The St. John's (Shrewsbury) football team is still unbeaten. This win was a head-turner.
The Pioneers prevailed over Xaverian, 42-22, on the road on Friday, Oct. 9, and is measured as one of the state's fastest-rising contenders in this week's edition of the Super 25 Massachusetts high school football rankings. The team (5-0) has scored 34 or more points in every game this fall.
Xaverian, on the wrong side of three consecutive games, clings on to one of the final spots in our top 10 tier.
Elsewhere: St. John's Prep perches. King Philip steadies. Springfield Central, Marshfield, Milton, Andover and others keep the train pushing.
Here are our updated rankings ahead of Week 6:
Jason Snow (The Patriot Ledger), Tim Whelan (USA Today Co., New England) and Chris McDaniel (USA Today Co., New England) will collectively rank the top MIAA football teams every week this season.
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Super 25 Massachusetts high school football rankings
1. St. John’s Prep - 75 points (3 first-place votes)
2. Catholic Memorial - 71 points
3. Springfield Central - 69 points
4. St. John’s Shrewsbury - 65 points
5. Central Catholic - 63 points
6. Mansfield - 60 points
7. Scituate - 57 points
8. Shawsheen Valley Tech - 52 points
9. Xaverian - 51 points
10. Andover - 46 points
11. Duxbury - 40 points
12 . Marshfield - 39 points
13. Milton - 36 points
14. Tewksbury - 35 points
15. King Philip - 34 points
16. Wachusett - 33 points
17. Franklin - 23 points
18. North Attleboro - 19 points
T19. Danvers - 16 points
T19. Milford - 16 points
T21. Chelmsford - 14 points
T21. Norwell - 14 points
23. Barnstable - 12 points
T24. Fairhaven - 11 points
T24. North Andover - 11 points
Also receiving votes: Melrose (9 points), Walpole (2 points), Bishop Feehan (1 point) and Watertown (1 point).
Five key takeaways this week
- St. John's Shrewsbury bursts into the top tier with a decisive 42-22 win over Xaverian.
- Wachusett is the list's highest riser, up eight spots, after a 31-21 win over Walpole. It's the Mountaineers' (5-0) fifth straight triumph.
- Duxbury sits just outside the top 10 following a convincing win over Hingham at home (36-15 final).
- King Philip stabilizes with a 26-14 victory over North Attleboro, its third straight. In late September, the Warriors, then 0-2, were outside of the Super 25.
- Welcome in, Franklin. The Panthers, unranked last week, enter the fold after sliding past Milford, 17-14. It's the team's (4-1) fourth straight win.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Super 25 Massachusetts high school football rankings ahead of Week 6
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