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St. John's Eagles Football '17

Prep gets its revenge, pounds Andover

DANVERS — A year ago Andover, knocked St. John’s Prep out of the football playoffs in a game that wasn’t decided until the Golden Warriors scored with 1:23 to play. 
The Eagles didn’t forget the Division 1 North semifinal loss, and Friday night at Glatz Field they buried the Golden Warriors, 55-6, behind a four-touchdown performance by Aise Pream, who ran for three and caught a pass from Will Potdevin for the other.
Senior Nick Vecchi added three more scores in the romp in the non-playoff game.
“Last year’s game was mentioned,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre, whose team improved to 5-5. “This has been a season where we’ve had injuries galore, and took our frustrations out on Andover. I’m happy for the kids. Despite the ups and downs they’ve continued to work very hard.”
It was all Eagles from start to finish on a raw, windy night. The offense clicked for seven touchdowns on the first seven possessions. 
It all started with Pream, who broke free for an 8-yard TD run after gaining 22 up the left sideline to put his team on the board with five minutes left in the opening quarter. He hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Potdevin (making his second career start) on the next drive after two circus catches by Max Freedman set it up.
Trent Tully, an Andover resident, did the heavy lifting on the next drive, capped by a touchdown run, and then it was Pream again for romps of 28 and 71-yards for a 34-6 lead at intermission.
Andover’s lone score came in the final minute of the half on a 32-yard pass from Cedric Gillette to Brendan Moody.
Gillette, of course, is usually one of the state’s top receivers with 53 catches for 878 yards and 8 TDs this fall.
“Cedric was our leading receiver, but we lost our starting quarterback (Nick Dellatto to injury) last week,” said Andover coach E.J. Perry. “It’s a tough transition for him to make, especially in four days. He did a good job in the first half, but had trouble in the last two quarters. St. John’s had some good blocking schemes. We have to get more physical on defense.”
It was the Vecchi show in the second half with touchdown runs of 45, 19, and 37 yards. 
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Football, 11/10/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Central Catholic defense overwhelms Prep in convincing victory

LAWRENCE — After all of the hype, the state championship chatter, and an extra day of waiting thanks to a flood, it was time for Central Catholic to prove itself against another Massachusetts football power.

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Football, 09/16/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Prep blanks Hillies in opener

HAVERHILL — Brian St. Pierre wasn’t sure what to expect.
So the St. John’s Prep head coach was pleasantly surprised when his young and inexperienced team opened their season with a solid effort in a 27-0 victory over host Haverhill Saturday afternoon.
“I’m proud of the effort,” said St. Pierre. “Our youth showed on offense, but the defense was very good. We were hard to block, which is always a positive.
“I know we’re going to have growing pains, but I’m proud of our competitiveness,” added St. Pierre. “It’s always good to start the season off with a win.”
The closest the Hillies came to getting on the board was on their opening drive, when they marched to the 2-yard line before quarterback Brady Skafas was sacked by Matt Duchemin on fourth down. Skafas, who carried the ball 20 times, had eight runs for negative yardage because of the pressure from the Eagles’ swarming defense all game.
The Eagles got on the board midway through the second quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mike Yarin to Cole Rinklin, who caught the ball at the 5-yard line and dove into the end zone. Junior tailback Aise Pream rushed for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 Prep lead.
St. John’s fumbled three times and lost two, but each time the defense dug in to stop Haverhill from mounting a drive. 
James Hanley’s QB sack pinned the Hillies back and forced a punt to set up the visitor’s next score. Yarin moved the team 76 yards in seven plays, barreling in on a 1-yard keeper in the final minute of the half.
“Our offensive line is really young and they did a good job,” said St. Pierre. “We didn’t do anything fancy, but tried to execute. It wasn’t always perfect but we got better as the game wore on.”
Tim O’Connor, the Haverhill head coach and St. John’s Prep graduate, felt his team was very much in the game until the Eagles’ third touchdown with four minutes left int eh fourth quarter. That came when Yarin’s fourth down pass was deflected before Michael Slattery came down with it between two Hillie defenders for a 5-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
That was the killer,” said O’Connor. “It was on fourth down and that ball was up for grabs.
“I want to play the Preps of the world. It’s good for our program, but I knew what I call ‘The Prep Lean’ was coming. They had the size and used it, while we had some injuries and had to shift the pieces around.”
St. John’s Prep defenders Alex Lane, Cullen Zampell, Hanley, James Taylor, William Moulton and a host of others disrupted Haverhill’s running game.
Trent Tully broke tackles for a 6-yard run to pay dirt for the final Prep score.
In all, the Eagles had 14 first downs while holding their opponent to six, including only two after intermission.
“Across the board, team defense was the key,” said St. Pierre. “All 11 of our guys, and even the ones we subbed in, played well.”
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Football, 09/09/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars

Prep blanks Hillies in opener

HAVERHILL — Brian St. Pierre wasn’t sure what to expect.
So the St. John’s Prep head coach was pleasantly surprised when his young and inexperienced team opened their season with a solid effort in a 27-0 victory over host Haverhill Saturday afternoon.
“I’m proud of the effort,” said St. Pierre. “Our youth showed on offense, but the defense was very good. We were hard to block, which is always a positive.
“I know we’re going to have growing pains, but I’m proud of our competitiveness,” added St. Pierre. “It’s always good to start the season off with a win.”
The closest the Hillies came to getting on the board was on their opening drive, when they marched to the 2-yard line before quarterback Brady Skafas was sacked by Matt Duchemin on fourth down. Skafas, who carried the ball 20 times, had eight runs for negative yardage because of the pressure from the Eagles’ swarming defense all game.
The Eagles got on the board midway through the second quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mike Yarin to Cole Rinklin, who caught the ball at the 5-yard line and dove into the end zone. Junior tailback Aise Pream rushed for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 Prep lead.
St. John’s fumbled three times and lost two, but each time the defense dug in to stop Haverhill from mounting a drive. 
James Hanley’s QB sack pinned the Hillies back and forced a punt to set up the visitor’s next score. Yarin moved the team 76 yards in seven plays, barreling in on a 1-yard keeper in the final minute of the half.
“Our offensive line is really young and they did a good job,” said St. Pierre. “We didn’t do anything fancy, but tried to execute. It wasn’t always perfect but we got better as the game wore on.”
Tim O’Connor, the Haverhill head coach and St. John’s Prep graduate, felt his team was very much in the game until the Eagles’ third touchdown with four minutes left int eh fourth quarter. That came when Yarin’s fourth down pass was deflected before Michael Slattery came down with it between two Hillie defenders for a 5-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
That was the killer,” said O’Connor. “It was on fourth down and that ball was up for grabs.
“I want to play the Preps of the world. It’s good for our program, but I knew what I call ‘The Prep Lean’ was coming. They had the size and used it, while we had some injuries and had to shift the pieces around.”
St. John’s Prep defenders Alex Lane, Cullen Zampell, Hanley, James Taylor, William Moulton and a host of others disrupted Haverhill’s running game.
Trent Tully broke tackles for a 6-yard run to pay dirt for the final Prep score.
In all, the Eagles had 14 first downs while holding their opponent to six, including only two after intermission.
“Across the board, team defense was the key,” said St. Pierre. “All 11 of our guys, and even the ones we subbed in, played well.”
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Football, 09/09/17 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars