September surprises highlight our South Shore football rankings

Through Week 3 of the high school football season , a major theme on the South Shore has been the bounce back season.

Hull, North Quincy and Pembroke are off to eye-raising 3-0 starts. Those teams combined to go 11-21 last season and the Pirates have already matched their 2025 win total (Pembroke and NQ both finished 4-7). Whitman-Hanson just picked up its second win on Friday after going 1-10 last fall.

With September about to be in the rear-view mirror, now the road will get tougher in October. League play kicks off this week and those September surprises won't be able to sneak up on anybody as Halloween nears.

On the bubble: Bridgewater-Raynham (1-2), Cohasset (1-2), Hanover (1-2), Hingham (2-1), Middleboro (2-1), Norwell (2-1), Oliver Ames (2-1), Quincy (2-1), Silver Lake (2-1), West Bridgewater (2-1), Whitman-Hanson (2-1)

Record and last week's ranking in parenthesis.

Hull High football pulls out win against Boston English

The Pirates matched their 2025 win total by pulling out a gritty 13-8 win over Boston English on Friday. Hull is on the second week of a five-game homestand. The Oct. 9 game against South Shore Tech will have major playoff implications for both teams.

The Wildcats fell to undefeated Newton North 14-12 last week in a game that came down to the wire. Weymouth opens Bay State Herget Division with a pair of winnable games against Wellesley and Braintree.

The Dragons shook off a Week 1 loss to Scituate with notable wins over Hanover and Barnstable. Duxbury's win over Barnstable last week was one of the best wins in the entire state.

Big win over Sandwich gives Pembroke a rare 3-0 start to season

The Titans took care of business in September, now we'll find out where they stand in a loaded Patriot League Fisher Division. Next up is a hungry Hanover squad that shook off an 0-2 start to get a notable win over West Bridgewater last week.

The Raiders have been demons in the defensive backfield, intercepting seven passes already. Quarterback Cole Doyle leads a pass-happy offense. Next up is a trip to Somerville, which boosts a 2-1 record, before Patriot League play starts.

A week after rival Weymouth narrowly escaped with a 10-7 win over Diman, Milton took it to the Bengals on Friday. Milton defeated Diman 41-0 and has bounced back in style following a 42-25 loss to Marshfield in the opener.

Marshfield High football wins wild one against Bridgewater-Raynham

The Rams get a well-deserved week off following a really tough September slate. After seeing a 15-0 fourth-quarter lead evaporate against Bridgewater-Raynham on Thursday, Mikey Appel kicked the winning field goal as time expired to send the Rams to some time off on a high note.

The Blue Devils have won 15 games in a row and took care of business in September by outscoring foes 92-18. The schedule gets a lot tougher in October and that starts this Friday with a home game against Cohasset. Both teams won Super Bowl crowns last season.

On a pound-for-pound level, nobody has had a more impressive start than the Green Wave. Abington owns wins over Div. 4 Longmeadow, Div. 3 Hingham and fellow Div. 6 contender. One of the biggest games of the year is coming up this week against Norwell. That game is the area's only showdown on Thursday.

Another week, another dominant Grayson Foley outing. Foley scored four touchdowns and ran for 223 yards in a 42-21 win over Marblehead. The Sailors open Patriot League Fisher Division play against a battle-tested Plymouth South squad.