St. John Paul II staves off Cathedral rally
In a contest that had a playoff atmosphere, St. John Paul II used grit and teamwork to take down a daunting Division 8 rival.
St. John Paul II finished strong and came up with its second victory in nine tries against Cathedral in a 30-18 win over the nonleague foe last night at Roberts Field in Dorchester.
“These guys worked hard and played together,” said SJP coach Matt Marshall after his club moved to 4-0. “I couldn’t be (prouder) of them.”
After the SJP defense held Cathedral (3-1) in check for three quarters, the Panthers pulled closer on Anthony Mejia’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Blair. Blair’s two-point rush cut SJP’s lead to 22-18.
The visitors took over with 5:32 left and milked the clock down to 1:26 as they ran the ball 11 straight times, and iced the game with a 2-yard score by senior captain Richard Mulcahy.
The SJP defense allowed only 156 yards over the first 30 minutes while forcing four turnovers, two of which led to scores.
After Jesse Judd recovered a fumble, the Lions had a seven-play scoring drive capped by a 27-yard catch by Tyler Noe to make it 8-0 in the first quarter.
Noe’s second interception with 3:41 left in the third led to a 12-play march, as senior captain Devan Harrison found Mike Satkevich for his second touchdown catch of the day, this one from 11 yards out. The same pair converted on the two-point try to make it 22-10 at the end of three.
“(Harrison) is the leader of this team,” said Marshall. “The guys rally around him and they believe in him. He’s a gamer and he comes up big in big situations.”
Satkevich’s first score came in the second quarter on a 34-yard bomb from Harrison to make it 14-2 early in the second quarter.
Harrison finished the day 17-of-24 passing for 221 yards and three touchdowns, and also had an interception. He also ran the ball 11 times for 73 yards.
For the Panthers, their other touchdown came late in the second quarter as Mejia found Blair for a 10-yard score to make it a 14-10 Cathedral deficit at the half. In other action last night: Ore Ojo scampered for the game-sealing 13-yard touchdown late as Catholic Memorial (2-2) rallied for a 13-12 victory over Catholic Conference rival Xaverian.
John Roberts threw for 175 yards and five touchdowns as Duxbury (3-1) coasted to a 35-6 victory over Plymouth North in the Patriot Keenan. . . . Jack Johnson threw for three scores and ran for two more as Hingham (3-1) defeated Silver Lake, 39-22.
Keith Ridley threw for 200 yards and compiled three touchdowns to lead Lynn Classical (4-0) past Gloucester, 21-19, in a Northeastern Conference contest.
Gates Kelleher compiled 170 rushing yards and reached the end zone three times, leading Falmouth (31) to a 51-7 win over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Sandwich . . . . Jack McNeil and Brendan Ward combined to rush for 179 yards and three touchdowns as Marshfield’s (3-1) put away Nauset, 35-6.
Aidan Sullivan threw two touchdown passes as Scituate (3-1) beat Plymouth South, 24-14, in the Patriot Fisher.
Pete Kitsakos ran for 136 yards and three TDs on 10 carries, lifting Masconomet (3-1) to a 35-7 victory over Pentucket in the Cape Ann Kinney . ... Ian Coffey rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, leading Hamilton-Wenham (4-0) to a 42-12 victory over Amesbury.
Pat Moran ran for two scores as Ipswich (2-2) did all its scoring in the final quarter to defeat Manchester Essex, 22-13, in the Cape Ann Baker.
Justin Villanueva scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on the final play as Lowell (4-0) defeated Andover, 5148, in the Merrimack Valley Large. The Golden Warriors (1-3) rallied from a 25-point deficit to take a 48-45 lead on a Nick Dellatto TD pass to Cedric Gillette with just over a minute left, before the Red Raiders marched the length of the field.
Darren Watson ran for 91 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while J.D, Allen added 46 rushing yards and a score as North Andover (4-0) defeated Lawrence, 19-0, in the Merrimack Valley Small.
Michael Barrows caught a pair of TD passes as Mashpee (4-0) defeated Cohasset, 3315, in the South Shore Tobin. ... Zach Sharland had three touchdowns as Rockland (31) defeated Carver, 41-14.
Harry Smith ran for two touchdowns as Old Rochester (4-0) handled DightonRehoboth, 30-14, in the South Coast Large.
Jeremy Thiboutot ran for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Case (40) past Fairhaven, 36-14, in a South Coast Small game. . . . Shayne Cooney led the comeback, rushing for two second half touchdowns to rally Apponequet (1-3) to a 21-7 victory over Greater New Bedford in the South Coast Conference.
Brendon Lima carried the ball 31 times for 135 yards and three touchdowns as Blue Hills (1-3) defeated Cape Cod Tech, 20-6, in the Mayflower League Small.
Erven Exilhomme’s 57yard touchdown run in the first quarter was all West Roxbury (3-1) needed to defeat Latin Academy, 6-4, in Boston North . . . . Anthony Francis had four touchdowns, including a gamewinning 70-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter to give O’Bryant (2-2) the 24-22 victory over East Boston.
Patrick Culbreath ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing for a third as Burke (2-1) handled Madison Park, 30-14 . ... Jerrod Clark recorded 18 tackles and also caught a 40-yard TD pass as Brighton (2-2) defeated TechBoston, 20-6 . . . . Sam Denton broke off an 80yard touchdown run to give Boston English (1-3) a 22-14 win over South Boston. Denton and teammate Herby Exilhomme combined for 238 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.
Senior captain Nick Kinnon hauled in a 59-yard TD reception from Matt Mortellite, and also broke off a 31yard run for a score to lead Lynnfield (4-0) to a 47-6 rout of Winthrop in a nonleague game.
Nygel Palmer caught two touchdown passes from Tru Williams and ran for two more scores, leading New Bedford (2-2) to a 38-8 win over Barnstable.
Nate Ellis was the difference, rushing for 128 yards and three scores while connecting with Dane Ashton through the air for a touchdown, as Dartmouth (2-2) coasted by Durfee, 27-7.
The Dennis-Yarmouth (40) pass attack was in full swing, as Geoffery Jamiel hauled in 10 receptions for 214 yards and three touchdowns, in a 34-6 win over Pembroke.
Jaylen Cromwell ran for a pair of scores as Brooks (1-1) defeated Groton, 28-3, in the Independent School League. ... Laquan McKever ran for 235 yards and four first-half touchdowns on 42 carries as St. Mark’s (1-1) defeated Roxbury Latin, 31-16 . . . . Freshman Michael Phelps made the most of his first varsity appearance, completing 11of-14 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns as St. Sebastian’s (1-1) coasted to a 48-18 victory over Tabor, handing longtime coach Bob Souza his 175th career win.
Max Storch finished with 144 rushing yards and a touchdown to pace Thayer (2-0) to a 26-0 win over St. George’s . ... Tony Muse and Josh Arruda combined for 192 yards and three touchdowns, while Brady Martin threw for 195 yards and two scores as Lawrence Academy (2-0) blanked Nobles, 35-0. . . . Kabelo Tsotetsi rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns as Middlesex (1-1) snapped a 17-game losing streak with a 21-0 win over Rivers, 21-0. The long-awaited victory was the 175th for coach Joe Lang.