Fairhaven Falls in First Round

Defending Super Bowl champion Fairhaven lost its first playoff game since 2022 on Thursday.

The Blue Devils fell 42-37 to No. 11 Joseph Case in the first round of the Division 6 football tournament. The loss prevented Fairhaven from reaching a fourth consecutive final. Joseph Case out-gained the visitors 265-540 in total yards, yet the Cardinals scored on six touchdowns to secure the win.

The fall playoffs began in full on Thursday with more than 100 games across field hockey, girls' volleyball, and football. This date also marked the release of the boys' and girls' soccer brackets. The MIAA has not yet scheduled the next round of football competition, but the initial results have already reshaped the bracket.

No. 12 Winthrop also defeated a higher-seeded team in Division 6, beating No. 5 Stoneham 22-6. Dominic Farrell rushed for two long touchdowns, including runs of 94 and 83 yards, to power the victory. In Division 5, No. 11 East Bridgewater lost 3-1 to No. 22 Nipmuc in field hockey. No. 19 St. John Paul II defeated No. 14 Lunenburg 4-3, with Kaitlin Chun recording a hat trick.

Girls' volleyball saw two major first-round upsets. No. 23 Essex Tech defeated No. 10 North Quincy 3-1 in Division 2. Shelby Addario recorded 22 assists, while Lavinya Oliveira contributed 13 kills and nine digs. In Division 4, No. 21 South Shore Vo-Tech beat No. 12 South Hadley 3-1. The Division 3 preliminary round produced four additional upsets, with lower-seeded teams defeating higher-ranked opponents.

Milestones continued to accumulate during the first full night of the tournament. Lexington senior Gwen Lowrance recorded her 31st career shutout and 600th career save in a 1-0 field hockey win over Shrewsbury. That victory marked the first postseason win for the Minutemen in four years. West Bridgewater junior Ella Holden recorded her 1,000th career assist in a 3-0 volleyball win over Wahconah, becoming the second player in program history to reach that mark.

Norton’s Andrew Bernstein kicked a 41-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining to secure a 22-20 comeback win over Medfield in Division 5. The play kept the Lancers alive in the tournament after they trailed late in the fourth quarter. In non-playoff action, Revere’s Reda Atoui ran for 99 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 52-8 win over Malden.

The soccer brackets released Thursday will determine the path for teams in the upcoming weeks. Lexington opted to compete for the national Nike cross-country championship rather than the MIAA’s Division 1 crown, a decision that has drawn attention from local coaches and players. The next round of football and field hockey games is scheduled for later this week, with specific times and locations to be posted on the official MIAA schedule.