Super Bowl Saturday slate is set

For the second straight year, the Catholic Central Large champions are standing between the Holliston Panthers and an Eastern Mass. Division 3A Super Bowl championship.
A year ago in a freezing rainstorm at Gillette Stadium, CCL champion Austin Prep denied an unbeaten Panthers team a perfect ending with a 38-15 victory.
On Saturday morning at Gillette Stadium, the Panthers (11-1) are up against an undefeated CCL champion Cardinal Spellman (12-0) that is averaging 32 points per game and allowing less than seven a contest.
The Panthers aren't the only local football team facing a difficult final hurdle on Saturday. In Central Mass., Hudson battles Clinton in a Div. 3 Super Bowl matchup at Worcester State at 10 a.m., while Nashoba faces perennial CMass power St. John's (Shrewsbury) in a Div. 1 Super Bowl at Fitchburg State at 3:15 p.m.
The top priority for Holliston is containing Spellman's elusive running back, Blaise Branch. The Cardinals' 5-foot-6, 165-pound captain leads EMass in rushing with 1,878 yards this season and set a school record with 36 touchdowns. The Cardinals are averaging 251.1 yards per game and Branch is accounting for 156.5 per contest. He's also averaging three touchdowns a game. He ran for 188 yards and two scores in the 28-15 playoff victory over Hamilton-Wenham.
To slow down Branch and the Cardinals, the Panthers could use another defensive effort like they produced on Tuesday when four forced turnovers secured a 35-20 playoff victory over Rockland. Big games are needed from linebacker Kevin Curry, the Tri-Valley League's Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year, along with TVL all-stars defensive tackle Kevin LaMarque and defensive end Tom McCarthy.
The Panthers have a speedy, well-balanced offense that averaged an EMass-leading 41 points per game. Quarterback Sean Mayo (the TVL's co-Offensive Player of the Year), Curry and Jake Frechette at running back, and wide receivers Dan Barone and Christian Baker lead the attack.
The Cardinals can apply plenty of disruptive up-field pressure with their front seven. They have recorded 24 sacks with defensive end Justin Powell leading the team with four. Linebacker Kevin Stanton, defensive end Ricky Donovan and tackle Chris Ballard have 3.5 sacks apiece.
Nashoba (10-2) faces two huge matchup challenges with St. John's of Shrewsbury (11-1) in 6-foot-4, 236-pound quarterback Dan Light and 6-5, 235-pound wide receiver Richard Rodgers.
The University of California-bound Rodgers runs a 4.6 40 and has a rim-rattling vertical jump. He leads CMass in receiving yards with 903 and is averaging 18.1 yards on 50 catches. He is one of the top scorers in CMass with 146 points, including 15 TD catches.
Light has completed 105 of 168 passes for 1,863 yards (2nd in CMass) and 28 TDs. He and Rodgers each scored two TDs in the team's 42-0 playoff rout of Gardner on Tuesday. St. John's has outscored its opposition by a more than 4-to-1 ratio (429-100).
The Chieftains defense is led by linebackers Randy Patterson (122 tackles), and Sam Ashline and Zach Hume, who have 3.5 sacks each.
Nashoba has a potent 1-2 passing punch of its own with wide receiver Conor Wyand (6-0, 200 pounds) and quarterback Will Hurley (6-3, 185). Wyand is second in CMass with 882 receiving yards and has 52 receptions and nine TDs and is averaging 17 yards a catch. As one of the region's top passers, Hurley has completed 99 of 178 for 1,370 yards and 14 TDs. Hurley will need to watch out for Light, who is also a standout at defensive end with 5.5 sacks this year.
In their Div. 3 rematch, Hudson will have to contend with the top pass rushing team in CMass. Luis Felix leads the Gaels and is second in CMass with 9.5 sacks. Jon Arnone is third in CMass with nine, and Cody Trautner (6.5) and Kyle Cutler (5.5) are right behind. Trautner also has three interceptions.
The Hawks can neutralize the pressure with the running of Karl Sery (1,367 yards, 18 TD) and quarterback Jake Wardwell (over 900 yards). Sery ran for 90 yards against Clinton in a 12-7 loss a month ago.

Source:http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/footballfever/x2126933174/Super-Saturday-slate-is-set