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Central Catholic’s hopes of title repeat ended in crushing loss to St. John’s Prep

Saturday, November, 08 By David Willis
Staff writer

DANVERS — It wasn’t supposed to end like this, not for defending Division 1 Super Bowl champion Central Catholic and the All-Scholastics and All-Stars that returned this fall.

But once again, St. John’s Prep proved to be the Achilles’ heel for the Raiders.

Central Catholic’s dreams of a return trip to Gillette Stadium and a chance at back-to-back state titles ended yesterday afternoon, as the Raiders struggled with turnovers and could do little to slow a stout Eagles rushing attack as the Prep earned a convincing 42-7 victory in the Division 1 North semifinals.

“They just outplayed us,” said Raiders coach Chuck Adamopoulos. “We made too many mistakes and they just played better. This was not a good game for us. It is a very sad way for the playoff season to end. I definitely did not expect to lose like this.”

The victory was the third for St. John’s over Central Catholic in two seasons — the only team to beat the Raiders in that stretch — and earns the Eagles a trip to the Division 1 North final against top-seeded Everett for the chance to play in the Division 1 Super Bowl.

“Central Catholic a terrific program that obviously has accomplished a lot,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre of Georgetown. “But we felt like we match up with them well. This team played with an edge, our offensive line really controlled the day and when we are pounding with the running game it is hard to stop us.”

It was the rushing game that gave the Prep the edge, as the Eagles rushed for 316 yards on 34 carries, led by 196 yards for halfback Cody Harwood.

“We just didn’t do enough to win this game,” said Adamopoulos. “We didn’t play well or coach well. We didn’t defend well enough. I don’t remember the last time we have up 40 points in a game (Prep in 2013). We did what we said we couldn’t do, we turned the ball over and it cost us.”

Like in their regular season meeting, the Raiders turned the ball over five times to the Eagles, who were able to turn three of them into touchdowns, two in the first half in which they took a 21-0 lead.

Central Catholic started the second half with a spark, as reigning Eagle-Tribune defensive Player of the Year Markus Edmunds returned the opening kickoff of the third 48 yards. A play later, receiver Steven Jackson took a handoff and ran it in for a 23-yard touchdown to make the score 21-7.

The Raiders then forced a three-and-out and drove to the Prep 45 yard-line before the drive stalled. The Eagles responded by scoring on their next three possessions to close out the win.

“We showed some spunk coming out and getting that quick score,” said Adamopoulos. “But then we get the ball back and commit two consecutive penalties that, boom, killed the drive and we lost momentum.”

Central was dealt a tough blow when All-Scholastic quarterback Mike Milano left the game late in the first half with an ankle injury after being hit along the sideline on a keeper. He returned for the second half, but lacked his signature explosiveness.

On the other side, former Andover High QB Oliver Eberth rushed for two touchdowns for the Prep.

“I couldn’t be happier about the win,” said Eberth. “The defense was just phenomenal. They kept making plays and giving us the ball in great field position. Then I really just had to hand the ball to Cody and he did the rest.”

While the loss eliminated the Raiders from playoff contention, they next face Peabody in the consolation bracket before closing out the season with their third meeting of the year with Andover on Thanksgiving.

“We still have two games left and we are going to have to turn it around and make the best of it,” said Adamopoulos. “I always tell the kid that when things are good anyone can keep going. When you are in situation like this you see who can really rise to the occasion.”