This winter was all about redemption.

Throughout MIAA State Championship weekend, teams who saw heartbreaking finishes end their 2024 campaigns reversed their fortunes given another chance.

CJ Neely’s Franklin group had been so close on three separate occasions, losing in the finals in 2017, 2018, and again in 2024. In that loss a year ago the Panthers saw a 12-point third quarter lead vanish at the hands of Worcester North. This time around, Franklin refused to be denied as star Caden Sullivan scored 31 points as the Panthers captured their first Division 1 State Title in program history.

The Division 1 girls game told a similar story as Wachusett, led by star Jaelyn Scott, avenged last year’s loss to Bishop Feehan with a 55-54 win over the Shamrocks in this year’s title game. Scott’s 31 points included the game-winning layup as time ticked under five seconds.

Revenge and redemption came in all forms in 2025. Norwell suffered an overtime, heartbreaking loss to Taconic in 2024 to end its season. The Clippers were a team of destiny in 2025. John Willis’ group returned the favor to Taconic with a dominant 19-point win in the semifinals before showcasing a flair for the dramatic in the state final. Ronan Coffey hit a three-pointer as time expired to send the championship game to overtime before the Clippers ultimately beat Old Rochester to cap an undefeated season and win its first title.

Somerset Berkley waited 12 months for the opportunity to strike back at Malden Catholic. The Blue Raiders fell to the Lancers by two points in last year’s semifinal. In this year’s final, there would be no similar drama. Around a core of Brendan McDonald, Dom Taylor, Max Finlaw, and Finn Bjork, the Blue Raiders blitzed Malden Catholic in a 65-44 win and its first title in over 70 years.

Jeff Newhall’s St. Mary’s group is no stranger to winning on the biggest stage but suffered a setback in 2024 when they fell to Foxboro. The absence of a championship only lasted one season as the Spartans defeated Norwell in the Division 3 title game to win their third title in four years.

There were a handful of teams who both enjoyed and had to endure similar emotions from a season ago. Medfield for a second consecutive season knocked off South High Community to win the Division 2 girls championship. Both Division 3 games saw the runner-up from 2024 experience a similar fate as Old Rochester boys and Norwell girls both were unable to cap fantastic seasons with a win. Cathedral kept its Division 4 dominance going with another championship over South Hadley. And the Georgetown boys may have been the best story of all. The Royals, after entering the tournament at 14-6, engineered an impressive run defeating No. 3 Clinton, No. 2 Bourne, and No. 5 Monument Mountain to win its first state title.

Three Gripes

1) Break out the technicals

No one wants to see officials decide games or punish kids for adult actions, but too much ridiculous behavior by adults on the sidelines is being allowed. Coaches have become more willing to test their limits, berating officials, coaching from beyond the sideline, and allowing their own assistants to act like fools. It’s time for referees to stop it all. High school coaches routinely find themselves stomping around, cursing or pointing at officials, and allowing their assistants to do the same. Officials, understandably not wanting to impact the game with two free throws and the ball for the opponent, have admirably swallowed the whistle. No more. End the charade and punish the adults on the sideline who think they are on CBS.

2) Insane cost, unfair burden

Ripping the MIAA has become a popular pastime for folks online who believe there is some omniscient entity deciding aspects like venues, ticket prices, or tournament formats. Instead, it is likely your local athletic director or principal has a very large say in the matter that has you upset. On that point, it’s time for leadership at individual schools to push back on the financial burden placed on students and adults to enter MIAA state tournament games. While $24 is a steep price, one may be able to understand if it’s for admission into the TD Garden … and that is where that exception ends. No student should be charged such a number to enter their classmates’ state tournament semifinal game. Having no student ticket price available for the final four and state final is negligible at best, greedy at worst. The goal of interscholastic athletics needs to be encouraging student athletes, and students as a whole, to support one another. When prices get that high the mission is lost. Raise the prices on adults if needed, but charging students at such a rate makes everyone wonder, “where is all of our money going?”

3) Power rankings release

Understandably, when the MIAA Power Rankings were first in use in the 2021-22 season, there were a few hiccups and glitches along the way. The MIAA and its state tournament directors implemented “working days” to allow for a day between the end of the regular season and the release of the brackets to shore up any errors or mistakes in the entering of scores. It worked. After four seasons, however, it is time the state association provides daily release of the latest power rankings for teams across the state. There is no “suspense” just aggravation. Coaches, student-athletes, and administrators, should be able to wake up daily and check their latest standing. It provides greater incentive for accurate and timely entering of scores. On that point, February vacation is a prime time for games across the commonwealth as teams participate in end-of-season tournaments or play their final non-league games. Updates the final week of the season only provide value if they are released daily. There is simply too much shakeup between Tuesday and the final release on Saturday.

Ten players to watch next season

Will Carty (Watertown)

Jimmy Farrell (Masconomet)

Connor Houle (Attleboro)

Michael Leese (Newton South)

Javi Lopez (Central Catholic)

Jack Luccarelli (Norwell)

Kingston Maxwell (Abington)

Aiden Pires (Catholic Memorial)

Dom Taylor (Somerset Berkley)

William White (Boston Latin)