Hawks pick up revenge

Xaverian gets back in swing with romp

WESTWOOD — A short-term memory works best in football.

Like forgetting all about the 31-point drubbing Xaverian took last week at the hands of Everett.

XAVERIAN 32 BRIDG-RAYNHAM 7

Behind a sensational performance from Cooper DeVeau, who caught two touchdown passes and returned a fumble for a score, the No. 11 Hawks bounced back with a 32-7 nonleague win against No. 5 Bridgewater-Raynham at the Hawk Bowl last night.

It was the first career win for new Hawks coach Al Fornaro.

“We really needed to bounce back this week,” said quarterback Davin Sweeney. “Bouncing back the way we did, that’s the Xaverian I know.”

DeVeau gave Xaverian (11) the spark it needed, first by picking up a fumble after an errant pitch and returning it seven yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes.

DeVeau’s greatest impact came on offense, though. After a safety extended Xaverian’s lead to 8-0, Sweeney (13-of-19, 210 yards, three touchdowns) hit DeVeau for a 36-yard touchdown to take a 15-0 lead with 6:03 to go in the second quarter.

Xaverian’s victory wasn’t completely clean, though, as Bridgewater-Raynham (1-1) forced four first-half turnovers to stay in the game.

The Trojans capitalized on a Hawks fumble late in the second quarter, and quarterback Corey Sullivan turned that into a 10-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 15-7 at halftime.

The Hawks ended Bridgewater-Raynham’s momentum and put the game out of reach in the third quarter, though. DeVeau, who finished with seven catches for 131 yards, was at the center of it once again.

First, Sweeney faked a pass to DeVeau in the flat and connected with Patrick Barnes down field on a 42yard touchdown to extend the lead to 22-7.

On Xaverian’s next offensive play, Sweeney went back to DeVeau for a 47yard touchdown pass and a 29-7 lead with 2:12 left in the third quarter. That broke the game open.

“(DeVeau) is a competitor,” said Fornaro. “You wouldn’t know it because he’s such a nice boy, but he has the glint in the eye. He likes to mix it up and he’s a great receiver.”

Xaverian’s defense dominated, allowing B-R only 58 yards of total offense.