HAVERHILL — In case anyone missed James Guy Jr. last week, when he ran for 85 yards, he’s got to be on your radar now.
Guy, of Lynn, son of former Classical star James Guy Sr., put on a tour de force of rushing Saturday. He netted 105 yards in 12 carries, four of them for touchdowns, in only one half, as St. John’s Prep defeated the Hillies, 34-14, at Harry McNamara Field (at Haverhill Stadium).
The Eagles, 2-0, now go into the fire pit from here. They play Central Catholic Saturday (2 p.m. because of concerns about the Triple-E virus). Then, after a game against Somerville, will entertain Catholic Memorial — the perceived No. 1 threat in Eastern Mass. — the following week on Homecoming Day.
The Eagles defeated CM twice last year, including a victory in the state Division 1 Super Bowl.
Saturday was a good day for coach Brian St. Pierre to give his starters the second half off. The Eagles rolled to a 34-7 lead by the half, and outside of one or two defensive lapses that led to one touchdown and almost another, the Eagles owned the half. They scored every time they touched the ball, several on long drives, and one, in particular, in which Guy ran on every play, including the touchdown.
“It starts in practice,” said Guy, a sophomore. “Coach told us during the week that we’re a second-half team, but that he wanted us to get off to a good start.”
“We worked to make sure we got off to a fast start,” said St. Pierre.
Everybody got off to a fast start. Senior quarterback Matt Crowley, in his two quarters of work, was 5-for-6 for 133 yards and a touchdown pass.
For all that, the game started promisingly for the Hillies. A third-down pass from Brady Skafas to Teyshon McGee that went for 41 yards set the Hillies up with a first down at the Prep 31. They got down to the Eagle 16 before the drive stalled.
St. John’s picked it up right away, flying the 84 yards to the end zone in five plays. The clincher was Crowley’s 47-yard bomb to Jackson Delaney for the score.
But Haverhill came back, with Skafas connecting with Jayden Johnson for a 30-yard TD pass to tie the score.
From there, it was all Eagles. They needed only two plays after getting the ball at midfield to make it 14-7. Both of them were from Guy — one a dazzling 48-yard run and the other on a one-yard plunge.
Once again, after the Hillies went three-and-out, Guy scored to put them ahead, 21-7. A nifty 29-yard pass from Crowley to Joenel Aguero set up the score.
The next series was all Guy. He ran the ball seven straight times, including two gains of 10 yards, and then closed it out with a five-yard run to make the score 27-7. For good measure, he ran it in from 26 yards out with 45 seconds left in the half to earn himself and his first-string teammates a second-half rest.
On the last play of the game, Jabari Baptiste scored on a seven-yard run.
NOTES: Guy’s cousin second-cousin, Brendan, played for English the same time his father was at Classical … The press box at the stadium high atop the bleachers has a big sign painted on it that says “Pike’s Peak.” The late Item reporter Bill Pike was the man behind the mic for Haverhill football games for more than two decades.
