St. John’s Prep Tops New England Football Rankings

St. John’s Prep completed its regular season unbeaten and held the top spot in the latest New England regional rankings after edging Catholic Memorial, 42-35. St. John’s moved up to No. 2 after shutting out Boston College High, while Springfield Central stayed third following a 56-7 victory over West Springfield.

Ludlowe made one of the biggest jumps, rising from No. 21 to seventh after handing previously unbeaten New Canaan its first loss, 34-31. Hand climbed from 10th to fourth, and St. Joseph advanced to sixth. New Canaan fell from second to 11th; Greenwich also dropped after its earlier loss to New Canaan.

Other leading results included St. Joseph’s 61-8 win over Stamford, Scituate’s 49-7 victory over Hanover and Bishop Hendricken’s 26-0 shutout of Portsmouth. Several Massachusetts teams now await their MIAA tournament assignments, while Rhode Island’s playoffs are approaching and Connecticut teams have more regular-season matchups ahead.

A separate Globe Top 20 poll also kept St. John’s Prep at No. 1 after its undefeated regular-season finish. Mansfield moved into fifth after beating King Philip, while Central Catholic clinched a share of the MVC 1 title. Tewksbury rose three places, and Danvers reached 16th after winning the NEC Dunn title. Watertown clinched the Middlesex Freedom title, and Bridgewater-Raynham took the final spot after securing the Pioneer title.