2027 Recruiting Thread

[rigi19041]

Just curious, do you think CMC would have gone 1-18 with same talent against ranked B10 rivals?

Why did iowa state lose to wvu(3×), northern Iowa, Cincinnati, kansas, and Memphis?


CMC won't have BGJ talent. It has already taken a step back.

Psu only plays one team ranked ahead of them next year. That team is only ranked one spot ahead. Psu should win at least 11 games based on rankings.

Don't be Making excuses next year.

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

Why did iowa state lose to wvu(3×), northern Iowa, Cincinnati, kansas, and Memphis?


CMC won't have BGJ talent. It has already taken a step back.

Psu only plays one team ranked ahead of them next year. That team is only ranked one spot ahead. Psu should win at least 11 games based on rankings.

Don't be Making excuses next year.

Was I talking to you?

 

[rigi19041]

Was I talking to you?

9 wins vs ranked b10 teams.

 

[RyanSnyder]

Will Wood - Xaverian Brothers - Quarterback

Explore Will Wood's athlete profile at On3.com. Get news and insights into his playing career, statistics, and achievements in sports.

www.on3.com

 

[Lionville]

Will Wood - Xaverian Brothers - Quarterback

Explore Will Wood's athlete profile at On3.com. Get news and insights into his playing career, statistics, and achievements in sports.

www.on3.com

Should we read anything into his choice of footwear brand?

 

[LionsAndBears]

Sounds like we may have decided to pivot away from Bourque and are focused on Wood, given the full court press.

 

[PSUForever]

Sounds like we may have decided to pivot away from Bourque and are focused on Wood, given the full court press.

Yeah I think we have known for about 3-4 weeks Bourque was not coming to PSU.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

Sent the whole staff to see Wood.

 

[PSU4U]

Sent the whole staff to see Wood.

Awesome.

 

[LMTLION]

The staff is still very interested in Bourque, but they like Will Wood a bit more. I read elsewhere that Wood played significantly better competition last season than Bourque. Wood is 17 and Bourque is nearly 19 years old, an interesting factor to digest. The Michigan folks joked Bourque is actually older than Underwood (by a month!)

 

[pendal1]

Yeah I think we have known for about 3-4 weeks Bourque was not coming to PSU.

Bourque probably wants a big bag of money and I would never do that for a highschool kid anymore. If need be throw money at a proven college kid.

 

[FK3JM]

The staff is still very interested in Bourque, but they like Will Wood a bit more. I read elsewhere that Wood played significantly better competition last season than Bourque. Wood is 17 and Bourque is nearly 19 years old, an interesting factor to digest. The Michigan folks joked Bourque is actually older than Underwood (by a month!)

Xaverian is one of the top prep schools in Massachusetts and plays against the top competition around here. Still nowhere near Ohio or Pennsylvania or New Jersey, but not total slouches. Bourque plays at a school 30 minutes from me and I’ve never heard of it before he played there.

 

[LB99]

Sounds like we may have decided to pivot away from Bourque and are focused on Wood, given the full court press.

Yeah. I agree. You don’t send the entire coaching staff unless you are putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

[Kinglando is never wrong]

For a depressing read, here’s a list of the Most Elite 11 QBs since its inception in 1999. While
Definitely some Hits, Lots of misses, not just from the NFL perspective but also from being productive college quarterbacks. Penn State
Is well represented in the latter list. To
Me, it shows that QB development is more important than just pure talent and HS number.

Elite 11 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RyanSnyder]

Blake Betton - Shakopee - Linebacker

Explore Blake Betton's athlete profile at On3.com. Get news and insights into his playing career, statistics, and achievements in sports.

www.on3.com

 

[Corner Room Breakfast]

For a depressing read, here’s a list of the Most Elite 11 QBs since its inception in 1999. While
Definitely some Hits, Lots of misses, not just from the NFL perspective but also from being productive college quarterbacks. Penn State
Is well represented in the latter list. To
Me, it shows that QB development is more important than just pure talent and HS number.

Elite 11 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Good read.

 

[SleepyLion]

For a depressing read, here’s a list of the Most Elite 11 QBs since its inception in 1999. While
Definitely some Hits, Lots of misses, not just from the NFL perspective but also from being productive college quarterbacks. Penn State
Is well represented in the latter list. To
Me, it shows that QB development is more important than just pure talent and HS number.

Elite 11 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

At any given time, there are only +/-100 people in the world that can call themselves a NFL QB (someone on a roster or even on a practice squad) and of that group only about 10 of them are really good.

 

[rigi19041]

At any given time, there are only +/-100 people in the world that can call themselves a NFL QB (someone on a roster or even on a practice squad) and of that group only about 10 of them are really good.

Franklin ruined them all.

Only about 30 starting NFL Qbs. 10 good ones and they are spread out over about 10 years worth of draft classes. 500 kids a year attend the camps for elite 11. Must be a lot of bad coaches out there.

 

[PSU89er]

Yeah. I agree. You don’t send the entire coaching staff unless you are putting all your eggs in one basket.

or you are in no uncertain terms telling the other egg. Reduce your price tag or we are just going to take this egg.

I think it means. We really have no idea.

I figure PSU is getting one of them, so its not a big deal.

 

[PSUForever]

or you are in no uncertain terms telling the other egg. Reduce your price tag or we are just going to take this egg.

I think it means. We really have no idea.

I figure PSU is getting one of them, so its not a big deal.

I think we want Wood more than Bourque. They are not equal in our staff's eyes. Yeah we would take both but that is doubtful. We will find out soon enough.

 

[Moogy]

The staff is still very interested in Bourque, but they like Will Wood a bit more. I read elsewhere that Wood played significantly better competition last season than Bourque. Wood is 17 and Bourque is nearly 19 years old, an interesting factor to digest. The Michigan folks joked Bourque is actually older than Underwood (by a month!)

Where in the world did you read something as dumb as that (the bolded portion)?

Bourque was at an ISL (Independent School League) school - Tabor. ISL is part of NEPSAC (New England Prepatory School Athletic Conference) ... a collection of a handful of leagues comprised of the fanciest private schools in New England. They recruit heavily to get kids to go there ... and they are very ... and increasingly ... successful. Those squads could beat most D3 college squads. They don't play public schools, nor Catholic/private schools outside of that prep league.

Xaverian is part of one of the Catholic Leagues in MA ... they play teams in the various Catholic Leagues, and public schools ... and their postseason is part of the MIAA system - so they're in with the public schools. Top publics can and do compete well against those Catholic schools. Top publics would give up 70 in a half to the better ISLs.

It does help the ISLs that they don't have the same age restrictions as publics/Catholics ... almost every kid who goes to an ISL for a sport flunks themselves upon entering. That's part of what makes the ISL competition so much better than the Catholic schools ... not only are you playing the biggest, fastest and best recruited athletes, they're also a year older - sometimes two - than they *should* be, so they're even biggerer, fasterer and bestester.

A top LB prospect (who is a total arsehat) recently transferred from one of the top Catholics to Tabor because he wanted the better competition and exposure that it would bring. He had already reclassed going into the Catholic school ... because he's a tool.

 

[Moogy]

Xaverian is one of the top prep schools in Massachusetts and plays against the top competition around here. Still nowhere near Ohio or Pennsylvania or New Jersey, but not total slouches. Bourque plays at a school 30 minutes from me and I’ve never heard of it before he played there.

How could you live 30 minutes from Tabor and have never heard of it? Did you never go to school (homeschooled)? Do you not have kids? Are you not allowed to leave the house and speak to other people? That might seem a bit harsh ... but it's kinda like suggesting the MAC is better than the Big 10.

Tabor is loaded with top talent. They'd boatrace Xaverian. I don't think they're a traditional prep power, but they recently stepped up their game and have recruited the heck out of the region and have brought in studs across the board.

Most of the top kids in MA go to ISL schools now. A few will go to Catholics like Xaverian or Catholic Memorial ... but most of the big, big boys go to ISLs, or equivalents (like Dexter Southfield) ... it's basically a college training ground now ... they even have a "prep day" where all the prep schools will hold team workouts on the same day, at different times, so all the college coaches can come up here and watch them perform all together, like a recruiting combine.

I know kids at both the better Catholics, and at various NEPSAC/ISL schools ... and, yeah, the big boys are in NEPSAC schools. The kids who went to Feehan, CM or Xaverian? Generally, they're OK ... some were battling for playing time at their own public, so they bolted to a private and they're doing OK there. Some were better than average at the public, but not great ... they often lacked a certain attribute to be a "stud" (size, speed, etc.). But everyone who went to an ISL/NEPSAC ... they're the beasts. The "can't miss" studs ... they're not the 6'1"-6'2" 230-250 lb really good linemen ... they're the 6'4"-6'5" 290-310 lb really good lineman. They're the elite speed/arm guys. Again, some of those elite players go to the Catholics, but there's a lot of "other" there, as well. Virtually everyone starting at a better ISL/NEPSAC is at least going to a better D3 ... many/most going D1 and some going elite D1 (D2 isn't much of a thing up this way ... some, but that's usually where the undersized public kids who don't have brains end up). Occasionally you'll get an absolutely loaded Catholic - like CM some years, recently ... but even those guys would struggle big time against the better ISLs.

Have you heard of Milton Academy? Noble & Greenough? Buckingham, Browne & Nichols? Help me help you.

 

[LionsAndBears]

This is going to be another fun week for the 2027 Class. We should get our QB and RB of the future.

 

[LMTLION]

Where in the world did you read something as dumb as that?

Bourque was at an ISL (Independent School League) school - Tabor. ISL is part of NEPSAC (New England Prepatory School Athletic Conference) ... a collection of a handful of leagues comprised of the fanciest private schools in New England. They recruit heavily to get kids to go there ... and they are very ... and increasingly ... successful. Those squads could beat most D3 college squads. They don't play public schools, nor Catholic/private schools outside of that prep league.

Xaverian is part of one of the Catholic Leagues in MA ... they play teams in the various Catholic Leagues, and public schools ... and their postseason is part of the MIAA system - so they're in with the public schools. Top publics can and do compete well against those Catholic schools. Top publics would give up 70 in a half to the better ISLs.

It does help the ISLs that they don't have the same age restrictions as publics/Catholics ... almost every kid who goes to an ISL for a sport flunks themselves upon entering. That's part of what makes the ISL competition so much better than the Catholic schools ... not only are you playing the biggest, fastest and best recruited athletes, they're also a year older - sometimes two - than they *should* be, so they're even biggerer, fasterer and bestester.

A top LB prospect (who is a total arsehat) recently transferred from one of the top Catholics to Tabor because he wanted the better competition and exposure that it would bring. He had already reclassed going into the Catholic school ... because he's a tool.

Not sure you actually live up there. Max preps does not agree with you. With 2 losses, Will Wood’s school is ranked number 1 and a lot higher than an undefeated Tabor. It would appear that Tabor did not get respect for its schedule in those rankings and the PSU insiders boards are correct on the subject.

Massachusetts Football (2025) Rankings

MaxPreps rankings for Massachusetts football (2025). Every high school football team in the nation is ranked. Find out where your teams stands...

www.maxpreps.com

 

[Moogy]

Not sure you actually live up there. Max preps does not agree with you. With 2 losses, Will Wood’s school is ranked number 1 and a lot higher than an undefeated Tabor. It would appear that Tabor did not get respect for its schedule in those rankings and the PSU insiders boards are correct on the subject.

Massachusetts Football (2025) Rankings

MaxPreps rankings for Massachusetts football (2025). Every high school football team in the nation is ranked. Find out where your teams stands...

www.maxpreps.com

I live RIGHT there. I know kids on both squads (and a number of others like them).

Maxpreps school rankings are meaningless. They literally have no reflection of any reality.

For example, they have North Attleboro as better than Tabor. LOL. That's beyond ridiculous. Every kid on Tabor's squad would have started over their North counterpart. All Tabor's backups would have started over their North counterpart. North is a very run of the mill public. My kids have played against North every year for years ... and have beaten them a fair amount of times. My kids couldn't even SNIFF Tabor, for football. North, like many of the "good but not great" publics, has a few D3 kids every year ... most go to some throwaway local D3. Tabor, and other schools like them have just about everyone graduating going to college for football (if they're primary football), with many better D3s and D1s. And they have some ELITE kids (for our area).

In fact, many/most of the better kids that live in the North Attleboro school district, go to Feehan to play football. I remember a recent 8th grade North squad that was just DOMINANT in our area ... undefeated every year throughout the youth process - winning States every year. Then we played them freshmen year and whooped them ... because virtually all their good players enrolled at Feehan, next door.

A few years ago, the big local story was we had a breakout stud. Went from barely any publicity or college interest, to suddenly having talk that maybe some local D1s might be sniffing. Wouldn't you know it, the private school coaches (the ISLs, like Tabor) came calling. Everyone was sure he was going to one of them ... because all the great kids did. His dad would talk about how the ISL school coaches would tell him that he may get lost in the recruiting process staying at a public, but they could pretty much assure him multiple D1 offers if they came to their school, because of the better competition and increased exposure (and their connections, because most of those coaches are hooked up). He was gone. Everyone knew it. But then, by some miracle, he stayed. He did what almost no one does and stayed at the public to go to school with his friends. And he actually got a big time offer and took it. It was notable because it was, BY FAR, the exception. When he chose to stay at the public (which beat North, numerous times), everyone just assumed he didn't want to go big time. Because everyone who wants to go big time goes private.

Meanwhile, in recent years, we've lost our 2 best talents to ... drumroll ... the ISL/NEPSAC schools. One is Tabor. Top recruits. High D1 interest. PSU interest. We've lost 3 or 4 to CM (Catholic Memorial, also ranked above Tabor in those ridiculously meaningless rankings) ... most are OK ... if they develop, they may get some D3 sniffs from places like Western New England or Salve Regina (throwaways), but they lack the size/speed to be D1 kids. But they'll start at CM, if they haven't already. The one we did lose to CM who turned out to be really good, moved on to ... TABOR.

We lost another of our top kids to .. Dexter Southfield. You may have heard of it. It's where Liam Andrews (PSU football player) went to school. That school had another lineman go to Wisconsin. Another to UNC-Charlotte. Another to Duke. All within the last 2-3 years. And it's still loaded with lineman who are getting P4 offers now. And Dexter got curbstomped by Tabor 2 years ago, when Tabor wasn't as good as it was last year.

 

[Moogy]

Not sure you actually live up there. Max preps does not agree with you. With 2 losses, Will Wood’s school is ranked number 1 and a lot higher than an undefeated Tabor. It would appear that Tabor did not get respect for its schedule in those rankings and the PSU insiders boards are correct on the subject.

Massachusetts Football (2025) Rankings

MaxPreps rankings for Massachusetts football (2025). Every high school football team in the nation is ranked. Find out where your teams stands...

www.maxpreps.com

North's "top" player last year was a gimmicky kid ... 6'2" 250 lb fullback. He was the league's player of the year, in fact. Remember, North was the 7th ranked team in MA by MaxPreps (ahead of Tabor ... lol). Public school kids just couldn't tackle him, even though he wasn't an elite athlete. He's going to Union College for football. D3 football for their best player. Best player in the league, in fact. The same league that has 4th ranked King Philip (KP), 15th ranked Foxboro and 20th ranked Mansfield on that first page of rankings.

Tabor Academy has (quick AI summation):

Key 2026/2027 College Recruits

• Peter Bourque (2027, QB/ATH): Committed to Michigan; ranked as a top 2027 recruit in Massachusetts and a 4-star prospect, also Gatorade Massachusetts Football Player of the Year.
• Carter Gooden (2026, DE): Committed to UCLA; ranked as a top 2026 recruit in MA by ESPN.
• Marcus Almada (2026, DT): Committed to UCLA.
• Brady Scott (2027, ATH): Holds offers from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State.
• Botond Varga (2027, OT): Top-ranked 2027 recruit, 6-8, 310 lbs.
• Brendan Farhat (2026, LB): Committed to Temple.
• Amahn Williams (2026, DB/ATH): Committed to UCF. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

And Tabor brought in other stud kids recently, who are already getting/prepared to get top level offers. Including at least one (who isn't Bourque) that PSU is after.


If I were going to "defend" MaxPreps, I'd say they just have no way to gauge schools like Tabor ... because Tabor doesn't play the rest of those schools. Again, it's an elite private school that only plays other elite private schools. It doesn't play the publics or traditional Catholics. It would be ridiculous if they did.

Just like if you look at Connecticut rankings ... Avon Old Farms is 5th ... Choate Rosemary is 14th ... those are 2 other NEPSAC schools ... they recruit elite guys. One local kid I had forgotten about went to Avon, for some reason (rather than one of the plentiful more local options), and he ended up with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Those 2 squads would SMOKE New Canaan (the #1).

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

I live RIGHT there. I know kids on both squads (and a number of others like them).

Maxpreps school rankings are meaningless. They literally have no reflection of any reality.

For example, they have North Attleboro as better than Tabor. LOL. That's beyond ridiculous. Every kid on Tabor's squad would have started over their North counterpart. All Tabor's backups would have started over their North counterpart. North is a very run of the mill public. My kids have played against North every year for years ... and have beaten them a fair amount of times. My kids couldn't even SNIFF Tabor, for football. North, like many of the "good but not great" publics, has a few D3 kids every year ... most go to some throwaway local D3. Tabor, and other schools like them have just about everyone graduating going to college for football (if they're primary football), with many better D3s and D1s. And they have some ELITE kids (for our area).

In fact, many/most of the better kids that live in the North Attleboro school district, go to Feehan to play football. I remember a recent 8th grade North squad that was just DOMINANT in our area ... undefeated every year throughout the youth process - winning States every year. Then we played them freshmen year and whooped them ... because virtually all their good players enrolled at Feehan, next door.

A few years ago, the big local story was we had a breakout stud. Went from barely any publicity or college interest, to suddenly having talk that maybe some local D1s might be sniffing. Wouldn't you know it, the private school coaches (the ISLs, like Tabor) came calling. Everyone was sure he was going to one of them ... because all the great kids did. His dad would talk about how the ISL school coaches would tell him that he may get lost in the recruiting process staying at a public, but they could pretty much assure him multiple D1 offers if they came to their school, because of the better competition and increased exposure (and their connections, because most of those coaches are hooked up). He was gone. Everyone knew it. But then, by some miracle, he stayed. He did what almost no one does and stayed at the public to go to school with his friends. And he actually got a big time offer and took it. It was notable because it was, BY FAR, the exception. When he chose to stay at the public (which beat North, numerous times), everyone just assumed he didn't want to go big time. Because everyone who wants to go big time goes private.

Meanwhile, in recent years, we've lost our 2 best talents to ... drumroll ... the ISL/NEPSAC schools. One is Tabor. Top recruits. High D1 interest. PSU interest. We've lost 3 or 4 to CM (Catholic Memorial, also ranked above Tabor in those ridiculously meaningless rankings) ... most are OK ... if they develop, they may get some D3 sniffs from places like Western New England or Salve Regina (throwaways), but they lack the size/speed to be D1 kids. But they'll start at CM, if they haven't already. The one we did lose to CM who turned out to be really good, moved on to ... TABOR.

We lost another of our top kids to .. Dexter Southfield. You may have heard of it. It's where Liam Andrews (PSU football player) went to school. That school had another lineman go to Wisconsin. Another to UNC-Charlotte. Another to Duke. All within the last 2-3 years. And it's still loaded with lineman who are getting P4 offers now. And Dexter got curbstomped by Tabor 2 years ago, when Tabor wasn't as good as it was last year.

You really have your head up your asss. The top 3 football teams in the effing state were all in the Catholic conference. How you you use so many words and still be wrong?

 

[Moogy]

You really have your head up your asss. The top 3 football teams in the effing state were all in the Catholic conference. How you you use so many words and still be wrong?

You have no clue what you’re saying. The NEPSAC schools aren’t properly reflected in there.

They’re on an entirely different level, talent-wise. If the NEPSAC schools were in the MIAA playoffs, they’d do to the Catholics what St. Joe’s Prep does to the rest of the field in PIAA playoffs … except worse.

This is absolute insanity. Whoever started this madness about Xaverian playing better comp than Tabor knows absolutely nothing … nothing about MA football.

 

[PSUForever]

You have no clue what you’re saying. The NEPSAC schools aren’t properly reflected in there.

They’re on an entirely different level, talent-wise. If the NEPSAC schools were in the MIAA playoffs, they’d do to the Catholics what St. Joe’s Prep does to the rest of the field in PIAA playoffs … except worse.

This is absolute insanity. Whoever started this madness about Xaverian playing better comp than Tabor knows absolutely nothing … nothing about MA football.

And all this energy you are spending trying to show everyone how much you know about Mass HS football is to prove what point? That Bourque is the 2nd coming of Tom Brady (only if he does not sign with PSU of course) and Wood will be Rob Bolden? Feel better?

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

You have no clue what you’re saying. The NEPSAC schools aren’t properly reflected in there.

They’re on an entirely different level, talent-wise. If the NEPSAC schools were in the MIAA playoffs, they’d do to the Catholics what St. Joe’s Prep does to the rest of the field in PIAA playoffs … except worse.

This is absolute insanity. Whoever started this madness about Xaverian playing better comp than Tabor knows absolutely nothing … nothing about MA football.

I guess you know better than MaxPreps... what was I thinking...

 

[Moogy]

I guess you know better than MaxPreps... what was I thinking...

View attachment 1286990

Yes, I do in this case. It was already explained. They don't know how to account for NEPSAC schools that only play other prep schools.

Read, dude.

 

[Moogy]

And all this energy you are spending trying to show everyone how much you know about Mass HS football is to prove what point? That Bourque is the 2nd coming of Tom Brady (only if he does not sign with PSU of course) and Wood will be Rob Bolden? Feel better?

All this energy is to simply explain that the assertion that Will Wood played tougher competition than Bourque is silly. That's it.

If Will Wood was twice the quarterback that Peter Bourque was, it would still be the case that Bourque faced much stiffer competition playing for a NEPSAC squad.

And I don't even like the NEPSAC phenomenon, as it encourages flunking yourself to gain an athletic advantage, and it takes away from the community aspect of high school sports and turns it more collegiate/professional ... because that's what they are - high level college sports factories.

But I also live in reality, which doesn't revolve around making sure everything is as pro-PSU as possible, even if it defies logic. I may very well be wrong that Bourque is better than Wood. I've been wrong before, I'll be wrong again. I'm OK with that. But I'm most definitely not wrong about this level of competition issue. It's just absolutely stupid to assert. Even if MaxPreps' rankings disagree (because they are obviously wrong). If some service indicated that the MAC was better than the Big 10, would you just say "yup, it obviously is!"? Or would you know that this is obviously not the case? It's an obvious limitation with MaxPreps' assessments. Some of these Catholic schools are good in MA ... and some aren't ... and occasionally some of them are REALLY good, but they don't match up to the NEPSAC football factories (which are also now baseball factories, and have been basketball factories for some time, and hockey factories .... and so on).

Stop being immature.

 

[PSUForever]

All this energy is to simply explain that the assertion that Will Wood played tougher competition than Bourque is silly. That's it.

If Will Wood was twice the quarterback that Peter Bourque was, it would still be the case that Bourque faced much stiffer competition playing for a NEPSAC squad. And I don't even like the NEPSAC phenomenon, as it encourages flunking yourself to gain an athletic advantage, and it takes away from the community aspect of high school sports and turns it more collegiate/professional ... because that's what they are - high level college sports factories. But I also live in reality, which doesn't revolve around making sure everything is as pro-PSU as possible, even if it defies logic. I may very well be wrong that Bourque is better than Wood. I've been wrong before, I'll be wrong again. I'm OK with that. But I'm most definitely not wrong about this level of competition issue. It's just absolutely stupid to assert. Even if MaxPreps' rankings disagree (because they are obviously wrong). If some service indicated that the MAC was better than the Big 10, would you just say "yup, it obviously is!"? Or would you know that this is obviously not the case? It's an obvious limitation with MaxPreps' assessments. Some of these Catholic schools are good in MA ... and some aren't ... and occasionally some of them are REALLY good, but they don't match up to the NEPSAC football factories (which are also now baseball factories, and have been basketball factories for some time, and hockey factories .... and so on).

Stop being immature.

Stop being a blowhard.

 

[Bison13]

I guess you know better than MaxPreps... what was I thinking...

View attachment 1286990

Yep plus here’s are the states power rankings

https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2025-11/power-rankings-fall-2025-football-division-1-final.pdf

 

[Moogy]

Yep plus here’s are the states power rankings

https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2025-11/power-rankings-fall-2025-football-division-1-final.pdf

Do you notice anything about those power rankings? Well, do ya? Let me help you …. They don’t include any of the NEPSAC schools! Shocker! Why, you ask? Because they aren’t part of MIAA. They don’t play any of those teams.

Good lord. Why do you people celebrate your ignorance?

Can we just have Ashton Kutcher pop out and scream “you’ve been Punk’d” so I can restore my faith in humanity?

 

[FK3JM]

Do you notice anything about those power rankings? Well, do ya? Let me help you …. They don’t include any of the NEPSAC schools! Shocker! Why, you ask? Because they aren’t part of MIAA. They don’t play any of those teams.

Good lord. Why do you people celebrate your ignorance?

Can we just have Ashton Kutcher pop out and scream “you’ve been Punk’d” so I can restore my faith in humanity?

So let me get this straight - there are no high school football rankings that I can find where tabor is ahead of Xaverian…. Yet because you say it is so the rest of the world is stupid and you are just more informed than everyone else…..all I said is was that Xaverian is a known commodity in New England and plays in the toughest league in Massachusetts. Maybe you could get Tabor to schedule some of the catholic league schools?

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

So let me get this straight - there are no high school football rankings that I can find where tabor is ahead of Xaverian…. Yet because you say it is so the rest of the world is stupid and you are just more informed than everyone else…..all I said is was that Xaverian is a known commodity in New England and plays in the toughest league in Massachusetts. Maybe you could get Tabor to schedule some of the catholic league schools?

He's insufferable with his stance. I get that private league in MA ($50/yr+) attracts talent, but they play a top to bottom weak schedule. There are a few top private schools, but the Catholic Conf has always been the toughest in eastern MA... you add in a schedule that normally includes Everett and Brockton (back in the day) and you have top to bottom far tougher schedules. Since 2000 here is how MA D-1 champions look... more than half out of the Cath. Conference.

Everett - 8
Xaverian - 6
St Johns Prep - 4
BC High - 3 (my alma mater)
Brockton - 2

 

[Moogy]

So let me get this straight - there are no high school football rankings that I can find where tabor is ahead of Xaverian…. Yet because you say it is so the rest of the world is stupid and you are just more informed than everyone else…..all I said is was that Xaverian is a known commodity in New England and plays in the toughest league in Massachusetts. Maybe you could get Tabor to schedule some of the catholic league schools?

The rest of the world isn’t stupid. Everyone in MA … and in New England … who follows or is involved in high school/prep sports is aware that ISL/NEPSAC is superior.

It’s not up for dispute.

It's inherent in the structure ... as I've explained, in detail. NEPSAC schools can and do openly recruit. They are not subject to any of the rules that schools in MIAA are subject to ... including age restrictions. This is why virtually all athletes who transfer to a NEPSAC reclass while doing so.

They're "prep" schools - they used to be primarily elite educational institutions for the rich. They've found out that following the college model of putting forth premier athletic teams helps bring in interest and money ... so they've done that. In sports like hoops, it's been happening for a long time. You rarely see the top kids in the region play on publics/Catholics ... they almost all go the NEPSAC route (and, in fact, some kids are so good, they now even go national - like Flagg from Maine, and Dybansta from Brockton, MA). Other sports have followed suit, however.

Now, kids try out for a NEPSAC slot. They're openly recruited. It's the preferred destination for most.

Tabor would not schedule catholic league schools, because 1.) it's not the same - NEPSAC is a superior product and 2.) the Catholic League teams probably wouldn't want to, because they're at an inherent disadvantage, as NEPSAC squads aren't limited by the same rules that Catholic League teams are.

Again, though ... you claim to live 30 minutes from Tabor, but never heard of it before. That's ridiculous. Either you're lying, or you are very ignorant on the subject and shouldn't be talking about it. College kids are coming out of there. PSU is recruiting multiple kids out of there ... and you live close by and never heard of it? That's not a good look ... for you.

 

[LMTLION]

So let me get this straight - there are no high school football rankings that I can find where tabor is ahead of Xaverian…. Yet because you say it is so the rest of the world is stupid and you are just more informed than everyone else…..all I said is was that Xaverian is a known commodity in New England and plays in the toughest league in Massachusetts. Maybe you could get Tabor to schedule some of the catholic league schools?

Yup, and that is a big reason that the staff are more comfortable with Wood as he excelled vs a tougher schedule than Tabor.

 

[Moogy]

He's insufferable with his stance. I get that private league in MA ($50/yr+) attracts talent, but they play a top to bottom weak schedule. There are a few top private schools, but the Catholic Conf has always been the toughest in eastern MA... you add in a schedule that normally includes Everett and Brockton (back in the day) and you have top to bottom far tougher schedules. Since 2000 here is how MA D-1 champions look... more than half out of the Cath. Conference.

Everett - 8
Xaverian - 6
St Johns Prep - 4
BC High - 3 (my alma mater)
Brockton - 2

"private league in MA ($50/yr)" ... more correctly referred to as prep, not private. The Catholic Leagues are "private leagues" ... who chose to also play against publics (weak sauce, but I digress). NEPSAC are prep schools, who actively recruit and aren't subject to the same limits Catholics and privates are supposed to be subject to (for instance, Catholics aren't supposed to recruit ... but as someone who had kids recruited by them, I can tell you that's a lie. Publics aren't supposed to recruit, either .. but, in some part thanks to school choice, I can tell you first-hand that happens, too).

No one disputes that the Catholic League schools are typically some of the best in MIAA. The point, which is entirely true, is that NEPSAC schools are BETTER, and they don't compete against MIAA schools, because they're a different product. A different product that attracts better talent, overall. Because they recruit. Actively and openly. They provide huge financial aid to athletes, so those schools, that now cost $70K+ in some/most instances, are "free" or a fraction of the cost. They provide a college corridor, which is what most of these kids are after. Speaking of which, they have their Showcase Day (a mini combine where all the college coaches attend and travel from prep school to prep school in one day) in a couple days.




Oh, and for the record, Brockton is awful now. So is Everett. Everett's downfall was very recent and very sudden. They just fell off the map. They went from world beaters to a complete joke in a season or two, when their legendary coach bolted for CM. When we played Everett recently, it was shocking how bad they were ... after they had just housed us with some D1 studs just a few years ago. In the frosh game, Everett had to sub in some of their JV guys, without telling us, just to stop the bleeding. Eventually it got to the point where they couldn't play our JV later that day because all their JV kids had played too much in the frosh game ... and gotten whooped. BC High has fallen off, too.

I know guys affiliated with Brockton athletics ... one of them coaches one of my sons now in the summer ... you know what he talks about all the time? How ticked off he is that all the great Brockton kids have left for NEPSAC schools. They've always had a trickle of talent going to some Catholics, but now it's just a deluge of talent drain to the NEPSACs.