Boston, Massachusetts: Boston English/New Mission Misses Playoffs After Clerical Error

Boston English/New Mission will miss the Massachusetts state football playoffs because of a clerical error, even though the Bulldogs ended the regular season with a winning record and a city championship.

The Bulldogs beat O'Bryant 12-6 in their final regular season game. The win gave the program its first Boston City League title since 2021 and finished a four game winning streak. On the field, Boston English/New Mission closed at 5-2 overall and 5-0 in league play, a record that was projected to make the team the No. 10 seed in the Division 8 playoffs, according to reports by the Boston Globe carried by USA Today and On3.

The game that did not count

The O'Bryant game was never added to Boston English's schedule in Arbiter Live, the system the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association now uses to track team schedules, as an official game before the Sept. 18 deadline. Another member school alerted the MIAA to a discrepancy on the schedule a week before the game, and Boston English was told before kickoff that, win or lose, the game would not count toward tournament qualification or power rankings, On3 reported.

Because the game was treated as a scrimmage, the Bulldogs fell to 4-2 in the official count. That left them one game short of the seven game minimum a team needs to qualify for the state tournament. Under MIAA Handbook Rule 34.6, the game could not be counted at all. USA Today noted that if the game had been counted as a forfeit instead, Boston English would have dropped in seeding but would still have qualified.

A team that rebuilt from 0-10

Head coach Ryan Conway told the Boston Globe that the seniors on this team went 0-10 in 2023 and never quit. He said it was breaking his heart to tell them they cannot compete in the tournament because of somebody's mishap, and that they worked too hard to have it taken from them.

In the O'Bryant win, senior Manuel Miranda carried the ball eight times for 101 yards and a touchdown, and senior Daniel Costello made 15 tackles and recovered a fumble, the New England Patriots said when they named Conway their High School Coach of the Week. Former Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett visited the school on Tuesday and presented a $1,000 donation to the football program from the Kraft family and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.

District admits the mistake and appeals

Boston Public Schools admitted the mistake was on its end and said it will challenge the MIAA decision, according to a later Boston Globe report. A district spokesperson said the district shares the frustration and disappointment of its student athletes, who have worked so hard throughout the season, and that while supporting students through the difficult news, the district will be appealing the MIAA decision.

The season is not over either way. Boston English/New Mission is scheduled to play Pentucket on Nov. 6 in a non-playoff game, and then to play Boston Latin on Thanksgiving morning at Harvard, USA Today reported.