Natick vs. Bridgewater-Raynham: MIAA Playoffs

NATICK, MA—Natick hosts Bridgewater-Raynham this Friday night at 7 p.m. on the home field for the right to advance in the MIAA football tournament.

The 6-1 Redhawks, seeded third in the South Division 1A, take on the 4-3 Trojans, seeded eighth.

The winner will head to the division semi-finals.

>>>Check out our full MIAA football playoff preview here.

From our preview:

When the MIAA created the current format four years ago the primary goal was to give more students an opportunity to compete in the playoffs. If a soccer, basketball, or baseball team went 10-10 it made the tournament. But football? Those playoffs were limited to the elite few. And when the Football Committee voted in 2015 to expand from six to eight divisions, each needing eight teams, it meant one thing -- a lot of bad football teams were going to make the postseason. There are 34 teams with losing records competing, including six with 2-5 marks. Most will be gone after this weekend and left to wonder, was it worth it?