DiBiaso, CM ignite spark

John DiBiaso’s first game as the head coach at Catholic Memorial lasted more than three hours, and the ride back to the school from Worcester was no less tedious.

Imagine how brutal it would have been for him had the Knights lost.

Catholic Memorial made sure DiBiaso’s night ended with a smile as it avenged last year’s 33-3 loss to St. John’s (Shrewsbury) in impressive fashion, rolling to a 49-25 victory at Assumption College. As the players headed to the buses, DiBiaso was already focused on next week’s opponent, Stoughton.

“I told the guys this win means nothing if we lose next week,” DiBiaso said. “We made some mistakes out there, but they did a real good job of bouncing back when that happened. It’s a good start, but we have a long way to go.”

It’s one of the big reasons why DiBiaso decided to leave Everett. Even after submitting his retirement papers last year, he could have stayed at Everett and been a coach for life. But deep down, he was at the stage in his life where he was searching for something: a challenge.

“I feel rejuvenated here, I really think I needed a challenge,” DiBiaso said. “Having (assistant coach and longtime consigliere) Mike Milo here with me is very important.”

DiBiaso inherits a program that is better than some outsiders realize. The Knights were 6-5 last year, but defeated both BC High and Xaverian, and possess some talent across the board. One of the first things he did was identify that talent and put those players in a position where they can do maximum damage, just as he did at Everett.

That was evident Saturday night as he dusted off a pair of trick plays that resulted in touchdowns. He also made sure to get the ball in the hands of players like Khari Johnson (three touchdowns) and the end result was one of the most explosive nights in recent school history.

“We work on two or three trick plays a week,” DiBiaso said. “The first one we ran came in the first half and we needed something because we came up empty a few times. The second time, they cut the lead down to two touchdowns and we needed a spark.”

As usual under DiBiaso’s watch, the spark was ignited.

Around the gridiron: Hard to imagine anyone having a better varsity starting debut than Billerica junior Nolan Houlihan. He completed 25of-30 passes for 320 yards and six touchdowns in a wild 54-49 win over Lowell.

“He could be as good a quarterback as I’ve ever coached,” said Billerica coach Duane Sigsbury. “He can throw the ball and has great poise in the pocket.”

Burlington senior running back Jake Doherty had a night to remember against Bedford. He ran for 425 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a kickoff return for a fifth score in a 43-33 win. The 425 yards is the fourth highest total in state history.

Saugus opened its season at Amesbury without head coach Anthony Nalen, who was placed on administrative leave as the school investigates an issue which occurred during a practice in August. No one is commenting publicly on the nature of the complaint, but a school source told the Herald that they hope to have an answer in the next few days.

If that wasn’t enough, the school is currently operating without an athletic director as James Bunnell left last month to take a similar position at Lunenburg High School.

SWEET 16

1. Everett (1-0): Theluxon Pierre’s first win as head coach was also the 800th for the school’s storied program.

2. Lincoln-Sudbury (1-0): Warriors were very impressive in an opening-night dismantling of Springfield Central.

3. Duxbury (1-0): Dominant second half turned a close game into a rout.

4. Xaverian (0-1): Hawks gave No. 1 Everett all it could handle at the Hawk Bowl.

5. St. John’s Prep (1-0): Eagles had little trouble with Haverhill on opening night.

6. Catholic Memorial (1-0): You have to go back a long way to see the last time the Knights scored 49 points.

7. Mansfield (1-0): Hornets took charge in the fourth quarter to ruin BC High’s home opener.

8. Brockton (1-0): As we said in the preseason, Boxers are well on their way to putting 2017 in the rear view mirror.

9. North Andover (1-0): Impressive opening night performance against a good Woburn team.

10. North Attleboro (1-0): Red Rocketeers relied on the breakaway ability of Brendan McHugh to break King Philip’s 25-game winning streak.

11. Braintree (1-0): Good to see the human Swiss Army Knife, better known in those parts as Billy Silvia, doing a little bit of everything as usual.

12. Central Catholic (1-0): Lots of new blood contributed to the same old successful results for the Raiders.

13. Mashpee (1-0): As good as the offense was against Nantucket, the defense was even better.

14. Needham (1-0): Rockets opened some eyes with an upset win over Natick.

15. King Philip (0-1): For the first time in 26 games, the Warriors have to regroup after a loss.

16. Lynn Classical (1-0): Rams unleashed the lethal Keith Ridley-Nashaun Butler passing attack on Medford.