What we learned from Week 6 of the high school football season; plus what to watch in Week 7 and our Top 10 rankings

What did we learn about our high school football teams this past week? A whole lot.

Most notably, Central Mass. is crammed with capable running backs.

Auburn’s Bradyn Belanger and West Boylston’s Dominick Renzoni were the belle(s) of the ball(field) last week, with each bell cow leading their teams to impressive victories.

But the list doesn’t stop there.

Clinton’s Taetum Cassella (great last name, by the way) and Grafton’s Zeeland Youngblood (candidate for name of the year) marched to the beat of their own drums in the backfield and led their squads to big wins in Week 6 — and we haven’t even mentioned Shepherd Hill’s Devin Rowden (BYE week) or Uxbridge’s Camden LaChapelle (TD in loss to Auburn) yet.

No matter the gridiron in Central Mass. this fall, the backfield is likely chalk full of bigtime running backs.

Backing it up

Let’s start with Renzoni, for example.

The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder compiled 1,603 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall as West Boylston won its third straight state championship.

Through five games this year, Renzoni has racked up 967 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. Last Thursday, the West Boylston senior captain rushed 25 times for 307 yards and five touchdowns in the Lions’ 39-20 victory over Millbury.

“This guy does everything well,” West Boylston senior captain Paul Lenkarski said.

“He’s our go-to guy,” West Boylston coach Mike Ross said. “When we need a big play, he’s our guy.”

A day later, Belanger was Auburn’s go-to guy in a thrilling win over Uxbridge.

The Rockets’ bully boy scored four TDs, including the game-winning 8-yard touchdown run, to propel Auburn to a 39-33 overtime victory over Uxbridge on Friday.

Belanger rushed 23 times for 181 yards and 3 TDs, while hauling in a key touchdown pass as time expired in the first half, to hand the Spartans their first loss since 2022.

“He’s the best running back in Central Mass.,” Auburn offensive coordinator Dave Tinglof said.

Belanger currently leads Central Mass. in rushing yards (1,016) and trails only Renzoni (120 points) for scoring with 112 points: 18 touchdowns and two 2-point conversions.

Undefeated still

With each team in Central Mass. having played five games so far this fall, only three of those squads remain undefeated: David Prouty, Tyngsborough and West Boylston.

David Prouty senior QB Owen Granger passed for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for another as the host Panthers blanked Littleton, 20-0, last week.

Tyngsborough senior Nico Faretra, meanwhile, caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Garid Flood in the first quarter and rushed for three more scores as Faretra finished with 262 total yards Friday in the host Tigers’ 38-6 win over Narragansett.

And we have already stated how West Boylston football runs on Renzoni.

T&G Game of the Week

A quick glance at this week’s schedule may have your eyes land on matchups like Clinton (3-2) vs. West Boylston (5-0) or Millbury (3-2) vs. Uxbridge (4-1). Cassella, after all, rushed 11 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns in the Gaels’ 48-0 win over Oakmont while LaChapelle, an Uxbridge senior running back, is currently No. 3 in Central Mass. in rushing yards (847) and rushing touchdowns (12).

But we will head to Bolton to cover Shepherd Hill at Nashoba in the T&G Game of the Week.

With both teams coming off resounding wins over Fitchburg, Shepherd Hill (4-1, 1-0 MWB) on Oct. 3 and Nashoba (3-2, 1-0 MWB) on Oct. 10, the pair of league foes square off in a game that could decide who will win the Mid-Wach B title this fall. With Marlborough (4-1, 0-0 MWB) also in the mix.

This reporter expects Shepherd Hill to lean on Rowden, another rousing running back who averages 10 yards per rush (451 rushing yards, 8 TDs), while Nashoba do-it-all QB Dylan Devine can deliver with his feet (608 rushing yards, 9 TDs) and arm (469 passing yards, 5 TDs).

Top 10 rankings

With this list changing each and every week, the team making the biggest jump — up to No.1 in our poll — is the team that’s won back-to-back games over Northbridge and Uxbridge.

Here you go (reminder this is a record of teams playing their best football at the moment, not a list of who would beat who in a head-to-head matchup):