St. John’s gets another crack at Everett in D1 North final

Ever since the brackets came out for the Division 1 North football tournament, two of the state?s top three teams were set on a collision course.On Friday night at what?s sure to be a raucous Everett Memorial Stadium the top-seeded Crimson Tide (8-1) and No. 2 seed St. John?s Prep (8-1) will play for the sectional title and a chance to keep hopes of earning a trip to Gillette Stadium alive.?These kids have earned the right to be here,” Eagles first-year coach Brian St. Pierre said. “And I?m happy for them. But they know that there?s still a lot of things left to accomplish. We are excited to have the chance to play them.”The two teams have already met this season back in week four when the Crimson Tide handed the Prep its only loss of the season, 34-23. Everett?s only defeat came in its second game against the state?s No. 1-ranked team, Xaverian.The teams took different paths to reach their meeting in the finals.For the Prep, it?s been a dominant running game and defense that has seen them hold Chelmsford and defending Division 1 champion Central Catholic to a combined seven points in the playoffs.Everett, on the other hand, was pushed by Malden in its play-off opener and then had to survive a strong effort by Peabody in a 55-41 semifinal victory.For the Eagles, reaching the North final was something that some may not have thought possible when the season began as the Prep had to break in a very young roster. But St. John?s has run the gauntlet of the state?s most challenging schedule and the rapid maturation of the team has made St. Pierre proud.?Early in the season, we had a brutal schedule and we won a lot of big games with an inexperienced group,” St. Pierre said. “Now you can kind of look back and wonder how we were doing it. They really played well and we?ve had a sense of urgency all year.”In the playoffs, the Eagles have been led by running back Cody Harwood, who comes in fresh off a 190-yard, three-touchdown performance against Central Catholic on Friday. The Prep also has a bevy of talent at the skill positions as quarterback Oliver Eberth has helped to give the Eagles the run-pass balance they hoped for when the year began.?Going into the year, we wanted to be more balanced and we certainly are,” St. Pierre said. “Cody is a guy that has worked extremely hard and has become a great back and Oliver has had a great year and worked the offense real well.”On the other sideline, coach John DiBiaso?s team also features plenty of talent across the board, led by arguably the state?s best player in wide receiver/running back Lucas Denis.The Boston College-bound Denis leads Everett with 14 touchdowns and 516 receiving yards and is second on the team with 442 rushing yards.He was a one-man wrecking crew in Everett?s semifinal win over Peabody, catching two touchdown passes from Jordan McAfee and returning an interception for a third to give the Crimson Tide some breathing room in the third quarter.Nick Erokoya, Jackinson Joacine, and Luis Cardona also have helped shoulder the offensive load for Everett, who comes into the game averaging 36.6 points per outing.?Everett is Everett. They have kids all over the place who can play,” St. Pierre said. “But we are a different team from the first time we faced them. We are relishing the chance to go and play another big game.”