Week 2 Gardner Area Football: previews and predictions
High school athletes have had a difficult start to the season due to weather. The fall season started with cancellations and alterations to schedules due to the excessive heat, and now has moved into rain delay after rain delay. Week 1 of football brought a messy schedule. However, Gardner's area teams found some success despite the unpredictable circumstances. Moving into Week 2 with rain still in the forecast, teams will have to adapt to the weather and be ready for anything to change at the last moment.
Here’s what we are looking at for Week 2 matchups. There are no all-Gardner area pairings on the lineup so teams will be challenged with some different competition from around the state.
Wareham at Murdock, 6 p.m.
Both programs have finished with strong records in the past, and both are also 0-1 to start the season. Wareham typically plays a tough schedule with some Eastern Mass. powerhouses, including Old Colony, the runner-up for the state title in 2018. The two teams faced off last season where Murdock took the victory 44-18. This season, Wareham has a new coach so it could be difficult to base any expectations off of last year’s team and program.
Cait’s Call: Murdock over Wareham
Monty Tech at Blue Hills, 6:30 p.m.
Another pairing that will determine someone’s first win of the season, Monty Tech and Blue Hills are familiar tech school competitors. Monty Tech dropped a tough one against Narragansett to start the season, and Blue Hills similarly fell to Nashoba Tech. Blue Hills plays a similar schedule to Wareham which, despite facing a first-game loss, gives it experience against strong programs.
Cait’s Call: Blue Hills over Monty Tech
Quabbin at David Prouty, 6:30 p.m.
Quabbin had a difficult game against Gardner last week, where they began Friday evening and had to continue the next day. A 31-0 loss can be hard to start with, but Quabbin will look to grab their first victory of the season against David Prouty. It will be the battle of the Panthers, with two teams that have historically similar results against common opponents. A competitive game is to be expected.
Cait’s Call: Quabbin over DP
Ware at Narragansett, 7 p.m.
Ware started off its season with a big win, defeating Easthampton 20-0. Ware boasted a winning season of 8-3 last year, losing in the first round of the Div. 8 state tournament. Narragansett is coming off a big win, against Monty Tech and will look to bring that momentum into this Week 2 matchup.
Cait’s Call: Ware over Narragansett
Clinton at Oakmont, 7 p.m.
Clinton and Oakmont are coming into the game 0-1, after Clinton dropped their opener to Hudson and Oakmont its first game to Tyngsborough. Clinton is coming off a strong season in 2022-23, finishing 6-5 and beating Oakmont early in the season, 49-35. Yet another pairing that often results in a close game, it is hard to say this early in the season which of these programs to favor.
Cait’s Call: Oakmont over Clinton
Gardner at St. Paul, 12 p.m. (Saturday)
The Wildcats are coming off a huge success against Quabbin where they defeated the Panthers 31-0. A game that I had predicted to be close, Gardner came out of the gate with huge momentum and continued it throughout the contest that was completed on Saturday. Just by that, it is clear they will put up a great battle against St. Paul this week. St. Paul, a newer program following the merge of Worcester Catholic schools St. Peter-Marian and Holy Name, struggled last season against Central Mass. competition. The Knights suffered losses to teams such as Nipmuc, Assabet, Sutton, and Gardner area’s Monty Tech and Quabbin. This season, they are 0-1 after a loss to Nipmuc.
Cait’s Call: Gardner over St. Paul
Stay tuned for Friday’s live updates and coverage of games and look out for your favorite teams’ Week 3 matchups.
Contact Cait Kemp at ckemp@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @caitlinkemp09.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Gardner area football teams looking to grab early success in Week 2
