The 32 remaining hockey and basketball teams hail from 17 conferences. Only two conferences have four teams still playing, can you name them? Some help, while you ponder: The Catholic Conference and Pioneer Valley were the only conferences with three selections each. Five conferences have two finalists, and eight have single representation. Answer: Tri-Valley (Medfield girls' and boys' hockey, Dedham boys' hockey, Medfield girls' basketball) and Catholic Central (Bishop Feehan, St. Mary's, and Cathedral girls' basketball and Bishop Stang girls' hockey).
In hockey, Medfield is the only school in the state with two finalists, while Norwell pulled off the same feat in basketball.
Of the 10 No. 1 seeds in the boys' and girls' basketball brackets, seven reached their title game. Eliminated were the Holland boys (D4), St. Mary's boys (D3), Hopedale girls (D5). Only one championship game won't feature either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed: Division 4 boys, which pits No. 5 Monument Mountain against No. 6 Georgetown.
Outside of 20th-seeded Old Rochester -- the lowest seed to make a basketball final in the four years of a statewide tournament -- the next lowest-ranked finalists are the Worcester South girls, Georgetown boys, and Somerset Berkley boys, all seeded sixth. Only two divisions went to chalk in the final, with No. 1 Wachusett facing No. 2 Bishop Feehan in the D1 girls' final, and No. 1 Pioneer Valley pitted against No. 2 Hopedale in the D5 boys' championship.
In the Division 2 boys' final, Malden Catholic coach John Walsh is going for his seventh state title when the top-seeded Lancers take on Somerset Berkley (4 p.m., Sunday, Tsongas).
The top offensive performances from three days of basketball semifinals.
Fairhaven running back Justin Marques, the state's all-time touchdown leader, announced he will play a post-grad season at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island. Marques finished with 1,907 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior for the Blue Devils, finishing his career with 5,514 rushing yards and a state-record 110 touchdowns.
The quarterback who beat Marques in the Division 6 Super Bowl, Hudson's Jake Attaway, who set the state record for total touchdowns (including passing), announced his next chapter will be Phillips Exeter Academy.
BC High's Gavin Barth, a 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound wide receiver from Hanover, announced he will reclassify and play one season at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. He caught 40 passes for 923 yards and six touchdowns last season for the Eagles.
Logan Prock, a 6-0, 170-pounder from Wellesley, announced he will be playing for St. Mark's in the fall, while his younger brother, quarterback Luka Prock, announced he will play at the Hun School in Princeton, N.J.
Methuen senior Nethaniel Clemente and teammate Isaiah Andino announced they will play basketball for Curry College. "Grateful to everyone who made this possible," wrote Clemente, a 6-4, 200-pound forward who was selected first team All-MVC, on social media.
Grafton senior Jake Robertson, a 6-1, 185-pound defensive back/wide receiver, announced his commitment to Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Several local football players announced they are headed to Tabor Academy, including Duxbury's 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman Dominic Maser; Nantucket's 6-4, 255-pound lineman James Dutra; and Marshfield's 5-11, 185-pound running back Lucas Fickeisen.
While he's not a Massachusetts product, we have to note one more Tabor recruit, Malik "Behemoth" Mutumbo, a 6-11, 413-pound offensive lineman from Johannesburg, South Africa, who will join the Class of 2026.
Andover and Acton-Boxborough welcomed new football coaches this week.
Andover announced the hiring of Jason "Jay" Fielding, who played at Central Catholic and Westfield State and has spent the last 15 years as a coach, most recently serving as defensive coordinator at Central Catholic. He has also worked in strength and conditioning with Pact Performance.
"I will give the student-athletes, the school, and the community everything I have in order to make sure the program is successful," Fielding wrote in a statement. "I am excited for this new chapter and can't wait to get started."
Last year, Andover, in its final season under EJ Perry, went 5-6 and fell to BC High, 21-0, in the first round of the Division 1 tournament.
Revolution athletic director Jim Scanlon announced the hiring of Billy Waters as A-B's next football coach.
Waters played at Waltham High and Curry College, winning four Northeast Football Conference championships in a row and earning induction into the college's Hall of Fame in 2007.
He began his coaching career at Waltham, then moved to Billerica, where he helped the Indians reach the 2021 Division 3 semifinals and win a pair of Merrimack Valley Conference crowns. Waters also coached indoor and outdoor track at Billerica, capturing seven MVC league championships and four Division 3 state titles. He has also served as an assistant lacrosse coach.