FOXBOROUGH — Matt Duchemin encapsulated all you needed to know about St. John’s 21-14 win over Catholic Memorial in the Division 1 Super Bowl.
Duchemin, a senior receiver/defensive back, fumbled after catching one pass (and was bailed out when a CM player fumbled on the very next play) and then muffed a punt that led to a Knight score.
Of course, he also caught five passes for 119 yards, one of them a 32-yard juggling-act TD pass that was one for the ages; and picked off two of CM quarterback Barrett Pratt’s aerials as well.
“He had a wild night,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “He had his hands on the ball all night — good, bad, and everything in between.”
In the end, the school’s second straight Division 1 title (the first time the school has ever accomplished that feat on the field, as opposed to a ranking system) had Duchemin’s name on it as much as anyone’s. And that included Lynn’s James Guy Jr., who scored two first-quarter touchdowns and ran for 90 yards on 14 carries; and quarterback Matt Crowley (a quiet 6-for-12 for 145 yards).
“I’m proud of these kids,” said St. Pierre. “They made history. I’m so happy for them that they’ve been able to accomplish this with what we put them through. We’re pretty demanding of them.”
The game, both in terms of the final score and its topsy-turvy characteristics, took shape from the get-go. Five plays into its first possession, Crowley found Duchemin deep in Memorial territory. But Duchemin dropped the ball as he was being tackled, and CM’s Will Stockwell scooped it up at the Knights’ 10. On the very next play, the Knights fumbled, with Eagle Nick Baldini gathering it in at the 14. One play later, it was 7-0 with Guy sprinting in for the score and Liam Fabbri adding the PAT.
After a three-and-out by CM, St. John’s got the ball back at its own 45. Two long completions of 20 and 28 yards from Crowley to Duchemin set Guy up on the Memorial 3, and he easily ran it in for the score to make it 14-0 still in the first quarter.
It appeared as if Catholic Memorial would chop that lead in half with a 12-possession series that began on its own 25. But just when it appeared the Knights were going in, a fumble on the 1-yard line gave the ball back to The Prep.
The rest of the half descended into a series of short possessions and punts, and the half ended with St. John’s up 14-0.
The third quarter looked as if it would be more of the same. St. John’s went three-and-out, and CM looked as if it would do the same until Duchemin muffed a punt. That led to five-play drive from the Prep 17, with junior Owen McGowan bulling his way in from the 1-yard line.
“At first, I was really down,” said Duchemin. “But then my teammates really picked me up. They were great. They made it possible for me to get back in the game.”
The Prep resumed its defensive dominance for the rest of the game.
On its first possession in the fourth quarter, St. John’s began a drive that had all sorts of twists and turns. First, on a third-and-7, Crowley was chased out of the pocket and found Jackson Delaney in a spot on the field that forced him to throw almost a balloon-pass across his body. However, he connected for 15 yards and a first down.
Four plays later, Crowley found Duchemin over the middle. After having fumbled twice already during the game, Duchemin, who was covered like a blanket, managed to track down the ball, juggling it momentarily, before bringing it in and continuing for the score.
To add emphasis to what was already a dominating performance, the Eagle defense stopped CM on a goal line stand late in the fourth quarter. But they couldn’t do it a second time when, after a Prep fumble deep in its own territory, Pratt found Mitchell with a 5-yard throw with 1:05 left.
“All year,” St. Pierre said, “all anyone’s been talking about was CM. We were the defending champ, but it was all about CM. Then they beat us during the season. I’d rather have this one.”
