Blue Hills football coach Ed Madden is very passionate when it comes to discussing the vocational bowls.

His team will be looking for its second bowl title in three years when it hosts Tri-County Wednesday in the Small School Vocational Bowl. On the same night, Bay Path and Blackstone Valley tangle in the Large School Vocational Bowl at Millbury High School.

“When I think about the vocational bowls, it’s like the Army-Navy game.” Madden said. “Most of the guys who play in that game are not going to the NFL, but going to serve the country. The same thing with the vocational kids in that most of them will not be playing in college. While some might go on to play at the next level, most of the kids come here looking to learn a craft, start a family and make money.”

Blue Hills and Tri-County is a rematch from Oct. 27 where the host Warriors emerged with a 28-6. Tri-County coach Andy Gomes isn’t putting a lot of stock in that outcome, but admits his team will have to be a lot better.

“Honestly, the biggest thing for us is lining up in the right position,” Gomes said. “We had some injuries up front and we made some mistakes and Blue Hills is an excellent team who took advantage.”

Tri-County played its best ball over the second half of the year, going 4-2 with the losses coming to Blue Hills and a very good Old Colony squad. Dylan Sullivan ran for 1,000 yards, added 300 more receiving yards and finished with 12 touchdowns. Declan Walker threw for 750 yards and 11 touchdowns, while his brother Keegan emerged as the top target with 15 catches for 362 yards and four touchdowns.

Blue Hills makes no mistakes in what it wants to do on offense — run, run and run some more. The Warriors have a trio of backs in Caiden Montas, Aiden Landers and Matt Begin, all of whom can be the featured back on any week.

“Those guys are very selfless, they like blocking for one another,” Madden said. “We have a slogan that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Matt Begin was a JV kid for two years, I don’t know if he weighs 130 pounds, but he loves to block and runs very hard. We are very lucky to have kids like this.”

In the Large School championship, Bay Path will be gunning for its second title in three years. The Minutemen love to pound the rock and have two of the better backs in Central Mass. in Kaiden Brochu (more than 2,000 rushing yards) and Bradyn Downes (1,000 yards).

“We’ve really come together as a team,” Bay Path coach Cody Giampa said. “We’ve been more of a physical team than a finesse team. It’s our style of ball.”

Blackstone Valley hasn’t won a bowl game since 2013, but the Beavers are more than ready for the challenge.

“Any time you get to play an extra game after Thanksgiving, it’s a good thing,” said Blackstone Valley coach Anthony Landini. “We had a tough, close loss to Danvers in the (MIAA) playoffs, but these kids always seem to be able to bounce back.”

Leading the way for Blackstone Valley is quarterback Alex Burgos. A starter since his freshman year, the junior has thrown for 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns, while rushing for 700 yards and 10 more scores.

LARGE SCHOOL VOCATIONAL SUPER BOWL

No. 1 Bay Path (7-3) vs. No. 3 Blackstone Valley (7-4), Wednesday, 6 p.m. (Millbury)

BAY PATH MINUTEMEN

Head coach: Cody Giampa

SEPT. 8: BAY PATH 43, Southbridge 30

SEPT. 15: BAY PATH 42, Leicester 21

SEPT. 22: CLINTON 28, Bay Path 20

SEPT, 30: BAY PATH 51, Monty Tech 20

OCT. 6: BAY PATH 35, Narragansett 13

OCT. 13: Bay Path 46, ASSABET VALLEY 22

OCT. 20: Bay Path 50, ABBY KELLEY 8

OCT. 27: BLACKSTONE-MILLVILLE 31, Bay Path 27

NOV. 3: NORWELL 55, Bay Path 20

NOV. 9: BAY PATH 53, Essex Tech 8

NOV. 17: BAY PATH 30, Greater New Bedford 13

NOV. 23: Bay Path 42, OXFORD 34

BLACKSTONE VALLEY BEAVERS

Head coach: Anthony Landini

SEPT. 9: St. Bernard’s 22, BLACKSTONE VALLEY 12

SEPT. 15: UXBRIDGE 56, Blackstone Valley 0

SEPT. 30: Blackstone Valley 40, WORCESTER TECH 6

OCT. 6: Blackstone Valley 41, MILLBURY 7

OCT. 14: BLACKSTONE VALLEY 35, Northbridge 7

OCT. 21: BLACKSTONE VALLEY 30, Assabet Valley 7

OCT. 28: West Boylston 20, BLACKSTONE VALLEY 0

NOV. 3: DANVERS 20, Blackstone Valley 19

NOV. 11: BLACKSTONE VALLEY 49, Southeastern 12

NOV. 17: Blackstone Valley 34, WHITTIER 22

NOV. 23: BLACKSTONE VALLEY 35, Nipmuc 14

VOCATIONAL BOWL HISTORY

Bay Path is competing in its fifth vocational bowl, posting a 3-1 record. The Minutemen appeared in the 2022 bowl game, defeating Monty Tech 28-20 as Casey Gallagher ran for 134 yards and a pair of scores.

Blackstone Valley is 2-4 in its bowl history, the last victory coming in 2013. Nic Wojnar threw for 284 yards and led a spirited fourth-quarter to defeat Northeast Regional, 30-26.

SMALL SCHOOL VOCATIONAL SUPER BOWL

No. 4 Tri-County (7-4) at No. 3 Blue Hills (7-3), 6

TRI-COUNTY COUGARS

Head coach: Andy Gomes

SEPT. 8: Tri-County 12, MILLIS 0

SEPT. 15: CARVER 49, Tri-County 0

SEPT. 23: TRI-COUNTY 8, Case 6

SEPT. 30: Tri-County 28, DIMAN 20

OCT. 6: WEST BRIDGEWATER 40, Tri-County 12

OCT. 14: TRI-COUNTY 23, Southeastern 6

OCT. 21: TRI-COUNTY 21, Bristol-Plymouth 8

OCT. 27: BLUE HILLS 28, Tri-County 6

NOV. 11: TRI-COUNTY 26, South Shore 12

NOV. 18: Tri-County 39, FRANKLIN TECH 0

NOV. 23: OLD COLONY 43, Tri-County

BLUE HILLS WARRIORS

Head coach: Ed Madden

SEPT. 8: NASHOBA TECH 28, Blue Hills 22

SEPT. 15: BLUE HILLS 50, Monty Tech 14

SEPT. 22: Blue Hills 24, OLD COLONY 20

SEPT. 29: West Boylston 52, BLUE HILLS 14

OCT. 6: Blue Hills 20, SOUTHEASTERN 14

OCT. 12: BLUE HILLS 36, Diman 32

OCT. 18: WEST BRIDGEWATER 28, Blue Hills 14

OCT. 27: BLUE HILLS 28, Tri-County 6

NOV. 3: MASHPEE 32, Blue Hills 14

NOV. 10: BLUE HILLS 46, Nashoba Tech 12

NOV. 17: Blue Hills 54, SMITH VOKE 12

NOV. 23: Blue Hills 22, BRISTOL-PLYMOUTH 6

VOCATIONAL BOWL HISTORY

Blue Hills has played in four previous bowl games, posting an overall record of 3-1. The Warriors defeated Nashoba Tech 52-51 in the 2021 championship game as Jake Reissfelder ran for 255 yards and four touchdowns. Anthony Graziano scored on a 1-yard run with 2:25 left, then Eric Mann punched in the winning 2-point conversion run.

Tri-County is seeking its first bowl victory. The Cougars have been to two prior bowls, the last appearance coming in 2011, where they lost to Lynn Tech, 29-7.

STATE VOCATIONAL BOWL HISTORY

2004

LARGE: Bay Path 21, Shawsheen 8

SMALL: South Shore 16, Blackstone Valley 6

2005

LARGE: Whittier 48, Worcester Voke 22

SMALL: Dean Tech 36, Nashoba Tech 34

2006

LARGE: Shawsheen 35, Bay Path 8

SMALL: Assabet Valley 32, Pathfinder 12

2007

LARGE: Shawsheen 27, Southeastern 14

SMALL: South Shore 37, Franklin Tech 0

2008

LARGE: Bay Path 26, Bristol-Plymouth 6

SMALL: South Shore 38, North Shore 18

2009

LARGE: Lynn Tech 18, Southeastern 16

SMALL: Blackstone Valley 21, North Shore 20

2010

LARGE: Greater New Bedford 23, Southeastern 20

SMALL: North Shore 22, Tri-County 12

2011

LARGE: Greater New Bedford 17, Greater Lawrence 14

SMALL: Lynn Tech 29, Tri-County 7

2012

LARGE: Greater New Bedford 26, Greater Lawrence 6

SMALL: Blue Hills 26, Minuteman 8

2013

LARGE: Blackstone Valley 30, Northeast 26

SMALL: Blue Hills 23, North Shore 22

2014

LARGE: Whittier 44, Blackstone Valley 6

SMALL: Essex Tech 42, McCann 22

2015

LARGE: Monty Tech 22, Blackstone Valley 7

SMALL: Essex Tech 44, McCann 6

2016

LARGE: Northeast 30, Blackstone Valley 25

SMALL: Upper Cape 22, Blue Hills 14

2017

LARGE: Assabet Valley 28, Shawsheen 20

SMALL: Lynn Tech 50, Nashoba Tech 22

2018

LARGE: Greater Lawrence 20, Northeast 14

SMALL: Nashoba Tech 34, Upper Cape 13

2019

LARGE: Greater Lawrence 36, Assabet Valley 26

SMALL: South Shore 8, Old Colony 0

2020

Covid

2021

LARGE: Northeast 30, Greater New Bedford 7

SMALL: Blue Hills 52, Nashoba Tech 51

2022

LARGE: Bay Path 28, Monty Tech 20

SMALL: South Shore 16, Nashoba Tech 2