Breaking down every Week 2 SouthCoast high school football game with previews and picks
Coming off Week 1 wins, Dartmouth and GNB Voc-Tech will collide on the football field this Friday in one of two games featuring all local matchups.
In the other, Bishop Stang and Old Rochester will face off in hopes of getting their first win of the season.
Apponequet, Wareham and New Bedford are also in search of their first wins.
Old Colony will have a tough test, traveling to Nashoba Valley while Fairhaven will look to keep it going against Medway after an impressive opening win over Durfee.
Standard-Times Sports Editor Laure Los Lee went 7-1 with her Week 1 picks.
Here’s a breakdown of all seven Week 2 games featuring SouthCoast teams along with Laurie’s predictions:
Abington at Apponequet
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Records: Abington (1-0); Apponequet (0-1)
Last week: Abington 20, Cohasset 7; Middleboro 46, Apponequet 12
Outlook: Mental mistakes cost the Lakers in a season-opening loss to Middleboro where Apponequet fell behind early and could not recover. Brody Joly led the Lakers on the ground and had a rushing touchdown. Lucas Tremblay had the other TD on a pick-six. The Lakers will have to clean things up for this week’s matchup against an opportunistic Abington team that took advantage of three turnovers in a Week 1 win over Cohasset. Mason Nash had two of Abington’s three touchdowns in the game.
Laurie’s Line: Abington 21, Apponequet 12
Medway at Fairhaven
When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Records: Medway (0-1); Fairhaven (1-0)
Last week: Medfield 27, Medway 0; Fairhaven 38, Durfee 13
Outlook: Fairhaven got off to a strong start to the season in a Week 1 victory over Div. 1 Durfee thanks to a high-powered offensive attack that saw Justin Marques find the end zone three times on runs and quarterback Jayce Duarte add two rushing touchdowns and one scoring strike. The Blue Devils, who allowed just two touchdowns to the Hilltoppers, take on a Medway team that was held out of the end zone last week in a loss to Medfield.
Laurie’s Line: Fairhaven 35, Medway 8
Old Colony at Nashoba Valley
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Records: Old Colony (1-0); Nashoba Valley (1-0)
Last week: Old Colony 36, Bristol-Plymouth 7; Nashoba Valley 22, Blue Hills 22
Outlook: Old Colony’s ground game was off and running against Bristol-Plymouth as the Cougars racked up 378 rushing yards and five of Old Colony’s touchdowns came on runs. Stu Burnham had over 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Max Finney was strong all-around with 84 yards and a rushing TD, a blocked punt and punt return for a score. Nashoba Valley is coming off a solid win over Blue Hills in Week 1. Look for this to be another close matchup similar to last year when the Cougars won 18-16.
Laurie’s Line: Old Colony 22, Nashoba Valley 20
SCORING STATS: SouthCoast's leading scorers in high school football after Week 1
Wareham at Murdock
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Records: Wareham (0-1); Murdock (0-1)
Last week: Monomoy 22, Wareham 14; Athol 34, Murdock 6
Outlook: First-year head coach Brandon Perry liked what he saw from his Vikings in Week. Even though Wareham lost by a touchdown, the Vikings were in the game from start to finish and even had a chance late to tie it, but fumbled the ball with under a minute to play. The combination of Ajay Lopes and Ty-Rell Pires were solid out of the backfield, combining for more than 130 rushing yards. First-year starting quarterback Jayce Travers looked comfortable in his new role, completing a pair of passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. Murdock, which beat Wareham 48-14 last year, managed just one touchdown last week against Athol.
Laurie’s Line: Wareham 21, Murdock 16
Old Rochester at Bishop Stang
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Records: Old Rochester (0-1); Bishop Stang (0-1)
Last week: Attleboro 20, Old Rochester 13; Dartmouth 40, Bishop Stang 0
Outlook: Even though the Bulldogs lost their season opener against Div. 1 Attleboro, they were in the game until the end. Ultimately, turnovers and penalties cost ORR a victory in Week 1. The Bulldogs will look to play a cleaner game against a Bishop Stang team that was held off the scoreboard against Dartmouth last week despite racking up nearly 200 yards in the first half and trailing just 7-0 at the intermission. The Spartans had trouble finishing drives and Dartmouth made them pay.
Laurie’s Line: Old Rochester 24, Bishop Stang 13
Dartmouth at GNB Voc-Tech
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Records: Dartmouth (1-0); GNB Voc-Tech (1-0)
Last week: Dartmouth 40, Bishop Stang 0; GNB Voc-Tech 21, Southeastern 6
Outlook: The 40 points Dartmouth scored in Week 1 was the most by the team in at least three years. Dartmouth’s offense was clicking on all cylinders with Ray Gramlich rushing for more than 140 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Jackson Hart throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another. Led by quarterback Jhaden Reis, GNB Voc-Tech’s offense was impressive, scoring all three of its touchdowns in the first half against Southeastern. Reis scored one while Aliaz Colon had a pair of rushing TDs. This matchup features two of the area’s top kickers in Dartmouth’s Louie Freitas and GNB Voc-Tech’s Connor McManus. The pair combined for 34 PATs and five field goals last season.
Laurie’s Line: Dartmouth 31, GNB Voc-Tech 27
Week 1 standouts: Vote for the High School Football Player of the Week
Barnstable at New Bedford
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Barnstable (1-0); New Bedford (0-1)
Last week: Barnstable 49, Brockton 14; Taunton 41, New Bedford 0
Outlook: The Whalers, who had no answer for Taunton in a Week 1 loss, will have their hands full this week against Barnstable and quarterback Aidan Kundel. Against Brockton, Kundel threw three touchdown passes and ran for a pair of TDs as the Raiders won in dominant fashion. New Bedford’s offense needs to sustain drives better to keep Barnstable’s offense off the field and have a shot in this one.
Laurie’s Line: Barnstable 42, New Bedford 8
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: 2023 Week 2 SouthCoast football preview and predictions
