St. John’s Prep makes it 1
Eagles move on to Super Bowl against CM
DANVERS — As Matt Crowley took the final knee, Brian St. Pierre raised his fist in the air. At last, the coach of St. John’s Prep had guided his alma mater to the Super Bowl. Crowley went 10-of-13 for 173 yards and a touchdown while the Eagles defense totaled six sacks as No. 1 St. John’s Prep defeated Central Catholic, 21-0, to win the Div. 1 North title yesterday at Cronin Stadium. The win gives St. John’s Prep (9-1) its first sectional crown and advances the Eagles to the Div. 1 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium where they will take on Catholic Memorial. “I take a lot of pride on the school and especially this football program,” St. Pierre, a 1998 graduate, said. “I am really happy for these kids and I love coaching them.” Led by Collin Taylor’s two sacks, the Eagles defense was relentless all afternoon. They finished with six sacks, two TFLs, and limited Central Catholic (7-3) to just 97 yards of offense. Crowley came out on fire in the opening half, going 5-of-5 for 96 yards on third down to begin the game. St. John’s Prep struck first on its opening drive. Crowley completed his first three passes for 31 yards before Trent Tully plowed into the end zone from three yards out to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. The Eagles extended their lead on their first drive of the second quarter as Crowley set the school record for passing yards with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Luke Brennan that put St. John’s on top, 14-0. For the first three quarters of play, the Eagles defense did not allow Central Catholic to advance past the Prep’s 41-yard line, allowing the Prep to control time of possession. Tully put the game firmly out of reach midway through the fourth quarter, when he ran in his second touchdown of the game to give the Eagles a commanding 21-0 lead. “We always knew we had it in us,” said Eagles captain Wes Rockett. “We truly are one unit.”