DANVERS — Most teams would feel good about matching up in a sectional title game against an opponent they’ve already beaten. The St. John’s Prep Eagles are optimistic heading into Saturday’s Division 1 North final at Catholic Central. But the Eagles know their 28-14 win over the Raiders back in September won’t mean much this time around.
“I think we’re a different team and I think they are too,” St. John’s coach Brian St. Pierre said. “I think we’ve grown and they’ve grown. We played some young guys for the first time that game. We lost Joenel Aguero in the second quarter in that game. A lot of the guys that have played in that game have gained a lot of experience. I think we’re both different teams.”
Central Catholic, 8-1, hasn’t lost since then. The No. 1 Raiders were pushed to the limit in last week’s 39-37 overtime win over No. 4 Everett in the Division 1 North semifinal.
St. John’s, also 8-1, fell to Catholic Memorial in a 34-32 defeat in October. The No. 2 Eagles are 3-0 since then with tournament wins over No. 7 Lowell (quarterfinal, 42-13) and No. 4 Andover (semifinal, 39-17).
“I expected us to be competitive,” St. Pierre said. “We expected to be competitive. We lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team but these guys have done a great job filling in. These guys have picked it up quickly. We have great senior leadership. Having a senior core on offense helped the transition. Am I surprised? No. But I’m happy that they’ve improved so much as we’ve gone along.”
So what’ll it take to stop the red-hot Raiders?
“Anytime you’re in games of this magnitude it’s limiting mistakes, especially unforced errors,” St. Pierre said. “You can’t hurt yourself in these games. We’ve been good with that. That certainly needs to continue. We have to put all three phases together and be consistent. We pride ourselves in that, being solid in all three. It’ll take all of that and then some to go up there and beat them again.”
Offensively, the Eagles are clicking. St. John’s ran out to a 25-0 lead in last week’s win over Andover and never looked back. Matt Duchemin, Jackson Delaney and Anthony Fagan each caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Crowley, who also ran in a score. James Guy carried in two touchdowns.
“We haven’t done anything different,” St. Pierre said. “We try to be balanced. It’s been the same formula. We take what they give us. We try to do both equally, the run and pass. We have receivers that can beat you up top, we have receivers that can make plays in soft coverage and we have guys that can run the ball. When we can do both effectively we’re tough to stop.”
Tight end Gus McGee and receivers Charlie Wilmot and Joenel Aguero have also contributed in the passing game.
“When Joenel’s healthy, he’s explosive,” St. Pierre said. “We feel good about the weapons we have outside.”
Defensively, the Eagles haven’t done anything fancy. Defensive end Collin Taylor anchors a unit that prides itself on teamwork.
“It’s more of the same,” St. Pierre said. “We are what we are. We try to play fundamental defense, tackle well and pressure the quarterback. We try to make teams one-dimensional by taking away the run. Collin’s our standout guy on defense. Other than that we have kids that play team defense, a lunch-pail group. They work together.
“We’re not lining up trying to fool people. We try to lineup and play good, fundamental defense.”
Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Lawrence Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday. The winner advances to the Division 1 state final at Gillette Stadium, where St. John’s won the state championship last year.
