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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
After cruising to the Division 1 South Sectional crown two weeks prior, the Xaverian Brothers High School football team traveled to Lynn on Saturday to defend their Division 1 Super Bowl title against familiar foe and perennial power, Everett, champions of the North Sectional. Despite a stout defensive effort, the Hawks (10-2, 4-0) came up short, falling by a final score of 21-7 to the Crimson Tide (12-2, 3-0) in front of a packed crowd at Manning Field.
Everett set the tone for the game with a long catch and run to the zone on the fourth play from scrimmage, going ahead 7-0 less than two minutes into the contest. The Hawks went on a long drive that featured multiple strong power runs by senior running back Devon Piccinin on their first offensive series. However, after moving the ball into the opposing red zone, the long Xaverian drive was put to a halt just outside the 10-yard line when the Hawks turned the ball over on downs.
A series of clutch tackles inside their own red zone by defensive end Cal Flanders and defensive tackle Langston Puller halted Everett’s ensuing drive with a turnover on downs, as the Hawks regained possession deep in their own territory, still down seven after one quarter of play.
Cronin makes a man miss on a quarterback scramble attempt late in the first half. Photo by Michael Flanagan
Following the second Everett touchdown, Xaverian’s defense was quickly backed up deep into its own territory following a Mattison Cronin fumble, but the Hawks stood up to the challenge and forced a turnover on downs to keep the game at 14-0 with under five minutes to play in the half. Cronin then made up for his fumble by leading the Hawks down the field and inside the Everett 10 yard line with under a minute to play in the half. The Xaverian offense was unable to punch the ball into the end zone, however, as Cronin’s fourth down pass intended for Samuel Laurent with 29 seconds left in the half was knocked away by the Everett defensive back, and the game entered halftime with Everett still ahead by two touchdowns.
Like all elite football programs do, Charlie Stevenson’s team stayed composed and came out of the break determined to try and recapture some momentum and knot the game at 14.
The Hawks were able to contain Everett quarterback and University of Connecticut commit Jordan McAfee for the majority of the third quarter, but Xaverian was unable to put together a sustainable drive on offense throughout the third quarter. Everett capitalized on solid field position with a score at the beginning of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 21-0.
The Hawks were finally able to get on the board when Maddison Cronin hit Mekhi Henderson on a 43-yard touchdown pass with just over three minutes left in the ball game. It wasn’t enough, however, as an unsuccessful onside kick attempt by the Hawks gave the ball back to Everett with 2:53 to play. The Crimson Tide picked up a first down with 1:14 to play and knelt to their 11th Division 1 State Championship since 1996.
