Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Everett | 21 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 37 |
Central Catholic | 0 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 29 |
LAWRENCE - For a majority of last night's Division 1 North final, it was men against boys at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Despite the plaudits, all rightly earned, top-seeded and undefeated Central Catholic was helpless against the size, speed and physicality of defending state champion and perennial powerhouse Everett.
But, even though Central would eventually lose the game and the Division 1 North title, 37-29, the Raiders taught Everett a valuable lesson on their way out.
Leading quite comfortably early in the fourth quarter, Everett started to take its foot off the gas and quickly learned it can't do that against a team with Central's talents. Ty Donatio and Joe Howshan fueled a 23-point, fourth quarter run to make it a one-score game, 37-29, with 59 seconds left. But the Raiders couldn't recover an onside kick (they had recovered one earlier in the quarter), and Everett knelt out the rest of the clock.
"That's the way our guys are. That's the way they compete and I'm proud of them," said Central coach Chuck Adamopoulos, whose team dropped to 9-1. "But, you know, we wanted to win this game so it's tough. But we played right to the end, we took a shot with that onside kick and didn't come up with it. But big hats off to Everett."
It was clear from the start that Everett (9-0) can take it to a level that probably no one in the state can match.
In his first year as the starting quarterback, junior Jake Willcox had thrown for 1,650 yards and 21 touchdowns to just two interceptions heading into yesterday's game - and he certainly looked the part. Last night, he was 18 of 28 passing for 304 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half.
Willcox started his night by hitting 6-foot-5 Pogo-stick Isaiah Likely on a 2-yard out on Everett's first possession. He connected with speedster Mike Sainristil on a 65-yard bomb on the Crimson Tide's next possession, and then after an interception found Anthony Norcia on a 22-yard TD to make it a 21-0 game just midway through the first quarter.
Central eventually responded in the second when Donatio found the end zone from 3-yards out. But Willcox hit Likely again on an 11-yard TD on the ensuing possession, and a 39-yard Caio Costa field goal made it a 34-6 game at the half.
"They made plays and we kind of self-destructed in the first half," said Adamopoulos. "We did things we don't normally do, but obviously I got to give credit to the team we just played. We knew we were going to have to play close to perfect if we were going to beat them, and we didn't do that for four quarters."
As with every team to play Everett this year, Central struggled with containing the wide receivers. Incredibly enough, perhaps Everett's best wideout, Boston College-bound Jason Maitre, was held without a catch.
But all one needed to see yesterday was the 6-foot-5 Likely going up to snag a pass at its apex over two Central corners who had the pass defended perfectly. Against that size, speed and athleticism, there's not much to do.
"Their receivers are phenomenal," said Adamopoulos. "Some of those plays they made we had guys right there and they went up and just got the ball."
Still, Howshan (6 carries, 90 yards, TD) and Donatio (11 carries, 60 yards, 3 TD's) weren't going out quietly. Mathias Villafane was a sparkplug, gaining 97 total yards of offense, and Kalvin Guillermo led a defensive front that held Everett to 80 yards on 19 carries.
Everett will look to repeat as D1 state champions at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 2 against South champion Xaverian. It will be a rematch of last year's final.
Central will play Lawrence on Thanksgiving morning.
Talent to burn
Everett is loaded. Take a look at where some of their top prospects are looking/already committed to college.
Player Year Position Height/Weight Offers
Mike Sainristil Sr. WR/CB 5-10, 170 Boston College, Rutgers, Indiana
*Jason Maitre Sr. WR/CB 6-0, 175 Boston College
Isaiah Likely Sr. WR 6-5, 220 UMass, Southern Miss., Coastal Carolina
Lewis Cine Jr. CB 6-3, 180 Ohio St., Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn St.
*Duane Bennitt Binns Sr. OLB 6-0, 200 Rhode Island
*Already committed
Everett 37, Central Catholic 29
Division 1 North Final
Everett (9-0): 21 13 3 0 - 37
Central Catholic (9-1): 0 6 0 23 - 29
First Quarter
E - Isaiah Likely 2 pass from Jake Willcox (Caio Costa kick), 8:03
E - Mike Sainristil 65 pass from Willcox (Costa kick), 5:35
E - Anthony Norcia 22 pass from Willcox (Costa kick), 4:01
Second Quarter
CC - Ty Donatio 3 run (kick blocked), 9:59
E - Likely 11 pass from Willcox (kick blocked), 5:44
E - Kevin Brown 6 run, (Costa kick), :19
Third Quarter
E - Costa 39 field goal, 6:13
Fourth Quarter
CC - Joe Howshan 64 run (Jake Delaney pass from Bret Edwards), 7:09
CC - Donatio 8 run (Zach DeBay kick), 6:26
CC - Donatio 8 run (Howshan run), :58
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Central (26-176): Joe Howshan 6-90, Ty Donatio 11-60, Mathias Villafane 2-31, Max Faro 3-15, Bret Edwards 4-(-20); Everett (19-80): Kevin Brown 11-31, Jacob Miller 5-27, Mike Sainristil 2-27, Jason Maitre 1-(-5)
PASSING: CC - Edwards 10-27-2, 118; E - Jake Willcox 18-28-0, 304, Isaiah Likely 1-1-0, 36
RECEIVING: CC - Villafane 4-66, Howshan 2-38, Jake Delaney 1-9, Greg Desrosiers 1-6, Donatio 1-0, Anthony Farelli 1-(-1); E - Anthony Norcia 7-126, Sainristil 4-85, Likely 6-75, Jalen Iles-Smith 1-54, Miller 1-0
Division 1 North Final
First Quarter
E — Isaiah Likely 2 pass from Jake Willcox (Caio Costa kick), 8:03
E — Mike Sainristil 65 pass from Willcox (Costa kick), 5:35
E — Anthony Norcia 22 pass from Willcox (Costa kick), 4:01
Second Quarter
CC — Ty Donatio 3 run (kick blocked), 9:59
E — Likely 11 pass from Willcox (kick blocked), 5:44
E — Kevin Brown 6 run, (Costa kick), :19
Third Quarter
E — Costa 39 field goal, 6:13
Fourth Quarter
CC — Joe Howshan 64 run (Jake Delaney pass from Bret Edwards), 7:09
CC — Donatio 8 run (Zach DeBay kick), 6:26
CC — Donatio 8 run (Howshan run), :58
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Central (26-176): Joe Howshan 6-90, Ty Donatio 11-60, Mathias Villafane 2-31, Max Faro 3-15, Bret Edwards 4-(-20); Everett (19-80): Kevin Brown 11-31, Jacob Miller 5-27, Mike Sainristil 2-27, Jason Maitre 1-(-5)
PASSING: CC — Edwards 10-27-2, 118; E — Jake Willcox 18-28-0, 304, Isaiah Likely 1-1-0, 36
RECEIVING: CC — Villafane 4-66, Howshan 2-38, Jake Delaney 1-9, Greg Desrosiers 1-6, Donatio 1-0, Anthony Farelli 1-(-1); E — Anthony Norcia 7-126, Sainristil 4-85, Likely 6-75, Jalen Iles-Smith 1-54, Miller 1-0
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Team | League | Overall | PF-PA |
---|---|---|---|
Central Catholic | 6-0-0 | 10-1-0 | 468-156 |
Tewksbury | 1-0-0 | 2-1-0 | 59-54 |
Dracut | 1-0-0 | 2-1-0 | 73-80 |
Methuen | 4-4-0 | 7-4-0 | 389-321 |
Lowell | 2-3-0 | 3-3-0 | 155-187 |
Andover | 2-3-0 | 4-7-0 | 283-421 |
Billerica | 0-2-0 | 1-2-0 | 56-87 |
Haverhill | 0-4-0 | 3-8-0 | 163-263 |
Chelmsford | 0-0-0 | 0-2-0 | 53-70 |
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