Reading Heads To L-S Friday; Northeast Tackles H-W Saturday

The MIAA playoffs continue this weekend and for the survivors of Week 1 that stadium off in the distance is one step closer to reality.

With a trip to Gillette the goal, it's sectional semifinal weekend. Among area teams, that means Reading and Northeast Regional have North sectional semifinal games. With the potential for rain Friday night, unbeaten Stoneham moved their game to Thursday. In addition to the playoffs, those that didn't make the playoffs and the losers from week 1 continue their seasons.

Here's a look at what's ahead, starting with the playoffs:

Reading (7-1) at Lincoln-Sudbury (7-1), Fri., 7 -- The measuring stick for this Division 2 North semifinal is Acton-Boxboro, which was responsible for the "1" in each team's record. Reading fell to A-B, 30-22. Lincoln-Sudbury lost to the Colonials 37-35. Last fall and injury depleted Reading squad lost to L-S, 35-0. Expect this one to be much closer.

Northeast (6-2) vs. Hamilton-Wenham (6-2) at Manchester Essex, Sat., 2 -- A matchup of Northeast's explosive offense (32.6 ppg) against the General's great defense (11.5 ppg). But the game also puts pressure on the H-W offense which has struggled to score at times this fall. The Golden Knights' Zach Sanderson ran for 175 yards in the rain and mud last weekend. If he does it again Saturday Northeast could be playing for a trophy next week.

Non-playoff games:

Lynnfield (1-7) at Wakefield (2-6), Fri., 7 -- With both teams struggling to score this fall, this one should be low scoring.

Winchester (4-4) at Andover (2-5), Fri., 7 -- Andover has struggled on defense this year and the Sachems should be able to put up some points in this one. But both teams suffered first-round blowouts last week so the big question is which team still has some football left in it.

Ipswich (6-2) at Austin Prep (4-4), Sat., 10 -- The Tigers have been able to score all year with three games of 40-plus points so the pressure will be on the AP defense to contain Ipswich.

North Reading (5-3) at Melrose (4-4), Fri., 7 -- This is a rematch of last fall's Division 4 North semi that was won by Melrose, 28-27.