Willcox, No. 1 Crimson Tide roll

Offense overpowers No. 14 Eagles

DANVERS — Everett coach John DiBiaso believes there is still room for improvement.

After a near unstoppable offensive performance from the top-ranked Crimson Tide in the first half of yesterday’s 42-28 nonleague win against No. 14 St. John’s Prep, that’s a scary thought for the rest of the opponents on the schedule.

Everett racked up 434 yards of total offense, with 343 of those yards coming in the first half, and six different players scored a touchdown.

“You never reach your full potential because we made mistakes — we had penalties, we had bad snaps,” DiBiaso said. “There’s definitely room for improvement.”

Jacob Miller got Everett (3-0) going with an 8-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the first quarter, but it was quarterback Jake Willcox who was the offensive catalyst.

After the Eagles (1-2) answered the opening score with a 17-yard TD pass from Mike Yarin to Aise Pream, Willcox went to work.

Willcox, who completed 20-of-26 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, displayed his precision passing on a 19-yard scoring strike to Mike Saintristil (six catches, 60 yards). Later in the first quarter, Willcox tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Norica (seven catches, 103 yards) to give Everett complete control with a 22-7 lead.

“Our receivers just kept getting open,” Willcox said. “The line gave me all day and everything was flowing. We had good momentum and we looked good.”

Said DiBiaso: “(Willcox) was on and he ran the offense. He’s like a point guard in basketball: Distribute the ball.”

Everett’s high-octane offense never missed a beat in the first half. Jason Maitre added to the lead with a 40-yard touchdown run and Monte Campbell ran one in from a yard out for a 36-7 halftime lead.

The Prep continued to fight in the second half behind Pream (13 carries, 167 yards) and Matthew Crowley, who filled in for Yarin after he left the game at halftime due to an injury. Crowley gave the Everett defense some things to work on after running for two scores and passing for another late in the second half.

Kevin Brown capped off the Crimson Tide’s masterful offensive display in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run.