By Matt Williams
In the two seasons since the Northeastern Conference has been split into two football divisions, Gloucester has owned the league — amassing a 10-0 mark while demolishing opponents by an average score of 41-7.
That domination made a lot of people question the notion that enrollment figures dictated that the Fishermen actually belonged the NEC Small — a move that would've had Gloucester and Beverly swap divisions for football starting this fall.
Turns out, the skeptics were right all along.
A clerical error discovered by NEC secretary/treasurer Dick Baker last week indicated that Gloucester's enrollment (616 boys in grades 9-12, according to the MIAA's 2007 figures) was indeed larger than Beverly's (listed at 583 boys).
"Essentially, we swapped the boys' and girls' enrollment number and no one picked up on it," Baker said. "Once we corrected the numbers with what the MIAA had, it was clear Gloucester belonged in the top division."
As a result, the two-time defending NEC Large champion Fishermen remain in a division that also features Lynn Classical, Peabody, Lynn English, Revere and Salem. Meanwhile, the NEC Small will stay with Marblehead, Beverly, Saugus, Winthrop, Danvers and two-time defending champion Swampscott.
"We really felt like we wanted to stay in the upper division. The lower levels have excellent coaches and teams, but I just felt we belonged as high as we could be. We always want to play quality opponents," Gloucester coach Paul Ingram said.
There is one change, however. The NEC Large will be moving from Division 2A up to Division 1A for playoff purposes.
Since the NEC has split into two divisions (with each receiving a playoff spot) they are seen as entirely separate entities by the state's football committee. Therefore, enrollment for the Large is averaged only on the six member schools. That number comes out to 764 boys per school, placing the league in 1A along with the Old Colony League (recently moved down from Division 1), the Dual County League's Large Division and the Bay State League's Carey Division.
What that means is that the NEC Large champion will face a geographically close opponent — most likely the DCL Large champ — on playoff Tuesday in December for the right to face the winner of the other semifinal in the 2009 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
The new division should provide a stiffer postseason challenge for whoever wins the NEC Large. For example, last year's playoff slate under this alignment would've paired the Fishermen with Acton-Boxboro, Framingham and Dartmouth — all of whom finished in the top 20 in Eastern Mass.
"I think our win in 2007 against Hingham in the (Division 2A) Super Bowl really vaulted us in the eyes of most people, so that might have played into our conference moving up to Division 1A," Ingram said. "There is a lot of movement going on with many leagues; it's really unbelievable."
Enrollment doesn't always equal strength, though. Gloucester has the lowest number of students in the NEC Large, yet all their league games have been romps. With that in mind, the Fishermen also fell this past season to Swampscott, with an enrollment of only 388 boys.
The NEC Small, meanwhile, remains unchanged in Division 3 — but the league's potential playoff opponents have shifted. Now in D3 are the South Coast League, the Patriot League's Fisher Division and the Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Catholic Central Large, including Bishop Fenwick and two-time defending champ Arlington Catholic, move from Division 3 to 3A.
One team that might not be sorry to see Gloucester and the NEC Large move up is Masconomet, which has fallen to the Fishermen in the playoffs the last two seasons. The Cape Ann Large remains in Division 2A, along with the Patriot League's Keenan Division and newcomers in the Dual County Small and Atlantic Coast.
Another new wrinkle to the alignment is the Catholic Conference's classification as a "south" division. Since the Old Colony League is being replaced by the Merrimack Valley Conference in Division 1, the Catholic Conference champion will now face the Big Three winner (instead of the Greater Boston League champ), while the MVC faces the GBL winner.
This alignment, which is based both on enrollment and league geography, has passed the MIAA's football committee and will be in place for the 2009 and 2010 seasons barring appeal by one (or several) leagues. At this point, no leagues have filed appeals.
