All proper. Everyone take a minute to breathe.
That is what the Xaverian and St. John’s Prep groups are doubtless telling themselves after Thursday’s 23-21 Hawks win. The squads are assembly one another once more on Wednesday (8 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium for the Div. 1 state championship.
On Thanksgiving, Luke Bell’s 30-yard area purpose determined the sport as time ran out and the Xaverian followers rushed the sector. But as Xaverian coach Al Fornaro has advised his gamers: “What happened on Thursday has no bearing on what is going to happen on Wednesday night.”
Xaverian heads into the sport with a 10-2 report, whereas the Prep is 11-1.
“It was tough. It was our first loss. We didn’t play well, especially defensively,” Prep coach Brian St. Pierre stated. “It was probably our most poorly-played defensive game of the year. I think they’re eager to get back on the practice field and fix some of that. Health-wise, we are kind of in the same boat we’ve been. But that’s, whatever it is, it is. We have enough guys to play. We’ll show up, we’ll play, and we need to play better than we did the other day.”
For Fornaro, the Hawks put together slightly completely different for a rematch.
“As coaches, we get paranoid: ‘What didn’t they run, what did they?’ ” Fornaro stated. “We will do a little more self-scouting, ‘What will they do to try and attack us?’ On the other side of the ball, will there be any more blitz packages? They did not blitz a lot. We traded our last playoff game. We got their Andover, they got our Needham. Just for us, for most teams, just go out and be us, and get better at doing what we do.”
Both offenses can put up large numbers.
For Xaverian, quarterback Henry Hasselbeck got here up large down the stretch towards St. John’s Prep.
“Great leadership. He’s a little loose. He’s out there. It’s good because he’s a kid. But he’s very vocal,” Fornaro stated. “He’s encouraging, bordering sometimes on comical with plays that happen. His demeanor is how all high school kids should be: footloose and fancy free, but serious. I have no problem with my guys being relaxed. But when push comes to shove, and you can tell when he’s serious, when he’s doing a rep in practice, he’s serious. … He’s tough. I think his leadership is boundless, and the kids feed off that energy.”
The operating again will doubtless be Mike O’Connor. Denzil Pierre has been injured because the Needham win within the state semifinals. Jordan Wilson and Caleb Brown are the highest receivers, with Jonathan Monteiro (Liberty) and Charlie Comella (Boston College) additionally injured. Tight finish Will Benting has been a dependable goal, and offensive lineman Andrew Dufault (Penn State) is one of the best of that group.
Defensively, linemen Micah Ameede and Nick Angelini lead that unit. Vincent Busa and Hunter Molway energy the linebackers, and O’Connor, Brown, and Wilson are the highest gamers within the secondary.
For the Prep, Deacon Robillard is the quarterback, and Cam LaGrassa the starter at operating again with fullback Gael Garcia main the best way. Junior tackles Graham Roberts and Jack DiFilippo anchor an excellent line. Gavin Gold has been the highest receiver, and tight finish Mason McSweeney has been a star on either side of the ball.
McSweeney has been nice at defensive finish. The linebackers are robust with Matt Callahan, Marquese Avery, and John Droggitis there. Grayson Ambrosh has been essentially the most constant within the secondary.
All that’s left is to line up and play.
“They’re not going to show up in the Wishbone, and neither are we,” Fornaro stated. “And they’re not going to show up in five wide every down, and neither will we.”
“To a man, I don’t think anybody was satisfied with how we played,” St. Pierre stated. “We’re three seconds away from coming out of that game with a win, and we played really poorly. So, we’ll see.”
DIVISION 1 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
St. John’s Prep (11-1) vs. Xaverian (10-2), Wednesday, 8 p.m. at Gillette Stadium
ST. JOHN’S PREP EAGLES
Head coach: Brian St. Pierre
SEPT. 8: St. John’s Prep 41, MARSHFIELD 20
SEPT. 16: ST. JOHN’S PREP 30, Central Catholic 28
SEPT. 22: ST. JOHN’S PREP 49, Haverhill 6
SEPT. 30: St. John’s Prep 41, LASALLE (RI) 0
OCT. 6: ST. JOHN’S PREP 35, St. John’s (S) 0
OCT. 13: St. John’s Prep 37, MALDEN CATHOLIC 12
OCT. 21: ST. JOHN’S PREP 19, Catholic Memorial 8
OCT. 28: St. John’s Prep 34, BC HIGH 6
NOV. 3: ST. JOHN’S PREP 42, Leominster 7
NOV. 10: ST. JOHN’S PREP 56, BC High 34
**NOV. 17: St. John’s Prep 35, Andover 7
NOV. 23: XAVERIAN 23, St. John’s Prep 21
*Home crew in caps. **State semifinal, impartial area
XAVERIAN HAWKS
Head coach: Al Fornaro
SEPT. 8: XAVERIAN 32, Everett 21
SEPT. 15: Xaverian 41, BRIDGEWATER-RAYNHAM 0
SEPT. 22: Springfield Central 44, XAVERIAN 41
SEPT. 29: Xaverian 28, CENTRAL CATHOLIC 14
OCT. 6: Catholic Memorial 41, XAVERIAN 38
OCT. 13: XAVERIAN 35, BC High 24
OCT. 20: Xaverian 41, MALDEN CATHOLIC 20
OCT. 27: Xaverian 43, ST. JOHN’S (S) 15
NOV. 3: XAVERIAN 49, St. John’s (S) 7
NOV. 10: XAVERIAN 21, Springfield Central 20
**NOV. 17: Xaverian 20, Needham 17
NOV. 23: XAVERIAN 23, St. John’s Prep 21
*Home crew in caps. **State semifinal, impartial area
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
St. John’s Prep can be taking part in in its eleventh championship recreation. The Eagles are 6-4 and a kind of wins got here final yr the place they shut out a high-powered Springfield Central squad, 13-0. Carson Browne supplied the offensive firepower for the Eagles as he rushed for 131 yards and a rating.
Xaverian is competing in its fifteenth championship recreation. The Hawks have an general report of 8-6 with the final victory coming in 2015 after they defeated Central Catholic 44-14 to seize the Div. 1 state title. Michael Pina threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns, whereas Coby Tippett scored thrice, together with an 88-yard interception return for a rating.
Source: www.bostonherald.com