Patriot League teams enter the state tournament battle tested
The Catholic Conference has earned its share of football props, as well as the Merrimack Valley Conference and Hockomock League.
But it’s time to give the Patriot League its proper due. The league has won five Super Bowl titles since 2016 and appears ready to add to that number. Duxbury and Hanover enter the tournament as the top seed in Division 4 and 5, respectively. Marshfield is the third seed in Div. 2 and Scituate checks in at No. 7 in Div. 4.
“I think there are a lot of good teams in our league and you really don’t have any weeks off,” said Scituate coach Herb Devine, who won Super Bowl titles in 2018 and 2021. “Because of that, we really go into the tournament battle tested. This year, Hanover is one of the best teams we’ve seen in years, they rival the really good Duxbury teams. Plymouth South is good, Marshfield is good and that provides for great competition every week.”
There are plenty of quality teams, but the unquestioned top dog over the past 15-20 years has been Duxbury. The defending Div. 4 state champions open up at home Friday night against Bedford. After a season-opening loss to Hanover, the Dragons responded impressively by winning the final six games, two of them coming against traditional Hockomock League powers Franklin and Mansfield.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys,” said Duxbury coach Matt Landolfi. “We had a tough opener, but the senior class was really motivated by it, they recognized that they needed to put their best foot forward and they did that.”
The team that finally knocked off Duxbury was Hanover. The Hawks entered the game having lost 15 straight to the Dragons, but got over the hump this year, winning 28-18 and there was no stopping them.
“It was a great confidence boost for our kids,” Hanover coach Brian Kelliher said. “We played them tough last year, so we knew we could compete. Then we played a tough schedule, we really have a great league. Duxbury is a top seed, Hingham and Marshfield are in the playoffs, Plymouth South and Scituate are outstanding teams which are well coached.”
While Duxbury, Hanover, Marshfield and Scituate received high seeds and a home game this weekend, many have pointed to Plymouth South as a dangerous double-digit seed. The 15th-seeded Panthers take a 5-3 record into Billerica to face the secondseeded Indians. Head coach Darren Fruzzetti feels the weekly battles within the league have prepared his team for the postseason.
“We had some injuries and we headed into the gauntlet of our schedule with some guys out,” Fruzzetti said. “Our guys went in there and banged heads with the likes of Hanover and Scituate, we found out how good they were. But any time you play teams of that caliber, you are going to get better and it will help us going up against a good Billerica team.”