St. John’s grid defeats Brockton

DANVERS – Last season, Brockton stopped St. John’s on 4th-and-goal with 40 seconds remaining to preserve a win. On Saturday at Cronin Memorial Stadium, St. John’s returned the favor, stopping the Boxers on the final play of the game to preserve a 22-15 win.The last moments of the game were a fitting end to a fourth quarter where both teams traded scores after the majority of the game featured stifling defense.”It was an emotional win for us,” said St. John’s coach Jim O’Leary. “They did the same thing to us last year when we were down there. Today they scored, we fought back, took the lead back, and were able to beat a good football team.”St. John’s snapped a 7-7 halftime score early in the fourth when Johnathan Thomas broke off a 50-yard touchdown run.Brockton immediately bounced back, moving 80 yards downfield and scoring on a Paul Mroz six-yard touchdown run. The drive featured the Boxers converting a 3rd-and-15 in the form of a 61-yard pass from Mroz to Lucas DePina. Brockton took the lead on a broken two-point conversion play where a stuffed run up the middle by Josh Brewster turned into Brewster finding Deandre Brown on a lateral and Brown sweeping to the right to complete the conversion. The score put Brockton up 15-14.On the ensuing kickoff, Gerald Kahari began to make his presence felt. Kahari returned the ball 47 yards, giving the Eagles great field position at the Boxers’ 48-yard line. After St. John’s converted on 3rd-and-nine in the form of Jack Sharrio to Lucas Bavaro, Kahari turned a counter handoff up the middle into a 23-yard romp down the right side of the field. The play set up Thomas’ second touchdown of the game, a hard five-yard push. Sharrio found Kahari on a bootleg right to grab two points on the conversion.”(Kahari) is a threat anytime he touches the ball,” said O’Leary. “Thomas has been waiting for his breakout game, and this might have been it. He’s been close, just needing that one big run. He got it today.”With 2:37 remaining in the game, the Boxers took possession at their own 29. At first Mroz picked his way downfield, finding DePina and Jerrod Shelby on passing plays, and also accumulated yards scrambling. The largest play of the drive was Brewster gashing through the left side of the line and then steadily ahead in between the hashmarks for a 17-yard gain, putting the Boxers on the Eagles’ 20. Five plays later, with seven seconds remaining on the clock, Brockton faced a fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line. A broken pass play turned into Mroz being tackled by a gaggle of Prep defenders as time expired.The win is the first for the young St. John’s squad this season after three losses to highly regarded opponents (Brockton is also a top program).”When you are 0-4, practices are long,” said O’Leary. “With a win, it gives you energy during your practices.”