THE WARRIORS scrimmaged Methuen yesterday at Landrigan Field. Wakefield football is in Div. 3 this year after the new realignment based on enrollment. Methuen is in Div. 1. (Dan Pawlowski Photos)
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — Divisional realignment in Massachusetts high school football is as constant as change itself.
Ten years ago, Wakefield football resided in Div. 2 A which actually lasted throughout the next five seasons. Making the playoffs was difficult – like just four teams get to dance, difficult. The 2011 Warriors beat Marblehead 7-6 to make the Super Bowl. It was their last Super Bowl appearance. Wakefield hasn’t won a playoff game since.
By 2013, the “A” was dropped as divisions went from 1-6.
The “A” returned when Wakefield went back to D2A for one year in 2016 when they made their first playoff appearance in five years.
The next shift, to point “B” if you will, came in 2017 when the North had eight divisions, mostly so that more teams could experience playoff football. Wakefield found themselves in Div. 4 where they made the bracket in 2017 and 2019.
In 2021, sectional tournaments are no more – as is the case with all sports moving forward.
For football, that means eight divisions statewide with 16 teams per division making the playoffs.
Wakefield will be one of 30 teams in Div. 3 – some as close as Malden and some as far as West Springfield…or farther.
From 2013 to 2016, the MIAA was concerned enough about the postseason’s geographic logistics that they even had a Northeast Div. 3 section with teams that fit both the divisional enrollment and the location.
Now? Wakefield could make the playoffs and theoretically need to travel two hours to Westfield High in the first round. It all depends on the new power rankings which will determine seeding. How that works is a separate story. The basic equation includes margin of victory and the rating of your opponents.
For football, there are 28 teams in Div. 1, 34 in Div. 2, 36 in Div. 4, 37 in Div. 5, 32 in Div. 6, 33 in Div. 7 and 49 in Div. 8 to go along with the 30 in D3.
The divisions were determined mostly by enrollment. Wakefield, listed at 987, is one of only four teams in Div. 3 with an enrollment under 1,000 (along with Westwood High – 994, Norwood Senior High – 994 and Hanover High – 796.
There are no other Middlesex League schools in Div. 3. Of the six teams in the league’s Freedom Division, Wakefield is the only one in D3. Melrose, with a listed enrollment of 981, is in Div. 4 along with Wilmington (811) and Burlington (943). Watertown is in Div. 5 (681) and Stoneham is in Div. 6 (645).
The shock of seeing Wakefield’s rival, with just six less students, in a different division is made more clear when considering the simple fact that the line had to be drawn somewhere. With this alignment, some programs where always going to draw the short stick.
Of course, enrollment doesn’t always equal victory on the gridiron. Division 3 is loaded with consistently powerful programs such as Plymouth South, North Attleborough, Billerica, Dartmouth and Marblehead. But, the same can be said of Division 4 where Melrose will get more familiar with Duxbury, Nashoba, Tantasqua, Tewksbury and Holliston…at least until the next realignment.
As playoff hopefuls work to fill up the gas budget for their buses, the current plan is for the first round of the playoffs to take place on Nov. 5, followed by the quarterfinals on Nov. 12 and the semifinals on Nov. 19. The first two rounds will be played at the home of the higher seeds. The semifinals will be at a neutral field. Thanksgiving games will be next on the 25th with Super Bowl matchups the following week.
The Warriors kick off their Div. 3 journey in eight days when they travel to Greater Lawrence Tech (Div. 5) on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. for the season opener.
