DANVERS — There’s starting fast, and then there’s starting No. 1 St. John’s Prep fast. The Eagles came out of the gates on fire blowing past No. 9 Franklin 17-3 on Friday. With another Final Four berth, the Prep has now reached the semifinals four years running.
“It feels good. We work really hard and we ask so much of these kids and they respond. They get opportunities like this today where they showed up and played really well,” Eagles head coach John Pynchon said. “The win earns us three more days and a neutral site game on Tuesday.”
The Prep looked like a well-oiled machine, every player was in sync and made the Panthers defenders second guessing. Since the Eagles kept scoring, the teams had to face off for possession and that’s where Jack Doherty earned his stripes.
After every goal, Doherty was sent to midfield and he came out with possession in six of his seven draws.
“He [Jack Doherty] was winning draws and [Drew] Bossi was shooting lights out there. I mean he was hot and sometimes when you’re a shooter and you’re feeling it, he would let go a few that he doesn’t normally shoot, but he was on fire out there,” Pynchon said. “It was a great way to start. When Doherty’s winning faceoffs and guys are playing fast, it makes it really challenging for teams to defend and to get back in control of the game.”
The Eagles scored four goals in the first four minutes and four seconds of the game, en route to a nine goal first quarter. Bossi scored four of the nine goals.
St. John’s Prep led 12-1 at halftime and although their starters barely saw the field in the second half, the intensity remained.
Josh Haarmann, Jack Quigley, Ryan McCarthy, Will Crawford, and Charlie Angell all got on the scoresheet in the second half for St. John’s Prep.
The game never got close and the Eagles are now one win away from the title game, in hopes of earning their fourth straight championship. After the game, Pynchon talked about the leaders of the team and their roles in getting the Prep back to the Final Four.
“Brendan [Powers] is super vocal. He is the guy who’s going to bark at guys when they’re not doing the right thing,” Pynchon said. “Jake [Vana] and Jack Doherty, they lead by example, they do the right thing every single time. They’re incredibly high characters and they’re quiet, Jack is very quiet, but the way they play they’re such tough competitors.”
“Grayson Ambrosh is so tough and works so hard. He sets a great example,” Pynchon said. “Kurt Schillinger is like the team dad. He knows every kid and he’s always looking out for the younger guys. We put a lot of emphasis on the full team. We have a lot of guys out here which takes a lot of organization and commitment to make them feel included. Kurt has been outstanding with that, especially in the winter with the lifts and stuff.”
Despite not officially being a captain, Pynchon made sure to give credit to Andrew Klein for being another leader on the team.
“Drew Klein is not a captain, but he’s been unbelievable this year for us. Just as a vocal leader and keeping everyone aligned. When you have great kids who buy in, it makes the coaches’ life easy,” Pynchon said.
In the Final Four, the top-ranked Eagles get a familiar opponent in No. 4 BC High. The two teams squared off twice in the regular season with the Prep winning both. The first game was a defensive matchup where Prep found a way to win 7-4. Then in May, the Prep beat BC High 13-3.
“I think [the game will be] a lot about us, but playing a team that we’ve played a bunch, there’s some things that we kind of can prepare for. Scouting-wise and personnel-wise I think we really know [what they want to do], plus we have three days to prepare,” Pynchon said.
