Catholic Memorial, Shawsheen, Hudson and Scituate all have something in common: they used last year’s loss in the state tournament as motivation.

Catholic Memorial got steamrolled by Marshfield in the Div. 2 state semifinal last year, but this year the Knights were the one holding the hammer as they dominated the competition and ended King Philip’s 25-game winning streak in the Div. 2 final.

Scituate can relate to Catholic Memorial. On the championship stage a year ago, they allowed 62 points to a powerful Duxbury squad. This time, it was the Sailors who got the last laugh as they earned some revenge on Duxbury, defeating the Dragons to win the Div. 4 state title.

Shawsheen was able to get a second crack at a Foxboro team which beat them by 30 in the tournament a year ago. The Rams shut out the defending champions to win their first state title in more than a decade. Hudson lost a heartbreaker to Fairhaven last year, but returned the favor this year in the Div. 6 state final.

Then we have schools who enjoyed the thought of coming back for more. Xaverian defended its Div. 1 state title with a hard-fought 14-7 win over Needham, while Uxbridge held off Fairhaven 21-14 to win the Div. 6 state championship.

West Boylston actually upped the ante as they grabbed their third straight state. The Lions defeated Randolph 22-16 to win the Div. 8 state title as head coach Mike Ross won his sixth state championship title.

Then we have a classic Hockomock League rival in the Div. 3 state final between North Attleboro and Mansfield. The game had all the makings of a classic, but the Red Rocketeers were in no mood for drama. They jumped out to a big lead and rolled to a 35-0 win and their first title in more than 20 years.

SEVEN MEMORABLE POSTSEASON GAMES

Needham 22, St. John’s Prep 14: The Rockets proved that a good public school team could play with the Catholics, riding the 144-yard effort from Aidan Williams to victory in a Div. 1 state semifinal.

BC High 41, Springfield Central 36: The Eagles built up a big lead before holding off a spirited challenge from the perennial Western Mass. power to reach the Div. 1 state semifinals.

Reading 21, Milford 18: The Rockets trailed for much of the game before rallying in the final minute on a 33-yard scoring strike from Jack Murphy to Bobby Morris to advance to the Div. 3 state semifinals.

Wayland 48, Burlington 44: An old-fashioned offensive battle in which Wayland needed five scores from All-Scholastic Max Dresens to survive Burlington’s lethal aerial attack.

Duxbury 30, Canton 27: Upstart Canton came very close to knocking off the Dragons, leading until the final two minutes when a turnover led to Duxbury’s winning score with 1:19 left in this Div. 4 quarterfinal.

Shawsheen 14, Foxboro 0: The Rams showed that a vocational school could survive and thrive under the new statewide football playoff format, knocking off defending champion Foxboro to win the Div. 5 state title.

Fairhaven 36, Lynnfield 34 (ot): Justin Marques broke the all-time career mark for touchdowns, the final score coming in overtime as the Blue Devils survived in this wild Div. 6 quarterfinal tilt.

STAR OF THE WEEK

WEEK 1: Ray Gramlich rushed for 267 yards and three scores on 20 carries as Dartmouth cruised past Bishop Stang, 34-0.

WEEK 2: Gavin Martin ran for 213 yards and a school-record five touchdowns as Old Rochester won its second straight game in overtime, outlasting Bishop Stang, 32-26.

WEEK 3: Vincent Busa broke a school record as he rushed for 340 yards and five touchdowns as Xaverian rolled to a 56-27 win over Everett.

WEEK 4: Colin Fuller completed 13-of-16 passes for 295 yards and six touchdowns, while adding 46 rushing yards as Newburyport defeated Essex Tech, 48-21.

WEEK 5: Steven Gentile rushed for 243 yards and seven touchdowns, while throwing for 112 yards and an eighth score as Billerica outscored Haverhill, 83-54.

WEEK 6: Tabor’s Hugo Djeumeni ran for an eye popping 406 yards and five touchdowns in a wild 40-34 victory over St. Sebastian’s.

WEEK 7: Tyler Adamo completed 16-of-19 passes for 301 yards and five touchdowns as Lynnfield defeated Newburyport, 44-21.

WEEK 8: Mekhi Dodd ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns as Central Catholic handed St. John’s Prep its first loss, 34-0.

WEEK 9: Tyren Houen ran for 356 yards and four touchdowns as Lynn Classical outscored Somerville, 45-37.

WEEK 10: Shane Eason rushed for 315 yards and scored five touchdowns as Methuen defeated Franklin 35-21 in a Division 1 first-round contest.

WEEK 11: Justin Marques etched his name into the state record book as he broke a state career touchdown record as Fairhaven held off Lynnfield 36-34 in overtime. He finished with 184 yards and four scores, giving him 103 at the time.

WEEK 12: Luke Bell returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns and also kicked a 40-yard field goal as Xaverian avenged a regular-season loss by defeating BC High, 31-14.

WEEK 13: Justin Marino ran for 208 yards and four touchdowns as Medford clinched the GBL title for the first time in nearly four decades with a 34-14 win over Malden.

WEEK 14: Jonny Donovan capped off his first season as a starter by completing 18-of-24 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns as Scituate capped off an undefeated season with a 29-13 win over Duxbury.

PARTING SHOTS

1) Can we stop once or for all with the silly notion that consolation games are “meaningless?” It is frankly insulting to any high school player who puts on a uniform to compete on a weekly basis.

The reality is this: if you haven’t qualified for one of 16 spots in each of the eight divisions, the odds are that you haven’t had a great season. Using that as a parameter, if your team is 1-7, is your program better off playing in a consolation game in a non-playoff week against a team of similar ability or going up against a league power that might be 8-0 or 7-1?

In the words of my friend and former Xaverian football coaching legend Charlie Stevenson: “come on man, gimme a break.”

2) I have always maintained a healthy respect for coaches and athletic directors throughout the state for the hard work and nonsense they have to put up with on a daily basis. That admiration has grown even more this year given the stuff I’ve dealt with this past fall.

In my line of work, I certainly get my share of shrapnel from the ADD (better known as adult delusional darlings set). This fall, the level of venom has reached unparalleled heights. If I posted some of the e-mails that I’ve received from the ADD crowd, the school and their own kids would be embarrassed to say the least.

There is no problem disagreeing with me (heck, my wife and friends disagree with things I say every day), but certain people have taken it to another level to the point where the insults are personal in nature. If I’m getting periodic heat, I shudder to think how bad it must be for school administrators who have to deal with certain members of the ADD sect on a daily basis.

Enough with the rant, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (even to my detractors).