Berluti delivers for Hawks in OT
One moment Xaverian appeared headed to a heartbreaking loss, the next moment the Hawks were celebrating a win.
Xaverian overcame a 17-point deficit capped off by Michael Berluti’s gamewinning touchdown pass to Cooper DeVeau in overtime as the Hawks defeated Catholic Memorial, 25-17, in a Catholic Conference showdown last night.
“We always say the Catholic Conference and Division 1 South runs through Clapboardtree Street,” said DeVeau about the Hawks home in Westwood. “And we want to keep that going as long as possible because we know we’re the best team and we want to prove it every week.”
Xaverian (3-1, 1-0) trailed 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but a 44yard Berluti completion to DeVeau set up Justin Wenstrom’s 30-yard field goal tying the game at 17-17.
CM quarterback Barrett Pratt connected with Owen McGowan for a 33-yard completion to the Hawks 4-yard line with just one second remaining. The Knights attempted a 21yard field goal as the regulation clock expired, but the snap went awry and the game went into overtime.
On the first play of overtime, Berluti rolled out to his right and hit DeVeau for a 10-yard score, pushing the Hawks in front for the first time. A successful two-point conversion pass put the Hawks up 25-17.
CM had four chances to tie the game, but Xaverian batted down three straight Pratt passes to seal the come-from-behind win.
“We want to play like we play out in the street, and we’re going to play until they turn the street lights off. They never did,” said Xaverian coach Al Fornaro.
The Knights jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. Khari Johnson immediately brought the home crowd to life, running the opening kickoff back 97 yards to give CM a 7-0 lead.
Pratt went 5-of-7 on passes during a 14-play CM drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Darius Leclair and a 14-0 Knights’ lead six minutes into the game. A 37-yard field goal from Matt Sokol extended the advantage to 17-0.
After being shutout for most of the opening half, Xaverian finally got on the board as Berluti connected with Michael Masse on a screen pass for a 48-yard touchdown that pulled the Hawks within 17-7 at intermission.
The Hawks closed the gap following a shanked punt as Berluti threw an 18yard scoring strike to Trevor Carroll.