By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
Several games went down to the wire as six champions were crowned in the 2008 MIAA Central Massachusetts/Western Massachusetts Super Bowls. It marked the last season the two regions will compete for one Super Bowl champion. Next year a championship for each division will be held in each region.
Division 1: Longmeadow 35, Fitchburg 21
Longmeadow running backs Alex Scyocurka and Niko Sierra combined for 367 yards and five touchdowns to lock up the Lancers' fourth consecutive MIAA Western Massachusetts/ Centtral Massachusetts Super Bowl, 35-21, over Fitchburg at Worcester State College.
Fitchburg (8-5) trailed by just one, 14-13, at halftime before the Lancers (12-1) opened up their powerful ground attack. Scyocurka rushed for 230 yards overall and scored twice, finishing his career with 4,838 yards. His season total of 2,651 yards was the highest for the region in 13 seasons.
"People said we aren't very good, or we didn't play anybody. This was a great opportunity to play the best teams in Central Mass. and show the quality of our program," Longmeadow head coach Alex Rotsko said.
During the combined regional Super Bowl period, Longmeadow qualified for 12 finals in a row, winning nine of them.
Division 1A: Holy Name 20, Westfield 7
Holy Name of Worcester (11-2) utilized a balanced running attack and stiff defense to capture its third Super Bowl title in four years, 20-7, over Westfield (10-2) at Westfield State College.
Bill Derosier led Naps' rushers with 65 yards with Kevin Greene adding a touchdown and 57 yards. Quarterback Santino Simone scored two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 25 yards.
Tim Gaylord led all rushers with 131 yards and scored on a 30-yard run for Westfield, marking the Bombers' second loss in a row in the 1A Super Bowl.
Division 2: Tantasqua 17, South Hadley 14
Behind the passing of senior quarterback Cory Lavallee, Tantasqua finished a perfect season (13-0) in its first Super Bowl appearance ever at Westfield State College.
Lavallee (106 yards passing, 88 rushing, two TDs) connected with Greg Caswell on a 23-yard touchdown pass and made a 1-yard flip to Eric Shine for the other score. Josh Via made a 31-yard field goal and two conversion kicks.
A South Hadley (8-4) attempt at a 29-yard field goal in the game's final seconds was blocked, ensuring that Tantasqua, along with eastern Massachusetts champions Walpole, Duxbury and Manchester-Essex, would finish as the only undefeated MIAA Super Bowl teams in the state.
Division 2A: Auburn 17, Wahconah Regional 0
Auburn’s defense forced several turnovers to lift the Rockets to a 17-0 win over previously undefeated Wahconah Regional (11-1) in the Division 2A Super Bowl at Auburn High School.
Three players scored for the Rockets (12-1), who ended their season with an 11-game win streak. Alex Filiere scored on an 8-yard run, quarterback Jon Leroux passed to Tyler Beede for a 9-yard scoring strike and Corey Roy added five points on two conversion kicks and a 28-yard field goal.
Division 3: Putnam Voke 24, Littleton 21
Running back Justin Reid, quarterback Sergey Gordievsky and wide receiver Andre Lester paved the way for Putnam (10-3) to win its second consecutive Super Bowl title, 24-21, over Littleton (11-2) at Westfield State College.
Reid rushed for just 65 yards but made all three Beavers touchdowns. Finishing with a total of 4,472 career yards, Reid had 1 and 5-yard runs and caught a 17-yard pass.
Gordievsky completed 7 of 8 passes for 150 yards and made the touchdown pass to Reid, and Lester caught four passes, including two that went for 50 yards or more.
Division 3A: Assabet 24, Easthampton 16
Assabet running back Nick Johnson scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter for the deciding points in a 24-16 win over Easthampton (9-3) in the Division 3A title game at Worcester State. It was the Aztecs' first Super Bowl win in 25 years.
Johnson added a 4-yard scoring run while quarterback Alex Moore had a 1-yard touchdown and Alan Alvarez rushed for over 100 yards with three two-point conversions.
The defense also weathered a final Easthampton drive to cement the victory for the Aztecs, who finished at 11-2.
