After each having a week off, the Needham Rockets and the Wellesley Raiders will shake off the rust and duke it out at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. Needham is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
Last Friday, Needham had just enough and edged out Newton North 14-12. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Rockets have posted against the Tigers since September 23, 2017.
Meanwhile, it's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Wellesley can now relate to. They were beaten by the Knights 47-0 last Friday. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Massachusetts football rankings (they are ranked 57th, while the Knights are ranked third).
Wellesley's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-5. As for Needham, their victory bumped their record up to 3-7.
Needham beat Wellesley 20-13 in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rockets since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps