2025 Division 5-8 Football Championships: Shawsheen Repeats; Fairhaven, Cohasset, Randolph Back On Top

The 2025 MIAA Football Tournament began with a total of 126 teams across eight divisions, with 16 qualifiers in each division except Division 2 (14 teams). Following three weeks of action before Thanksgiving, 16 teams took to the turf at Gillette Stadium from December 4-6, and eight champions ultimately were crowned.

All four winners in Divisions 5-8 had previously won championships in the last five years, including Shawsheen Valley Technical High School with back-to-back crowns. The Rams won in a rematch of the 2024 title game, while Division 8 also featured the same two teams with a different result going the way of Randolph High School. Meanwhile, Fairhaven High School and Cohasset High School also returned to the winners’ stage.

Here is a recap of the Division 5-8 championship games:

Division 5

The rematch played out a bit differently, but ended in the same result: a championship for Shawsheen Tech.

Seniors Adam Caruso and Dyllon Pratt connected for a pair of long touchdown passes in the first 10 minutes and the defense did the rest for the No. 1 seed Rams to pull out the 14-7 victory over Foxborough High School.

Shawsheen also beat Foxborough for the 2024 title, needing a pair of fourth-quarter scores and strong defense for a 14-0 win.

The offense didn’t take nearly as long this time. Just 3:42 into the game, on Shawsheen’s first offensive play, Caruso flipped a swing pass to Pratt, who got around a pair of defenders and down the left sideline for a 77-yard touchdown and a quick 6-0 lead.
The duo connected again for a 51-yard score with 2:37 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

No. 2 seed Foxborough got on the board on a 1-yard plunge by senior Matthew O’Keefe at 7:25 of the second quarter, but the defenses took over from there.

Pratt has 3 catches for 137 yards and the two scores, as Caruso was 7-of-14 passing for 151 yards. Senior Jake Banda carried 24 times for 115 yards for the Rams, who extended their winning streak to 27 games dating back to a semifinal loss to Foxborough in 2023. The Rams are 3-2 all time in Super Bowls/MIAA Championship Games, also winning in 2010.

Senior quarterback Cam Deleskey carried 19 times for 81 yards to lead the Warriors, who are 5-6 all time, including a 2023 title win over Hanover (other wins in 1987, 1988, 1991, 2006).

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 6

No. 3 seed Fairhaven did all its damage on the ground, rushing for 410 yards behind the 1-2 punch of seniors Grant Darmofal and Ian Alexion to outlast No. 1 seed Norwell High School, 28-14.

Darmofal rushed for 192 yards on 26 carries, and Alexion added 182 yards on 19 tries, with each scoring a pair of touchdowns for the Blue Devils. The combined 374 yards was the second-most for a pair of backs from one team in MIAA Super Bowl/Championship history.

Alexion’s second touchdown was the game-winner, a 6-yard dash at 9:20 of the third quarter that broke a 14-14 tie. Norwell forced a pair of fumbles to keep it a one-score game until Darmofal’s own 6-yard touchdown capped the scoring with 4:51 to go.

Darmofal’s first touchdown from 3 yards out opened the scoring and gave the Blue Devils at 6-0 lead at 9:32 of the second quarter. But it took just 15 seconds for the Clippers to respond on a 65-yard keeper from junior quarterback Jack Luccarelli. The extra point kick made it a 7-6 Norwell lead.

Luccarelli had a huge night for Norwell, carrying 23 times for 218 yards. He also threw for a 21-yard touchdown to Teddy Glynn to tie the game just before halftime, only 27 seconds after Alexion’s first score from a yard out with 58 seconds left in the half.

The championship was Fairhaven’s second in three years, bookending a loss in the 2024 title game. The Blue Devils are 5-1 all time in Super Bowls/Championship games.

Norwell made its first title game appearance since 1999 and is now 2-3 all time.

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 7

Senior Gus Greene broke free for a 42-yard touchdown with 5:58 to play, snapping a tie and sending No. 1 seed Cohasset to a 22-14 win over No. 2 seed Amesbury High School.

Senior quarterback Mike Wildfire added the two-point conversion run and the Skippers defense held the rest of the way, giving the program its second Division 7 championship in five years.

Wildfire also ran for both touchdowns for Cohasset, which found itself in a battle throughout with a Redhawks team making its second appearance at Gillette in three seasons.

Wildfire’s first touchdown gave Cohasset a 7-0 lead just 2:56 into the game, but Amesbury responded on a 15-yard run from junior Connor Scialdone, cutting it to 7-6 after the missed extra point.

Just 51 seconds before intermission, Wildfire’s 5-yard score gave the Skippers a 14-6 lead at the break. The Redhawks responded on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down from senior captain Justin Dube just seven seconds into the fourth quarter, and junior Joe Puleo’s conversion tied the game.

Greene finished with a game-high 131 yards rushing on 16 carries, followed by Wildfire’s 67 yards on 11 attempts as Cohasset improved to 2-1 all time in championship games.

Puleo ran for 93 yards on 15 carries, and Dube was 7-of-8 passing for 77 yards for Amesbury, which is now 1-2 all time.

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 8

This time, the result of the rematch was different.

It took No. 4 seed Randolph just 1 minute, 30 seconds to get on the scoreboard, and the Blue Devils’ ground attack and defense did the rest in their 21-0 victory over No. 3 seed West Boylston Middle/High School.

For Randolph, it was the second championship in program history, with the other coming in 2021 (20-14 over Hull).

Senior Mekhi White ran for 102 yards on 22 carries and capped the opening drive with a 7-yard score for Randolph. Senior Alin Noriska added a pair of touchdowns, the first coming with just 50 seconds left in the half as the Blue Devils doubled their lead to 14-0 heading into the break.

Noriska’s second touchdown closed the scoring early in the fourth quarter. He finished with 87 yards on 13 carries and also booted all three extra points for Randolph.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils bottled up the two-time defending champion Lions, who had won the 2024 matchup between the two schools, 22-16. West Boylston finished with just 169 total yards, led by senior Dominick Renzoni’s 70 yards on 18 carries.

The Lions were denied a fourth straight state championship overall (they won in Division 7 in 2022) and dropped to 5-1 all time.

Box Score     Bracket