Just 0.06 percentage points.
That’s all that stood in the way between Pentucket being able to host a first-round playoff game, as opposed to taking a two-hour drive down to the Cape before hopping on a ferry. But the “MIAA Algorithm Gods” were kind to the Panthers (5-3), who earned the No. 8 seed in the Division 6 tournament when the official brackets were released on Sunday afternoon.
And as a result, Steven Harper, Liam Hammond, Max Cloutier, Jackson Miller, Nick Carrion and the Panthers will host No. 9 Nantucket (8-0) in the opening round. No date and time has been posted yet for the game. Most games around the state will take place on Friday night, but a different travel method for Nantucket may push this particular game to the weekend.
But Pentucket isn’t our only local team that made the Division 6 field.
Despite dropping its final two games of the regular season, Triton (3-5) is the No. 15 seed and will travel down to No. 2 Abington for a first round game on Friday night. The Vikings came into their final game as the last team in, but actually bumped up a spot despite losing over at Essex Tech. They certainly have Tri-County RVT to thank, which opted out of the tournament despite finishing with a 7-1 record.
Senior captain Carl Lucy currently has 1,309 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns on the season for Triton. It’ll be a tall task, and the Vikings will certainly need athletes like Jake Conroy, Athan Eggleston and Sam Harding to step up if they want to pull off the major upset.
Then finally, of course Amesbury is sitting near the top of Division 7.
Even though they finished the regular season undefeated, the Redhawks (8-0) are the No. 2 seed and will host No. 15 South Hadley at Landry Memorial Stadium on Friday night. Dylan Palen, Justin Dube, Ollie Peters, Ethan Kirby, Joe Puleo, Joe Celia and the Redhawks had a perceived tough game on Thursday night, but ended their regular season with a 40-0 thumping of Manchester Essex (seeded No. 5 in D7).
So it’s safe to say that the Redhawks are a favorite to make it back to Gillette Stadium for the second time in three years.
Here are the complete brackets for each division including a local team.
Division 6
Seeding: 1. Norwell (6-2); 2. Abington (7-1); 3. Fairhaven (7-1); 4. Wilmington (6-2); 5. Hudson (7-1); 6. Stoneham (6-2); 7. Bishop Fenwick (4-4); 8. PENTUCKET (5-3); 9. Nantucket (8-0); 10. Medway (5-3); 11. Winthrop (3-5); 12. Bellingham (4-4); 13. Old Rochester (3-5); 14. East Bridgewater (5-3); 15. TRITON (3-5); 16. Joseph Case (3-5)
Local First Round Games
Friday, Nov. 7th
No. 15 Triton at No. 2 Abington, 7 p.m.
TBD
No. 9 Nantucket at No. 8 Pentucket, TBD
Division 7
Seeding: 1. Cohasset (6-2); 2. Amesbury (8-0); 3. West Bridgewater (7-1); 4. Northbridge (7-1); 5. Manchester Essex (6-2); 6. Clinton (6-2); 7. Uxbridge (6-2); 8. Rockland (3-5); 9. Tyngsborough (7-0); 10. Blue Hills (5-3); 11. Mashpee (5-2); 12. Millbury (3-5); 13. Seekonk (3-5); 14. St. Bernard’s (5-3); 15. South Hadley (4-4); 16. Leicester (6-2)
Local First Round Games
Friday, Nov. 7th
No. 15 South Hadley at No. 2 Amesbury, 6:30 p.m.