Shawsheen Tech is No. 1 in Division 5 football in the latest MIAA power rankings released Tuesday, a move that puts the unbeaten program at the top of a crowded local field heading into the final stretch of the season.
The rankings reflect schedules and scores through 4 a.m. Tuesday, and they matter now because they are the snapshot teams will carry toward the cut-off dates that help shape tournament seeding and qualification. Seven area football teams were in the top six of their division, and 41 local teams were in the top 30 overall, a sign that the region is not being carried by one outlier but by a broad group of clubs sitting well inside the picture.
That spread is visible across the divisions. Tewksbury sits at No. 2 in Division 4 football, while Chelmsford is No. 3, Billerica is No. 4 and Westford Academy is No. 6 in Division 2 football. Lowell is No. 20 in Division 1 football, Greater Lowell Tech is No. 18 in Division 5 football, Dracut is No. 21 and Groton-Dunstable is No. 27, Wilmington is No. 13 in Division 6 football, Tyngsboro is No. 3 in Division 7 football, Lowell Catholic is No. 25 and Nashoba Tech is No. 3 in Division 8 football.
The same ranking cycle also shows how many other fall programs are in range. In field hockey, Chelmsford is No. 23 and Lowell is No. 30 in Division 1, while Littleton is No. 29 in Division 4. In boys soccer, Greater Lowell Tech is No. 17 in Division 3, Littleton is No. 11 in Division 4, Tyngsboro is No. 15 and Collegiate Charter School of Lowell is No. 9 in Division 5. Girls soccer lists one Chelmsford team at No. 16 with an 8-2-2 record and Chelmsford at No. 29 with a 9-3-4 mark, along with Billerica at No. 25 in Division 2, Tewksbury at No. 11 in Division 3, Tyngsboro at No. 7 in Division 4 and Academy of Notre Dame at No. 24 in Division 5.
Volleyball adds another layer to the picture. Chelmsford is No. 4 in Division 1, Westford is No. 10, Billerica is No. 16 in Division 2, Groton-Dunstable is No. 12 in Division 3, and Ayer Shirley is No. 15 in Division 4. Updated power rankings for field hockey, volleyball and football will be published on Friday before the cut-off dates, and boys and girls soccer will be updated on Tuesday, Nov. 3. For teams still hovering near the line, the next update may matter as much as this one.
