating that by beefing up the schedule. Blue Hills returns several starters from a team which won the Small School Vocational Bowl championship.
Latin Academy and East Boston figure to be among the top teams in the Boston City League, while Amesbury could be a factor coming out of the Cape Ann League.