South Shore Surf Check, 10/27/18 Nor'easter

Big nor'easter hit Saturday... we sent some folks out to cover it.

First stop... Sagamore Beach, in Bourne

Heavy wind along the coast, it took down some tree limbs.

Next stop, Marshfield.

Ocean Bluff, to be exact.

They blocked off Brant Rock, which floods heavily with splashover.

We actually got out of the car when we went to Duxbury Beach.

The legendary Public Stairs took a beating. 

I had trouble standing against the wind at Duxbury, and I'm 240 pounds. As you can see in the video above, I got blown back 10 feet.

Safer behind a house anyhow...

Hiding on Cable Hill, out of the wind, behind someone's garage.

10 foot tide, 2 foot surge

Coulda been worse...

Only spray was getting over the wall

If you stood any closer than this, you'd get (more) soaked.

See?

We'll examine Duxbury's seawall maintenance when the storm abates.

Getting just this close was essentially the same level of soakedness that you get going swimming.

Visibility, 15 yards

Same vantage point for every shot, but I didn't see any other photographers out there.

My old house is the yard to the right (south) of the flagpole.

The marsh was rising...

 the road was flooding....

So I bailed and checked out Plymouth

Cedarville, to be precise... in the White Cliffs

Massachusetts HS Football Playoff (And Non Playoff) Picks,10/26

It's playoff time in Massachusetts, as our relatively recent modified playoff format kicks in.

We have the playoff schedule for 8 SE Massachusetts divisions, and the games (but not the times, sorry) for the non-playoff games.



DIVISION 1 SOUTH

Brockton at Franklin, 10/26, 7 PM

The winner gets the winner of Xaverian/BC High. Franklin has a higher rank in the Division, but brockton seems to be a pretty tall order for the Bennies.

Brockton, 21-19


Catholic Memorial at Attleboro, 10/26, 7 PM

The winner gets the winner of Needham/Newton North. CM gets the nod over Battle Bro.

CM, 17-13



DIVISION 2 SOUTH

Bridgewater/Raynham at Mansfield, 10/26, 7 PM

B/R skips in with a 2-4 record, and they run smack into a state powerhouse. Winner gets the winner of Barnstable/Wellesley.

Mansfield, 27-10



Barnstable at Wellesley, 10/26, 7 PM

We are of the opinion that Barnstable is just now rounding into form after a slow start.

Barnstable, 20-19



New Bedford at Natick, 10/26, 7 PM

There is a possibility that Natick may have a Flutie grandson playing, which is just uninteresting enough that I didn't look it up.

Natick, 30-7



Braintree at King Phillip, 10/26, 7 PM

Winner gets the New Beige/Natick winner. I want to root for Brains, but KP is hosting with the, uhm, mosting.

KP, 17-14

DIVISION 3 SOUTH

Stoughton at Duxbury, 10/26, 7 PM

I may be biased, as I was Most School Spirit at DHS in the 80s, but it does appear that we have a mean green killing machine right here, player.

Duxbury, 48-7



Whitman/Hanson at North Attleboro, 10/26, 7 PM

Winner gets Duxbury, lol.... NA is a threat to emerge from the South.

NA, 24-13



Plymouth North at Walpole, 10/26, 7 PM

Two towns with prisons play. Walpole is more notorious, but Plymouth had Whitey, the Shoebomber and a guy who ended up ruling Liberia. "Seizing power in an impoverished African nation" is one of my Powerball Winner fantasies. I would dress like Colonel Sanders, and make the peasants labor to erect statues in my honor. I wouldn't care if they killed me in a year, as long as I got to go to one high school reunion and answer some smug lawyer or trophy wife's questioning about what I do for a living with "I am the Great And Sacred Daddy of Burkina-Faso."

Walpole, 24-21



Bishop Feehan at Hingham, 10/26, 7 PM

Catholic schools get to recruit a bit, and it usually leads to a dominant defensive line. Winner gets Walpole or PN.

BFF, 20-19





DIVISION 4 SOUTH

Pembroke at Dighton-Rehoboth, 10-26, 7 PM

What will make losing really bad for Pembroke is that most of the kids will have no idea where Dighton or Rehoboth are, especially if they don't pay attention during the bus ride.

D-R, 17-15




Plymouth South at North Quincy, 10/26, 7 PM

NQ tuned up P South 28-7 two weeks ago. It's tough to beat the same team twice, but 21 point losses also happen for a reason. Winner gets the winner of Pembroke/DR.

NQ, 28-14




Westwood at Milton,10/26, 7 PM

Winner gets the winner of Nauset/Hopkinton.

Milton, 20-10



Nauset at Hopkinton, 10/26, 7 PM

Hopkinton isn't in our coverage area, so eff them.

Nauset, 17-16

DIVISION 5 SOUTH'

Foxboro at Falmouth, 10/26, 6 PM

Falmouth is the #1 seed for a reason.

Falmouth, 20-7



Hanover at Canton, 7:30 PM

Winner gets Falmouth.

Hanover, 13-12




Somerset-Berkley at Holliston, 7 PM

Someone has to slay an undefeated team, whu not S/B? Winner gets the winner of Scituate/Dennis-Yarmouth.

SB, 24-23



Dennis/Yarmouth at Scituate, 7 PM

Scituate is a dark horse, and D/Y has already lost 3 this season.

Scituate, 28-20




DIVISION 6 SOUTH


Bishop Stang at Old Rochester, 7

OR is undefeated. Winner gets the winner of Apponequet/Dedham.

OR, 30-28



Apponequet at Dedham, 6:30

"Apponequet" sounds like a dinner course.

Apponequet, 21-20



Dover/Sherborn at Ashland, 7

Not really sure how either school ended up in the South, but we choose Ashland.Winner gets Norwell/Medway.

Ashy, 12-10



Norwell at Medway, 7

Didn't we drop a ton of bombs and bleed out a Marin Division to get Medway? What's that? Midway? They're not the same thing?

Medway, 20-10

DIVISION 7 SOUTH

Archbishop Williams at Mashpee, 7

Mashpee hasn't lost in a few years, and will most likely stick some Archies.

Mashpee, 24-10



Cohasset at Southeastern, 7

Cohasset can set up a Mashpee rematch if they knock off a higher seed.

Cohasset, 24-15



Bourne at Abington, 7

I hate betting against the town I live in, especially when I know the cheerleading coach.

Abington, 28-23



Nantucket at Case, 7

If Case calls a lot of timeouts, they can make nantucket miss the last ferry back. Winner gets the winner of Bourne/Abby.

Case, 21-18




DIVISION 8 SOUTH


Cape Cod Tech at West Bridgewater, 7

Westie is the top seed. Winner gets Randolph/Tri-County winner.

The WB, 28-7



Randolph at Tri-County, 1

1 PM start on a school day? Ah, well, all that book-learning stuff doesn't get you many dates with the cheerleaders... at least not when you're in high school.

Randolph, 13-12



Old Colony at Upper Cape, 6:30

The OC will try, but UC defends Cape Cod honor.

UC, 15-14



St. John Paul I at Coyle-Cassidy, 7

Winner gets the Upper Cape/Old Colony winner.

C-C, 21-20

NON PLAYOFF GAMES

The schedule I have for these games doesn't list dates or times. MaxPreps does, but they also have Pembroke playing 2 games on the same night, so I think I'll just do the picks for these games sans schedule. You readers should learn to be more self-reliant, anyhow.


Weymouth at Taunton

Taunton had a pretty good start, before running into a few good teams and taking a pile of Ls. They can handle Weymouth, however.

Taunton, 20-13



Quincy at Marshfield

I think this already happened (I'm writing this at 11 PM, Thursday. I'm tempted to cheat and just look up the score and act like I predicted it, but I'll just skip this game.



Framingham at Durfee

An alum of Durfee broke my heart... on my birthday, nonetheless. I'm 50 years old and probably won't get a lot of 33 year old Latina girlfriends anymore, so rather than yelling at her, I'll just choose her team to lose by 11 touchdowns and hope that she doesn't read this.

Framingham, 80-3



Cardinal Spellman at Bellingham

"You can ring my bell-ellll-elll, ring my Bellingham."

CS, 21-10

Dartmouth at Milford

Dartmouth is 1-6, and their Super Bowl was against whatever team they managed to put the L on.

Milford, 21-9



Silver Lake at Norwood

Norwood takes on the combined forces of Kingston, Plympton and Halifax. I think that this is a Saturday game, and will be played in a nor'easter.

Silver Lake, 8-6




Oliver Ames at Medfield

When a team is winless, you have to approach betting on them by answering two questions. 1) Are they going to win this year? 2) Is is going to be this week? For Ollie, the answers are "yes," and "yes."

OA, 12-10



Millis at Hull

What you tallkin' bout, Millis?

Hull, 20-17



Middleboro at Norton

I refuse to use the "borough" spelling for towns like Middleboro, Northboro, Foxboro, North Attleboro...

Middy, 14-13




Diman at Monomoy

Sharks gotta eat...

Monomoy, 31-30

South Shore at Bristol-Plymouth

BP will be on South Shore like an oil spill.

BP, 20-10




Blue Hills at Holbrook-Avon

Mountain teams never do well when they come down to the flatlands.

Holbrook-Avon, 14-12




Rockland at Carver/Sacred Heart

Coach Reeves and his Carver High squad aren't losing during cranberry harvest season.


Carver, 17-16



Martha's Vineyard at Fairhaven

Fairhaven was our South Coast office until we shifted to New Bedford.

Fairhaven, 13-12



Sandwich at Greater New Bedford

Sandwich has to beat someone, but there is no Lesser New Bedford High School.

GNB, 14-7



Wareham at Atlantis

If Wareham is gonna win, it'd better be against Atlantis, which I think has maybe 180 kids to cull a team from. May even be 100, I read the number some time ago.


Wareham, 8-6



East Bridgewater at Seekonk

If Seekonk could be lured into the Bridgewater Triangle, I'd bet against them. If not?

Seekonk, 12-10

Last week, 23-14

Season: 139-68

Saturday Nor'easter, Coastal Flooding Concerns

You'd think that a tornado crossing the Cape Cod Canal would be the damage-doer of the week, but you'd be wrong.

A powerful Nor'easter, infused with the remains of former Hurricane Willa, will hit us on Saturday. She will bring soaking rain, high winds and damaging surf.

The storm should arrive early Saturday. The worst of the rain will be Saturday morning. We should get an inch or two. The afternoon should be less rainy, but precipitation is possible into Sunday.

If you head way inland and north, you may even see a bit of snow.

Winds will be E/NE, and clock in around 20 mph with gusts along the coast up to 50 mph.

That wind, blowing all day, will amp up the surf. It should produce a 1-2 foot surge on top of a waning full moon tide.  That will send powerful surf at vulnerable coastlines.

We'll be watching Duxbury Beach, and perhaps will embed a photographer there. He'll have to sneak by Johnny Law, but that's nothing new to this publication.

Duxbury just decided to ignore seawall repairs until FEMA funding comes in, which may take a year. Saturday will be a very good test of whether this policy is brilliant or reckless. As Napoleon once said, "From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step."

They stand a real chance of seeing waves equal to the March storms. Seas will be at 10-12 feet not too far off of South Shore beaches, and up near 20 feet off the Outer Cape. Waves hitting the shore will be about half of that.

The worst tide should Saturday afternoon, but the waves could still be menacing on Sunday. It looks to be a 3 tide storm.

This storm should bring an immediate end to the SE Massachusetts fall foliage season. We'll have our people out Thursday and Friday to get some pics before that happens.

We're a few days out, and the forecast could change. We will be back with an update.

Foliage Check: South Shore, 10/20--10/22

We took to the streets to show you some foliage around SE Massachusetts.

We worked a route from the Middleboro/Rochester/Lakeville area up to the Bridgewater/Halifax/Plympton area then down the Irish Riviera from Duxbury through Plymouth to Bourne. We also threw in some Quincy shots, like the one above, from a previous article.

Sunflower?

Southeastern Massachusetts, while technically New England, is the weak sister when it comes to foliage. We don't have the mountain valley views that you see in New Hampshire. We have an overabundance of pine trees, which don't turn into pretty colors. These colors don't arrive until later in the season- Cape Cod turns in November, while parts of Maine peak in September.

This late peak means that our foliage has to outlast October, which is a stormy month and the beginning of Nor'easter season. After we publish this article, for instance, we have to write a "Nor'easter this Saturday" article. This Nor'easter, and her heavy winds, will effectively end foliage season.

This is sort of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree of the foliage article. I'm quite fond of it.

Wires get into our shots a lot.

We aren't above aiming at individual branches, especially before the season peaks.

SE Massachusetts is just starting to peak. We peak North to south, inland to coastal. Everything aside from the Cape is usually played out by Halloween.

We intend to do a southern South Shore piece and a South Coast piece before then.

We even plan to do an early November article for Cape Cod, if the storm leaves any foliage up.

We shoot out of the car window a lot, although we always pull over first.

Click on any pic to enlarge it.

I think that we were actually driving for this pic.

A sunny day greatly helps a foliage photographer.

This looks like effective use of foreground, but in reality it is just Stephen shooting at individual branches because he went farther south than the peak foliage did.

Monponsett Lake, Stacey's namesake.

This may be Bourne, but it is mainland Bourne. We haven't crossed the bridges yet for a foliage article.

Much like the sun, still waters are much-loved by the foliage photographer.

This is the herring run in Bourne.

Remember how I was saying that we shoot at individual branches from time to time? Here, we resort to shooting at individual leaves.

Mother Nature is doing the heavy lifting.

Technically not foliage, but it got into the article.

We got out of the car for this one.

This is Cape Cod, the video below is from Brockton (because when someone says"fall foliage," you immediately think "Brockton"), and we'll be back soon with more pics!

Fall Foliage Check: Quincy

Our fall foliage hunt took us to Quincy, MA

I am a foliage chaser. I was a storm chaser, but that's dangerous. You also get really wet.

Quincy, which is relatively urban, isn't the first choice for a town to stalk foliage in. No offense meant to Quincy, I was a Grenwold Road kid for a while, and you can see that I did get an article out of Capital Q.

I will be mostly out of Quincy this season... especially when our coverage area is SE Massachusetts, which has towns like Rehoboth and Duxbury which are pretty much all forest.

However, foliage moves north to south. It has been a warm autumn, the trees are slow to turn, and Quincy is about as far north as the job takes us.

Quincy turns first, making it to our foliage articles what Iowa is to presidential elections.

I wanted to get Grenwold Road, which is lined with trees and looks promising, but it hasn't turned yet.

If you live on Grenwold Road, it may amuse you to know that A) I'll be back, and B) my phone's auto correct keeps changing Grenwold Road into "Teen Wolf Road." 

The sun gets filtered through the leaves, which means that I can use the same tree twice.

I am also a more determined photographer than a good one, so I try to help myself along with Mr. Sun.

I'm amazed that someone built a house on such a steep hill.

That looks like a pumpkin tree.

This tree was tasked with holding up the sun.