FOXBOROUGH — Coming into Saturday’s Division 1 Super Bowl, the St. John’s football team knew it was in for a back-and-forth battle with Catholic Memorial. The Eagles overcame a few mistakes along the way but executed to perfection when it mattered most to claim a 40-22 win over the Knights at Gillette Stadium.
“We were a determined group,” Eagles coach Brian St. Pierre, who won a state championship as a player at St. John’s in 1997, said. “I think every guy was limping at the end. We are the most banged up group I have ever coached in my life and we just kept responding. We kept looking to put guys in and replace injured players. It’s just a testament to their will and their fortitude and strength as a team. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Senior wide receiver Wes Rockett, a Marblehead native, led the way for St. John’s, hauling in nine passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
“Wes is as good a wide receiver as we have had,” St. Pierre said. “His (older) brother Owen was a great receiver too and (Wes) just cemented his own legacy here. He was the best player on the field tonight.”
The Eagles got off to a great start and grabbed an early lead. After forcing a quick three-and-out, the Eagles started their first drive at the Knights’ 31. Several plays later Aise Pream (21 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns) finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The Eagles extended their lead on their next drive thanks to a 35-yard field goal by Sean Majeski to go ahead 9-0.
On the first play of the second quarter Prep quarterback Matt Crowley (11-of-27 passing for 218 yards and three touchdowns) connected with Rockett on a 52-yard touchdown pass to extend the Eagles lead to 16-0. But Catholic Memorial didn’t quit.
The Knights capitalized on a fumble and a short field when quarterback Barrett Pratt found Daniel Lopez for a 23-yard touchdown pass. The Knights capitalized on another fumble, which linebacker Devon Williams returned 47 yards for a touchdown, to narrow the Eagles lead to 16-14.
After a defensive stop to start the second half, Zach Mitchell broke off a 42-yard run to set the Knights up at the Eagles 14. On the next play Pratt found Owen McGowan for a 14-yard touchdown pass to put the Knights ahead 22-19.
The momentum shifted in St. John’s favor on a huge 4th-down stop later in the third quarter. With a 4th-and-1 from their own 31, the Knights ran a fake punt, however the Eagles were more than ready for the fake, stuffing the run up the middle.
“It was huge,” St. Pierre said of the play. “We scouted them and we knew it was coming. We were yelling it from the sideline, our defense heard it. They rolled the dice and we made them pay, which we needed to do.”
Three plays later Crowley threw a pass to the back corner of the endzone, which Rockett dove for and hauled in through strong coverage to give the Eagles a 26-22 lead.
From there it was all Eagles the rest of the way. St. John’s defense closed the game on a dominant note, forcing three turnovers while Pream added a rushing touchdown and Rockett caught another 25-yard touchdown to ice the win at 40-22.
“I’m just so happy for these guys,” St. Pierre said. “They came together as a group. (Catholic Memorial) is really talented and our guys just kept fighting.”
St. Pierre said his team’s resilience was on full-display Saturday.
“That encapsulates us,” St. Pierre added. “We are far from perfect. We are a flawed group in a lot of ways, but it’s a beautiful group at the same time. They are acutely aware of their strengths and weaknesses as a team. Their resilience as a group will be their hallmark.”
The state championship was St. John’s first since 2012 and the first in St. Pierre’s tenure as head coach. St. John’s ends the season at 10-2.
