WESTWOOD — Thursday’s game looked as if it was all but over when Xaverian grabbed a 15-point lead against St. John’s Prep midway through the fourth quarter.
But you can’t sleep on a team as explosive as the Eagles, as they proved in the last four minutes of the game, scoring 12 unanswered points. That still left them three short, however, as Xaverian handed The Prep its first loss of the season, 21-18, at the Hawk Bowl in Westwood.
The 11-1 Eagles get another shot at their annual nemesis Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough for the Division 1 Super Bowl.
After taking a 21-6 lead midway through the final quarter, the bottom almost fell out for the Hawks (10-2). With 4:04 left, John Budrow, playing in place of sophomore Chris Vargas (ankle sprain), found Marblehead native and sophomore Riley Selvais in the end zone for a 34-yard completion. The Hawks stuffed a two-point conversion try — the third such attempt that Xaverian stymied.
“We’ve been a two-point team all year,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “Maybe we should have gone for one at some point. But we missed a field goal earlier.”
After almost recovering an onside kick, St. John’s forced a Hawk fumble with 2:28 left and converted on Jordan Toribio’s 8-yard run. Once again, Xaverian stopped the conversion attempt, but the score drew the Eagles within three.
Xaverian fumbled again, with 2:06 left, and St. John’s recovered on the Hawk 48. Moving frantically, the Eagles found themselves with a first down on the Hawk 5-yard line with six seconds to go. Eschewing the game-tying field goal, St. John’s opted for a little trickery.
“At that point,” said St. Pierre, “we weren’t going for a tie.”
With Budrow under center, he pitched to running back Max Parent, who then tried to connect with Selvais on the option pass. But Selvais, setting up in the back of the end zone, was flanked by a number of Xaverian defenders. It was Jackson Holmes who finally knocked the ball away to save the win for the Hawks.
Xaverian quarterback Will Wood threw two touchdown passes, one in each quarter of the first half, and the Hawks jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Parent burst in from the 1-yard line to make it 14-6 by halftime.
“There were a lot of things we didn’t do well,” St. Pierre said. “We did things we haven’t done all year. We have to clean those things up.”
