On Friday Night, South Sectional Champion Holliston Panthers meet up with North Sectional Champion, Swampscott Big Blue in the Division 5 State Semi-Finals at Concord Carlisle HS. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Holliston entered their playoff run with a record of 6 and 1 and with the 2nd seed in the South Sectionals. The Panthers took down 7th seeded Medfield in the 1st round 40 to 6 then 3rd seeded Somerset-Berkley in the Semi-Finals 48 to 6 and then previously undefeated 1st seeded Canton in the Sectional Finals 27 to 14.
Swampscott Big Blue entered the North Sectionals with a 5 and 2 record and as the 4th seed. The Big Blue took down Weston in the 1st round 55 to 6, 1st seeded Pentucket in the 2nd round 14 to 13 and then 7th seeded Amesbury in the sectional finals 39 to 8.
In their win against Canton, Senior QB Matt Arvanitis threw for 2 touchdowns while Junior running back, Tristan Benson rushed for 2. After a 7 to 6 1st half in favor of Canton, Benson took over the 2nd half and help Holliston dominated possession-wise. Holliston outscored Canton in the 2nd half 21 to 7.
Swampscott dominated Amesbury in the North Sectional Final with a 39 to 8 victory. Senior, Dylan January had a rushing touchdown to start things off. Shortly after Amesbury took an 8-7 lead, QB Graham Inzana (SR) found Cameron O’Brien from 10 yards out for a touchdown. Swampscott then had a safety after a botched snap on an Amesbury punt and led 16 to 8 at the half.
The 2nd half was all Swampscott, Senior, Dylan January rushed for another touchdown and a bit later a 26 yard touchdown pass from Inzana to Andrew Augustin (JR) and then a few series after that a pick 6 by the Swampscott defense.
QB Graham Inzana was for 12 for 19 and threw for 219 yards. Cam O’ Brien, Andrew Augustin and Arturo Vasquez all caught a touchdown pass for the Big Blue.
Both of these teams feature high powered offenses and pretty stingy defenses. Swampscott on average puts up a whopping 30 points while only giving up 10 points on average. Holliston puts up a ridiculous 37 points on average while only giving up 12 points on average.
This will be the 1st ever meeting in recorded history between Holliston and Swampscott football. You can hear the game live on MYFM 101.3!
Article by: Tom Nappi
