St. John’s loses heartbreaker to Xaverian

DANVERS ? There was concern the luster had been taken away from this season’s St. John’s Prep-Xaverian game because the Hawks had already clinched a berth in the Div. 1 Super Bowl. But when the players had their say, they put together another classic.Vew Photo GalleryJake Farrell threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to A.J. King with 28.1 seconds left to lift the Hawks to a 28-22 win over the Eagles in their annual Thanksgiving Day showdown, Thursday, at Cronin Memorial Stadium. Less than two minutes earlier, St. John’s had taken the lead when Jack Lambert caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Michael Geaslen.”This was one of the most physical games I can remember,” St. John’s Prep coach Jim O’Leary said. “They played hard. We played hard. It came down to execution. They executed more plays at the end of the game than we did, and that’s why they won the game.””There have been games in the past when we’ve already clinched a playoff berth, and there have been games when (St. John’s has) already clinched a playoff berth, and we played the same way we did today.” Xaverian coach Charlie Stevenson said. “It’s Thanksgiving.”The Eagles (6-5) got a heroic performance from Cody Harwood, who ran for a game-high 193 yards on 25 rushes, including a 46-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 44-yard run that set up the touchdown that put St. John’s ahead briefly in the fourth quarter. Michael Fawehinmi also returned a free kick 83 yards for a score after a safety on a bizarre play in the first quarter.For Xaverian, Farrell also threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Damion Wood, and Kaminski scored on a 95-yard run before he left with an injury to his right leg. Backup running back Billy Leroux added a five-yard run for the Hawks’ other touchdown.”Billy Leroux stepped up and made some big plays today,” Stevenson said. “We had a lot of kids step up and make plays.”On the second play from scrimmage, Kaminski took a toss to the left from his own 5-yard line and went virtually untouched down the sideline to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead just 1:08 into the game. The point after kick was no good.After an exchange of punts, Geaslen found tight end Jake Burt for a 41-yard gain that gave the Eagles a first down-and-goal at Xaverian’s 8-yard line. Two plays later, though, the Hawks forced a fumble and recovered inside their 1-yard line. On the next play, Xaverian fumbled the ball, but a Xaverian player smartly batted the ball forward out of the end zone before a St. John’s player could fall on it. The play was ruled a safety, and Fawehinmi returned the ensuing free kick up the middle for a touchdown. Josh Hilty’s extra point kick gave the Eagles a 9-6 lead with 2:47 left to play in the first quarter.A 25-yard pass from Farrell to Joe Gaziano and a 20-yard run by John Dean on Xaverian’s ensuing series advanced the Hawks into St. John’s territory, but Hayden Rockett tackled D’Aundre Holmes just short of the first down marker on fourth-and-eight to turn the ball over to the Eagles.St. John’s then extended its lead with a touchdown drive that covered 75 yards in just four plays. After scrambling to the right, Geaslen found Owen Rockett (5 catches-64 yards) for a 25-yard gain, and on the next play Harwood busted up the middle for a score that with Hilty’s extra point kick put the Eagles on top, 16-6, with 9:40 left in the second quarter.The Eagles threatened to score again on their next possession and moved the ball to Xaverian’s 27-yard line. Geaslen tried to hit Lambert at the hash marks inside the 10, but the ball was deflected and intercepted by Ernest Simon. The Hawks picked up a couple of first downs before Farrell connected with Wood on a fly pattern down the right sideline for a 59-yard touchdown throw. Gaziano’s extra point kick was good and the Hawks trailed, 16-13, with 1:14 remaining in the first half. St. John’s made it as far as Xaverian’s 24-yard line before time ran out in the first half.”That interception was a 14-point swing,” said O’Leary. “The b