High school football team of the decade – Wicked Local

Cast your vote for the areas best high school football team of last decade.

Theres been no shortage of talented teams in our area over the last decade.

So with no spring season to cover, we thought wed take a look back and determine who the best teams in our area were from 2010-2019. Its certainly not an easy task and we are going to need your help to pick the winners. With input from you, our readers, as well from staff members and outside contributors, well try to pinpoint the best Patriot Ledger/Enterprise high school teams of last decade. To participate, visit patriotledger.com or enterprisenews.com to cast your vote. One vote is allowed per day and polling will remain open until Tuesday, May 19.

Today we look back at football. Check out part one here. Scroll to the bottom of the story to cast your vote.

Abington, 2012: One of four area teams to finish a season undefeated in the last decade, the Green Wave went 13-0 on their way to defeating St. Marys of Lynn, 14-8, in the EMass Div. 4 Super Bowl. Playing a tough schedule, Abington didnt dominate their competition from start to finish. The Green Wave had close wins against Plymouth South (13-7) and East Bridgewater (22-16) throughout the season. A 34-7 win over Mashpee sealed Abington a South Shore League title.

Against St. Marys, Abington ran for more than 300 yards and kept the Cougars off the scoreboard for the final 36 minutes. Matt Kilmain led the way with 165 yards, highlighted by an 80-yard TD run.

Abington was led by its six Enterprise All-Scholastics. Matt Diver, whom Abington coach Jim Kelliher called the best tackle in the league, and Jon Aprile anchored the offensive line. Quarterback Brandon Cawley (1,300 yards passing, 11 TDs) and running back Babila Fonkem (735 yards rushing, 11 TDs) were offensive standouts. Pat Dwyer and Steve Manning led the defense.

Milton Academy, 2013: The Mustangs finished 8-1, capping the season by winning their first NEPSAC bowl game since 2008 by blowing out Dexter, 62-18, in the Tom Flaherty Bowl. Senior running back Drew Jacobs rushed 24 times for 194 yards and scored four second-half touchdowns in that one.

Jacobs was the Independent School League MVP, rushing for 1,288 yards and scoring 20 TDs. He also starred at linebacker, as he was an all-state pick there by the state coaches association. He had another huge game against Governors (30 carries for 219 yards, 4 TDs) as the Mustangs won, 35-14, to snap Governors 23-game winning streak. That victory ultimately gave the Mustangs the ISL crown over Governors on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Kicker Justin Yoon, who was 9 of 11 on field goals and 41 of 42 on PATs, would go on to become Notre Dames all-time leading scorer.

Marshfield, 2014: In 2012, a young Rams teams finished 0-11, but the seeds for a bright future were planted. Still, Marshfield finished below .500 in 2013. But in 2014, the Rams exploded onto the scene. After falling to BC High, 18-13, in the season opener, Marshfield rattled off 12 consecutive wins and rolled to the Div. 2 state title.

The Rams were loaded with future collegiate talent. Shane Leonard (Boston College) and Danny Dalton (Penn State, BC) both played at the Division I level. Quarterback Jack Masterson played at Merrimack, and Freddy Allen played at Central Connecticut State. Several other players like Jacob Maher, Frank Catanoso, Neal Parry, Matt Benson and Kyle Meeken played at the next level.

Marshfield largely rolled through the postseason in an always tough Div. 2. In the sectionals, Marshfield whomped Mansfield, 42-14, and Natick, 55-20, before besting King Philip, 20-12. The Rams blew out North Andover, 34-15, in the state semifinals. With some highlight-reel plays, Marshfield mashed Longmeadow, 45-6, at Gillette Stadium.

The Rams even defeated Duxbury, 44-43, in an unforgettable Thanksgiving game.

Marshfields uptempo offense spread the love. Masterson threw for over 1,700 yards and 16 TDs. Dalton (9 TDs, 766 yards) was his favorite target. Masterson also ran for 16 TDs while Maher (12 TDs) and Catanoso (11 TDs) finished with double-digit rushing scores.

Marshfield returned much of its core for the 2015 season, and the Rams were even more dominant, up to a point. The Rams outscored their three South Sectional opponents 105-0 but saw their 22-game winning streak end with a 28-14 loss to Reading in the state semifinals.

Cohasset, 2014: In 2013, the Skippers were tantalizingly close to a state title, falling to Littleton, 52-35, in the Div. 6 state final at Gillette Stadium.

In 2014, Cohasset had 20 seniors to replace from that squad, including quarterback Chris Haggerty, who had smashed passing records. Still, hopes were high.

Following a 1-2 start, the Skippers rattled off 10 consecutive wins and eventually claimed the Div. 6 state title that had previously eluded them.

With Haggerty gone, Cohasset anticipated running the offense through Cole Kissick, who had rushed for 1,718 yards in 2013. However, injuries limited him to just four games in 2014.

Despite entering the sectionals as the No. 6 seed, Cohasset rolled through Nantucket, 35-3, and Bishop Connolly, 28-7. In the sectional final, Cohasset knocked off Millis-Hopedale, 20-12. After handling Cathedral, 33-6, in the state semifinals, the Skippers got revenge against Littleton, 35-22, at Gillette Stadium.

Kissick suffered a knee injury in the first game of the season but returned late in the year. He capped his career with 193 yards against Littleton. Linebacker Matt Froio led Cohassets defense and made 163 tackles in 2014. Junior Dan Axelson played well at quarterback.

Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic Brett Dooley did a little bit of everything for the Skippers and finished with over 100 tackles and 442 yards receiving. Alex Norton set a single-season school record with 11 sacks. Senior Tim Gillis had a stellar end to his career by rushing for 912 yards and 12 TDs largely in Kissicks absence. Nick Hall, who had six interceptions, was a key two-way player.

Hanover, 2016: En route to a 12-0 finish and a Div. 3 state title, the Indians were rarely tested. Hanover won all 12 games by at least two touchdowns. That dominance carried over in the playoffs as the Indians won four of their five playoff games by at least three touchdowns. The lone close game was a 28-14 win over Ashland in the Div. 3 South Sectional semifinals, but even then Hanover led 28-0 in the fourth quarter.

Another accomplishment -- Hanover handed both Grafton and East Bridgewater their only losses of the season. The Indians defeated Grafton, 21-0, in the state final at Gillette Stadium as Brad Rogers ran for 155 yards and three TDs. In Week 2, the Indians beat EB, 38-23; the Vikings went on to win the Div. 3A state title.

Two-way lineman Patrick Flynn was Hanovers leader while quarterback Wyatt Shisler, Rogers and two-way lineman Shawn McGrath also earned Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic honors. McGrath tallied 8.5 sacks while teaming up with Flynn to pave the way for Rogers to rush for 1,453 yards and 27 TDs. Shisler threw 13 TDs compared to just 2 interceptions while rushing for 548 yards 9 TDs.

Some of the standout athletes on this team kept right on winning after the season, leading the basketball, rugby and lacrosse teams to state titles that school year.

East Bridgewater, 2016: The Vikings were a highly motivated bunch, storming to the Div. 3A state crown a year after suffering a two-point loss to Northbridge in the title game.

On their way to the title, EB (11-2) had a flare for the dramatic. During the season, the Vikings won one-score games against Rockland (14-7) and Middleboro (39-33) in a deep South Shore League Sullivan Division. In the final game of the regular season, the Vikings knocked off previously undefeated Norwell, 21-7, which set the table for an unforgettable rematch in the South final.

After disposing of Fairhaven and Wareham in the playoffs with relative ease, the Vikings needed overtime to survive against Norwell in the sectional final, 22-20. In that win, the EB rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit. EB scored 22 consecutive points to take a 22-14 lead in overtime when Pat Snow scored on a 2-yard run and Liam LeVangie connected with Greg Plunkett for the 2-point conversion. The Clippers scored a touchdown to bring the score within 2, but EBs Nick Khoury broke up a pass in the end zone on the potential tying 2-point conversation.

The Vikings then defeated Nipmuc, 17-6, in the state semifinals and rolled past St. Marys of Lynn, 34-8, at Gillette Stadium. In the Super Bowl, Joe Donahue recovered four fumbles and returned two for scores.

EB, which landed an area-best six Enterprise All-Scholastics -- Brian Damon, Michael Khoury, Nick Khoury, LeVangie, Greg Plunkett, Patrick Snow -- suffered only one real loss, 38-23 to eventual unbeaten Div. 3 state champ Hanover in Week 2. The Vikings other defeat came on Thanksgiving when they rested their starters in a 27-0 loss to Rockland.

Middleboro, 2017: In 2016, the Sachems played third banana to Norwell and East Bridgewater in the SSL Sullivan Division. In 2017, Middleboro finished third in the league once again to Norwell and Rockland. None of that mattered in the postseason. The Sachems defeated Norwell in the Div. 6 South semifinals and won all five of their playoff games by at least two scores.

Middleboro (10-3) rolled to a 5-0 start but lost to Norwell and Rockland in the final two weeks of the regular season. The Sachems dropped to the No. 5 seed in the South playoffs but proceeded to win three road games to snatch the crown.

In the 43-20 state final win over Littleton, quarterback Evan Gwozdz had a legendary performance as he threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores. He was 16 of 18 passing for 209 yards. One of those incompletions was a spike to stop the clock; the other was an interception on a desperation deep throw to end the first half. Running back Jeremy Soule Jr. battled injuries but still finished the season with 1,543 yards rushing and 14 TDs. Gwozdz generated 38 total TDs. Receiver Colin OBrien hauled in 32 passes for 837 yards and 12 TDs while Harrison LaPierre and Brandon Hogan led the defensive effort.

Scituate, 2018: Led by a dynamic offense and vastly under-appreciated defense, the Sailors finished 12-1 to win their first state championship.

Quarterback Aidan Sullivan completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,300 yards and 27 TDs. Will Sheskey, who ran for 225 yards in the Div. 5 state final against Nipmuc, set the programs single-season rushing record with 1,785 yards. He finished the season with 24 TDs.

Scituates lone loss came in Week 2, 35-23 to Duxbury, a Div. 3 state semifinalist

After finishing the regular season 6-1 with all of their wins coming by at least 20 points, the Sailors playoff run nearly ended prematurely. Trailing 27-20 in the final minute against Dennis-Yarmouth in the first round of the South Sectional playoffs, Sullivan led Scituate on a 97-yard drive which he capped with a 10-yard TD pass to Jack Ruble. The Sailors gambled on a 2-point try, and Sullivan ran it in for the winning score. From there, Scituate never looked back with decisive wins over Holliston (57-34) and Canton (21-0) in the sectionals. The Sailors rolled past Swampscott (45-14) and Nipmic (35-14) in the state semifinals and finals.

Middle linebacker Josh McKeever led Scituates defensive effort, setting program records for most tackles in a season (113) and a career (245). Daniel May finished with 810 receiving yards and 8 TDs plus a team-high 5 interceptions. Sullivan, Sheskey, McKeever and May were all Patriot Ledger All-Scholastics.

Scituates competition in the playoffs ranks among the toughest of the decade.

To vote for the team of the decade, and see the full list of contenders, visit http://www.patriotledger.com.

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High school football team of the decade - Wicked Local

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