Krause: Time to recognize the Prep’s constellation of stars in 2001-02

Every once in a while, a school has a particular era that stands out just a little more than some of its others.One of these eras, obviously, would be the Lynn Classical 1979-81 era that produced Tony Thurman, Stu Primus, Pancho Bingham, Sandy McGee, Joe Pennucci, and several others.Swampscott’s had a few as well. The Stan Bondelevitch era produced a ton of athletes, but they were spread out over a long period of time. Still, the names just roll off your tongue: Barry Gallup ? Dick Jauron ? Tom Toner ? Sandy Tennant ? and, for good measure, Fran Sheehan, who made his mark not as an athlete but as the original bass guitarist for the group Boston.But for sheer concentration of talent, it’s hard to ignore the 1994-95 group of kids who walked out of Swampscott High, including Peter Woodfork (assistant general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks), Todd McShay (ESPN college football analyst), Todd Kline (marketing representative for the NFL Players Association), Billy Ryan (works for Major League Baseball) and David Portnoy (founder and editor of “Barstool Sports” in Boston).It should go without saying that St. John’s Prep has had its share of stellar classes, with one of the best ones playing for the 1997 football team. That one produced Brian St. Pierre (now an NFL quarterback), Wayne Lucier (who played for the New York Giants), Brian Lentz, Zach Migliaro and Ryan Leahy.The 2001-02 Prep football team may be gaining on its predecessors thanks to a couple of recent developments. The star of the class was then, and perhaps still is, Matt Antonelli, who is playing for the San Diego Padres organization. But Antonelli has plenty of company. John McCarthy, who quarterbacked that supremely gifted 2002 team, is now a captain for the Boston University hockey team.Nick Borseti was the middle linebacker on a team that went through the 2001 and 2002 regular seasons undefeated. He graduated from Notre Dame in 3 1/2 years and is now a mechanical engineer.Now, we have two more to add to the group. Jonathan Goff was drafted in the fifth round by the Giants this past weekend, and Prep coach Jim O’Leary says the linebacker has all the qualities the demanding Tom Coughlin just loves because he’s a hard worker and a quick learner.Finally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have invited Jonathan Loyte, who finished his career at Boston College as a tight end, to their free agent camp this weekend.I’d say, if you want to compare your class to that class, you’re putting yourself in pretty heady company.This group burst onto the scene in 2001, shocking everyone by finishing with an unbeaten record (Dan Ross Jr. hit Lonnie Hill with a “Hail Mary” pass on Thanksgiving to beat Xaverian that season). But the Eagles, clearly in their “off-Broadway” stage, were beaten soundly by Everett in the first round of the playoffs (the Crimson Tide had been upset on Thanksgiving that season by Cambridge Rindge & Latin and were in no mood to have it happen twice).The year 2002 was supposed to be a coronation, and that’s certainly how it appeared. Nobody could play with the Eagles in 2002. By the time they faced Everett in the Super Bowl in December, they were 12-0 and the Crimson Tide were in the unfamiliar position of being the underdog.Of course, we all know what happened. Everett played the Giants to The Prep’s Patriots. In one of the most improbable high school upsets ever, Everett won, 13-7 (The Prep fumbled as it was going into the end zone with the game-tying score).What happened? The same thing that happened to the Patriots. If you played both games 10 times, The Prep and the Patriots both might win nine times. But they both lost on the biggest of stages.The loss doesn’t detract, however, from the way the players on that team have gone on to bigger and better things in college and beyond. And it’s quite possible that when all is said and done, they may represent the best group of kids – athletically – the school has ever had at one time.Steve Krause is sports editor of The