High school football tournaments kick off under the Friday night lights

Under revised playoff system, 128 teams look to win their way to Gillette Stadium.

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As the brackets went live this week, thousands of student-athletes from across the commonwealth started mapping out their prospective path to a state title — and this weekend that journey will officially begin for the 128 football teams that’ll take to the gridiron seeking to be crowned as champions in one of the MIAA’s eight divisions.

Much of the action kicks off under the Friday night lights, including Franklin, which enters as the top seed in Division 1 and hosts Braintree at 7 p.m. All of Divisions 1, 2, 3, and 4 play Friday, including Catholic Memorial, which is slotted as the top dog in Division 2, even though it’s ranked as the top team from any division in the Globe’s most recent Top 20 poll, and has remained unbeaten against D-1 competition throughout the season.

There’s plenty of intrigue up and down the divisions, and all across the state, though in a 16-team tournament the most appealing matchups logically fall in the range of the 8 vs. 9 game — and the top two divisions present a couple of interesting battles, particularly for those looking to get out under the Friday night lights in Eastern Mass. In Division 2, No. 8 Methuen hosts perennial powerhouse Everett, who the power rankings slotted ninth, even though the Crimson Tide capped the regular season at a perfect 7-0. In Division 2, meanwhile, another unbeaten, ninth-seeded Reading, will travel to Bishop Feehan. The Rockets will bring an offense scoring almost 35 points per game to take on a defense helmed by Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi.

Whichever school wins will be one step closer to playing at Bruschi’s old stomping grounds, with the Super Bowls set to be staged at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 1, 2, and 6. (The dates have been scattered in deference to the Revolution’s potential postseason run.) Before then, though, teams will need to navigate through two more weekends of playoffs (Nov. 12-13 and Nov. 19-20), plus the traditional Thanksgiving games that don’t have any bearing on the tournament.

One additional note for those who may be attending games: Tickets to MIAA tournament events will be sold online, with no cash option at the gate. Fans can purchase those tickets ahead of time through the Go Fan app.