Since taking on at Catholic Memorial in 2018, John DiBiaso has led the Knights to a stellar 41-4 report.
Three of these 4 losses have come by the hands of Saturday’s opponent, St. John’s Prep (1 p.m. at Catholic Memorial). The Eagles beat the Knights in back-to-back Super Bowls in 2018 and 2019. The 14-7 loss in 2019 was the final one for Catholic Memorial, which enters the competition driving a state-best 21-game successful streak.
“When we lost the two Super Bowls to St. John’s Prep, we were trying to get to where they were,” DiBiaso mentioned. “St. John’s Prep and Xaverian, together with BC High, have traditionally dominated the roost within the Catholic Conference and we wished to get to the purpose the place we might contend for the league title and we’ve been lucky to have the ability to do this the final two years.
“St. John’s Prep is an excellent program with a great tradition. We have nothing but the utmost respect for coach (Brian) St. Pierre and his staff. They’ve won a lot of games and titles.”
Catholic Memorial hasn’t been severely challenged in its present streak. Twenty of the 21 wins have been by double digits, together with final 12 months’s 38-9 win at St. John’s Prep. St. Pierre appears to be like on the present Knights’ roster and sees a powerhouse squad which hasn’t skipped a beat, as evidenced by the actual fact they’ve outscored the primary 4 opponents by a 182-19 margin.
“Catholic Memorial is very much similar to what they were last year,” St. Pierre mentioned. “They’re good on both sides of the ball, on special teams and are well-coached.”
St. John’s Prep has righted the ship since a Week 2 loss to Central Catholic, rolling previous its final three opponents by a 121-6 rating. As a lot as St. Pierre loves teaching a staff placing up 40 factors a recreation within the latest surge, he’s proud of the 2 shutouts.
“Our defense and special teams have gotten better and we’re running the ball pretty well,” St. Pierre mentioned. “We didn’t play nicely in opposition to Central Catholic and that’s a credit score to them, however we’re getting more healthy, which helps.
“Against CM, we can’t give them the ball with a short field because they are so explosive on offense. There is no secret here, they are the most talented team and we’re going to have to be able to raise our level of play.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, Chelmsford tries to maintain tempo with Billerica within the MVC Small when the Lions journey to Tewksbury. In the ISL, Governor’s Academy appears to be like to take care of the momentum from its win over BB&N when it hosts Milton Academy, whereas Rivers places its 3-0 report on the road in opposition to Belmont Hill.
The huge recreation Friday incorporates a pair of Hockomock Kelley-Rex powers in King Philip and Milford. Amesbury visits North Reading in a crossover battle of Cape Ann League unbeatens. Two key contests within the Commonwealth Athletic Conference are Lowell Catholic at Nashoba Tech and Manchester-Essex at Shawsheen.
Methuen and Central Catholic meet in a spicy MVC Large matchup, whereas the highest video games within the Middlesex League are Stoneham at Watertown and Wakefield at Woburn.
Source: www.bostonherald.com