Semis simply scintillating
You hate to ride the hyberbole highway too many times in this business, but it would hard to find a more exciting football day in state history than last Friday night.
The sectional semifinals provided hardcore football fans with a little bit of everything. There were offensive explosions (St. John’s Prep and Scituate), double overtime thrillers (Wayland and Xaverian) and two finishes for the ages (Central Catholic and Lincoln-Sudbury).
We will attempt to try to do justice to a breathless night of high school football starting at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Top-ranked Everett figured Central Catholic would be another minor obstacle on its way to a third straight Division 1 Super Bowl title. The only problem was someone forgot to read the script to the Raiders.
Much like they did in their epic win over Everett in 2013, the underdogs from Central Catholic hung in there long enough to make a decisive play. This time, the winning score came on a 33yard field goal by Nick Mazzie with 57 seconds left. Making this even more juicy was the fact that Mazzie is the son of Steven Mazzie, the chief of police in where else but Everett.
The win puts the Raiders in the Div. 1 North final against a St. John’s Prep team who is playing as well as anyone. The teams met on September 14 with the Eagles winning, 31-12, but this is a much different Central Catholic team as Everett would attest to.
It looked like Xaverian was going to join Everett among the non-qualifiers. Franklin came into the Hawk Bowl and matched everything Xaverian had to offer and actually had a chance to win a game in regulation, but Lucas Ferraro saved the day by blocking a field goal attempt. Oh, by the way, Ferraro happens to reside in Franklin.
The teams went to a second overtime before Mike Masse’s fourth touchdown of the game gave Xaverian a 37-29 win. Next up for the Hawks is a rematch against Catholic Memorial, which took Xaverian to OT on Sept. 28 before bowing, 25-17.
Tom Lopez has seen an awful lot in his four decades as head coach at Lincoln-Sudbury, but nothing prepared him for Friday night. Reading had just taken a 3028 lead on a 19-yard field goal by Luke Forbes with 23 seconds left and the ensuing kickoff left the Warriors at the 20-yard line.
Braden O’Connell dropped back and found a streaking Cam Anderegg, who proceeded to go 80 yards for the winning score in a 34-30 victory. Next up for the Warriors is undefeated North Andover, a rematch of last year’s Div. 2 North final won by Lincoln-Sudbury, 27-7.
It was a special night for another member of the Dual County League. Wayland scratched and clawed its way to a 34-26 victory over Dracut in double overtime as Wellington Pereira scored the game-winner from the 1.
St. Mary’s returned to the Div. 7 North final, defeating Greater Lawrence, 30-24, in a fantastic contest. The Spartans won the game in the final minute on a touchdown catch by Jalen Echeverria, who compiled 265 yards between rushing and receiving.
Three of the sectional final pit league rivals which played another during the regular season. Div. 2 South finalists Mansfield and King Philip met in the fourth week of the season and it was a classic as the Hornets survived, 28-27, holding off a potential game-winning two-point try in the waning moments.
Sweet 16
1. ST. JOHN’S PREP (8-1): No one is firing on all cylinders more than the Eagles.
2. XAVERIAN (7-1): Hawks survive Franklin in double OT to reach sixth straight Div. 1 South sectional final.
3. DUXBURY (9-0): Dragons made just enough key plays to slay North Attleboro. 4. NORTH ANDOVER (9-0): Scarlet Knights get a second chance at Lincoln-Sudbury in the Div. 2 North final. 5. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (7-2): Epic victory over Everett puts the unsung the Raiders in the Div. 1 North final. 6. EVERETT (8-1): Crimson Tide might not want to face Central Catholic at home any time in the future.
7. MANSFIELD (8-1): Hornets’ defense did a great job in slowing down a good Barnstable offense. 8. CATHOLIC MEMORIAL
(7-2): Knights have another opportunity to take down Xaverian Friday night.
9. KING PHILIP (7-2): Like death and taxes, the Warriors simply know how to win in the postseason. 10. ACTON-BOXBORO (8-1): Colonials were simply run over by an impressive St. John’s Prep offense. 11. LINCOLN-SUDBURY (8-1): Last-second 80-yard touchdown pass lifts the Warriors past Reading.
12. TEWKSBURY (8-1): Redmen hold off fast-charging Beverly to get back to the Div. 3 North final.
13. HINGHAM (7-1): Harbormen are the living embodiment of the next man up theory.
14. STONEHAM (9-0): Spartans running with peak efficiency.
15. SCITUATE (8-1): Sailors might still be scoring.
16. READING (7-2): Crushing last-second loss keeps the Rockets from a trip to the Div. 2 North final.