FOXBORO — At one level this season, Dave Chiavegato may solely watch his crew successful video games from the sideline. As he nursed a again damage, his senior 12 months was passing by rapidly.
The UMass commit made his return within the playoffs and saved his finest recreation for final. The senior completed with a recreation to recollect (5 catches, 142 yards receiving), tying a state document for landing receptions (three) in an MIAA Tremendous Bowl.
In the meantime, Will Wooden (345 yards passing) fired 5 touchdowns as No. 3 Xaverian (11-2) gained its third consecutive Div. 1 championship with a memorable 41-35 victory Saturday over top-ranked St. John’s Prep.
“No person’s disrespected us,” Xaverian head coach Al Fornaro mentioned of his crew. “They needed to show that the issues that occurred previously few weeks weren’t flukes. That it was for actual. They practiced onerous, and so they performed onerous.”
It was a rematch of the 2023 Div. 1 title bout, which Xaverian gained in a 31-25 basic. The Catholic Convention rivals had lately met on Thanksgiving, with the Hawks successful a 21-18 nail-biter.
Rumors had been swirling that St. John’s Prep (11-2) star Chris Vargas (leg damage) was returning for the state closing, and so they had been confirmed because the five-star recruit jogged out to the turf in pads. Nevertheless, issues didn’t begin off nicely for the sophomore quarterback, as he was picked off on his first cross try of the sport by Xaverian’s Jonathan Etienne. The Hawks capitalized on the turnover moments later, as Wooden related with Christian McIntyre for a 65-yard landing strike, offering Xaverian a 7-0 lead with 8:20 to play within the first quarter.
St. John’s Prep responded in brief order as Vargas atoned for his miscue. The sophomore fired a dart to Riley Selvais, who scampered unfastened for a 48-yard landing reception to even the rating at 7-7 simply 2:45 later.
The chess match continued within the opening body, as Wooden took one other Hail Mary shot for McIntyre. As he has completed so typically this fall, the senior hauled within the cross for a 62-yard landing reception, as Xaverian snatched the lead proper again at 14-7 with 3:15 left within the first.
Momentum carried into the second quarter for Xaverian, as Wooden fired a bullet over the center. The junior related with Chiavegato for a 14-yard landing cross, because the Hawks prolonged their result in 21-7 with 10:52 remaining within the half.
In a while within the body, the Hawks continued to roll as Rocco Sestito capped a 68-yard drive with a one-yard landing rush. By intermission, Xaverian had constructed a surprising 27-7 benefit.
St. John’s Prep seemed to be gaining some traction within the third, as Selvais took the opening kickoff again to the home for an 80-yard landing return to make it a 27-14 contest. Then Vargas was intercepted shortly thereafter by Xaverian’s Ryan Dickhaut, who returned the decide to the Eagles’ 30. One play later, Wooden related with Chiavegato for a 30-yard landing cross, pushing the lead again to 34-14.
Jordan Toribio closed the quarter with a one-yard landing rush for St. John’s Prep, because the Eagles minimize it to a 34-21 lead coming into the ultimate stanza.
Trying to seal the deal early within the fourth quarter, Wooden related with Chiavegato for a 40-yard landing cross, pushing issues again to a three-score recreation at 41-21.
“There’s actually no phrases for it,” Chiavegato mentioned. “I used to be watching on the sidelines for almost all of the season, simply itching to be on the market. On the large stage, I’m simply completely satisfied that I obtained it completed.”
Whereas St. John’s Prep made a late push, drawing as shut as 41-35 with 4:54 remaining, Xaverian was capable of bleed out the clock with a methodical drive. Dealing with 4th-and-2 with two minutes to play, Wooden scrambled for a primary down, icing the victory.
“At halftime, it was not wanting good,” St. John’s Prep head coach Brian St. Pierre mentioned. “We simply informed the blokes ‘In life you will have selections to make and this can be a alternative it’s a must to make.’ They went and confirmed their character and simply got here a few inches quick. It was too little, too late. You possibly can’t throw away a complete half of soccer. Not within the championship recreation.”
It’s the third time in MIAA historical past {that a} faculty has accomplished a three-peat. Fornaro has led two of them with Xaverian, as soon as between 1994-96, and now 2023-25.
“It means every part,” Wooden mentioned. “I feel lots of it has to do with our tradition coach Fornaro units. He has a motto, and it’s: ‘We’ll play anybody, wherever.’ We’re by no means scared, we hold swinging. It doesn’t matter what the scenario brings, we simply hold going. I feel that’s why we had been capable of pull it out on the finish when it obtained shut.”
