Final Sweet 16: Catholic Memorial a juggernaut

Catholic Memorial started the season as the No. 1 team in Eastern Massachusetts.

For the third straight year, the Knights landed in that very spot.

The star-studded cast from Baker Street handled all 12 opponents to extend their winning streak to 29. Led by co-Catholic Conference MVP running backs Datrell Jones and Carson Harwood, Catholic Memorial scored at least 27 points in every game and Xaverian was the only team to stay within single digits, losing a dramatic 41-34 encounter on a Saturday afternoon in West Roxbury.

The depth was put to the test when Notre Dame-bound lineman Boubacar Traore and Rhode-Island bound wide receiver Mervens Amazan were lost early on with season-ending injuries. But when you have players like BC-bound wide receiver Jaedn Skeete, Akron-bound defensive back Maxwell Tucker, linebackers Brady McGowan and Will Claude along with linemen Tim Bruen, Brandon Sullivan and Guerby Lambert (who recently was offered by Alabama), you can overcome these huge losses.

One of Catholic Memorial’s chief rivals was St. John’s Prep. The Knights defeated the Eagles 28-17 on Oct. 15 and that was the last loss suffered by St. John’s Prep, who ended the season ranked second in the Sweet 16. Brian St. Pierre’s squad rebounded from that hard-fought setback to run the table, winning seven straight games by double figures, including an epic 13-0 victory over defending champion Springfield Central in the Div. 1 title game.

Colleague Adam Kurkjian and I debated where this win would land in St. John’s Prep’s illustrious football history. The belief here is that it is clearly the best of their six championships (in my opinion, the best win since the epic Game of the Decade 15-14 win over Xaverian on Thanksgiving in 1997), given few expected St. John’s Prep to knock off the highly-flying Golden Eagles from Western Mass. Winning the game was one thing, but shutting out a team averaging well over 40 points a contest coming into the final was the most shocking development of the week.

Duxbury made no bones about the fact it was on a mission after losing a heartbreaker to Patriot League rival Scituate in the Div. 4 state championship game a year ago. The redemption tour started with a 21-7 win over Hanover (no small feat given the Indians’ ability to score points), then doubled up on Scituate a week later, 44-22.

They followed that up with an impressive 34-21 win over an excellent Franklin squad and the good ship Dragon never stopped until they arrived at Gillette. Grafton was game but overmatched as Duxbury capped off an undefeated season with a 42-7 win in the Div. 4 final and a No. 3 ranking in the final Sweet 16.

While Duxbury’s run wasn’t completely surprising, the same could not be said for Wakefield.

Unless you resided in the 01880 zip code, the Warriors were a completely unknown entity entering the season. Even within the Middlesex League Liberty, the preseason favorites appeared to be Stoneham and Melrose with Watertown looming as a potential sleeper.

That didn’t faze John Rafferty’s squad as they opened some eyes in the fourth week of the season when they knocked off Div. 6 state finalist Stoneham, 28-6. Even though they ended the regular season undefeated, Wakefield entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed.

You have to say this about the Warriors, they didn’t get a cupcake ride to the Div. 3 championship. They had to get past a dangerous Masconomet team in the first round, a road win at Plymouth South and its terrific running back Casious Johnson, and a semifinal win over North Attleboro.

After an epic comeback win over Melrose on Thanksgiving, Wakefield faced an undefeated Milton team for all the marbles. The top-seeded Wildcats gave the Warriors all it could handle, but the Middlesex League Liberty champions got it done 34-28 to win the title and lay claim to the No. 4 spot in the final Sweet 16 rankings.

Be sure to pick up the Boston Herald on Sunday as we wrap up the 2022 football season.

Sweet 16

1. Catholic Memorial (12-0): Even with injuries taking away several starters over the course of the season, the Knights were clearly the best team.

2. St. John’s Prep (11-2): This may very well have been the sweetest of the six championships in Eagles’ history.

3. Duxbury (12-0): Dragons talked about being on a mission and they backed up the talk.

4. Wakefield (13-0): Shame on everyone, present company included, for underestimating John Rafferty’s club from the start of the season.

5. Andover (10-1): To say it will be a new look Andover team in 2023 would be a major understatement.

6. Central Catholic (9-3): Hard to imagine bigger shoes to fill than head coach Chuck Adamopoulos’.

7. Milton (11-1): Wildcats certainly gave Wakefield all it could handle in what proved to be the best of the eight state championship tilts.

8. King Philip (9-3): Once again, the Warriors did themselves proud in battling favored Catholic Memorial in the Div. 2 state championship contest.

9. Xaverian (7-4): Hawks do have some talented players returning to the fold in 2023.

10. Milford (10-2): Only losses of the season came to the Div. 2 state finalists, Catholic Memorial and King Philip.

11. Mansfield (9-2): Mike Redding will begin the 2023 season a mere 15 wins away from the coveted 300-win plateau.

12. Methuen (9-3): Having the Easons back for another run is certainly a good way to start.

13. Franklin (7-3): Eain Bain has certainly laid a nice foundation here in Franklin.

14. North Attleboro (8-3): A solid first season at the helm for Mike Strachan.

15. Brockton (9-2): The next order of business is finding a successor to head coach Peter Colombo.

16. Everett (8-2): It will be interesting to see who lands on Everett’s schedule next year as it really needs an upgrade to have any shot at getting a postseason home game.

ON THE BENCH: Billerica (10-1), Bishop Feehan (7-4), Peabody (10-1), Plymouth South (10-1), Stoneham (11-2), Reading (9-2), St. Mary’s (12-1), Hanover (9-3), Chelmsford (8-3), Walpole (9-2), Marblehead (8-2), Holliston (10-2), Shawsheen (12-1), North Reading (11-2), Dover-Sherborn (11-1), Hull (13-0)

 

FINAL SWEET 16 HISTORY

1993 – Wellesley (11-0)

1994 – New Bedford (11-0)

1995 – Barnstable (11-0)

1996 – Mansfield (12-0)

1997 – St. John’s Prep (11-0)

1998 – Xaverian (10-0)

1999 – North Attleboro (11-0)

2000 – Norwood (12-0)

2001 – Everett (11-1)

2002 – Everett (12-0)

2003 – Everett (11-0)

2004 – Brockton (11-2)

2005 – Brockton (13-0)

2006 – Everett (12-0)

2007 – Everett (13-0)

2008 – BC High (11-1)

2009 – Xaverian (13-0)

2010 – Everett (12-0)

2011 – Everett (13-0)

2012 – Everett (11-1)

2013 – Mansfield (13-0)

2014 – Xaverian (12-0)

2015 – Xaverian (12-0)

2016 – Everett (10-2)

2017 – Everett (11-0)

2018 – North Andover (12-0)

2019 – St. John’s Prep (11-1)

2020 – Catholic Memorial (4-0)

2021 – Catholic Memorial (13-0)

2022 – Catholic Memorial (12-0)

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/QTjAyhm