DANVERS — The score, and the facts, speak for themselves. Everett hung a big defeat on St. John’s Prep Saturday, 42-28, putting a huge damper on the Eagles’ naming their newly-refurbished field after former coach Fred Glatz.
The undefeated Crimson Tide used what could only be described as the football equivalent of “shock and awe” in the first quarter, zipping up the field for three touchdowns — each of them taking just under or just over a minute from the start of the drives to the scores.
And even that’s deceiving, because three plays into the second quarter, Everett had its fourth score of the day and led, 28-7.
“They are way more athletic than us,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “They’re way more athletic than everybody they play.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Eagles’ second loss of the season. They may have found their future quarterback once Mike Yarin graduates this coming spring. Yarin played a half, and got leveled on a blindside sack on the last play of the second quarter. He returned for one play in the third quarter — a handoff to Pream — and then left in favor of Matt Crowley, a baby-faced sophomore who made the most of his opportunity, leading St. John’s on three second-half scoring drives that ended up making the score more respectable than it could have been.
Also getting nicked during the game were running back Aise Pream and lineman James Taylor.
“We’re a MASH unit,” said St. Pierre. “I don’t know. I must practice them too hard or something.”
And while he’s no happier than anyone else that the Eagles are 1-2, he found some silver linings in the game.
“I saw a lot to be encouraged about,” said St. Pierre. “A lot to build on. We moved the ball on them, but we couldn’t punch it in. When it was our ones against their ones, we moved the ball very well.”
He also had praise for both Yarin and Crowley.
“They competed their butts off,” he said. “Matt was with us as a freshman last year, and that was for a reason. He has that ‘it’ factor.”
Jacob Miller started the scoring parade on Everett’s first drive, rushing eight yards, with Mike Saintristil punching in the conversion.
St. John’s broke through right away, thanks in part to Pream’s 48-yard run. That set up a 22-yard scoring pass from Yarin to Pream, and when Brandon Robinson kicked the PAT it was 8-7, Everett.
That would be the last time St. John’s saw the end zone until the third quarter, although The Prep had one other time to score but turned the ball over. Saintristil snagged a 19-yard pass from Jake Wilcox for Everett’s second score, and the two combined for the conversion to make it 16-7.
Wilcox found Anthony Norcia with a 21-yard pass with 2:26 left in the first quarter to put Everett up 22-7, and after St. John’s fumbled on a punt (one of the few times the Eagles held Everett without any points in the first half), Jason Maitre careened down the field for a 40-yard run to give Everett a 28-7 lead.
The Tide would strike one more time in the half, this one on a TD run by Monte Campbell to take a 36-7 lead at the break.
With Yarin out in the second half, it fell to Crowley to lead the team, and while the Eagles moved from their own 35 to the Everett 3, they couldn’t put it in. Next time, though, after holding Everett to a three-and-out, St. John’s got the ball, Pream ran for 46 yards, and Crowley legged it in for the last give to make it 36-14.
Everett answered on an 18-yard run by Kevin Brown before The Prep got the final two scores — a 2-yard rush by Crowley, who also had the conversion; and a Crowley-to-John Walsh reception with no time left on the clock to make the final 42-28.
The Eagles are home Saturday (7:30) against Malden Catholic.
