DANVERS — What others may secretly feel, Connor Quigley is not afraid to say.
“I go into the game and I want to dish out pain,” Quigley, a senior middle linebacker at St. John’s Prep, said. “You have to have that mindset of wanting to be out there, making plays and bringing guys down.”
Bo Minogue, another senior who lines up next to him, doesn’t hesitate to lay a hit on an opponent, a mandatory part of the position he plays.
“When you go out there on the field, you flip a switch and you’re ready to hit,” said Minogue. “You have to be ready to fill those holes and not think twice about making a play.”
In St. John’s Prep’s 3-4 defensive scheme the two middle linebackers are responsible for a myriad of tasks, a lengthy list that rivals the number of children on Santa’s ‘nice’ list. That includes needing to make the majority of tackles, having their heads on a swivel, coming up to meet the run or drop back into pass coverage, working with the edge guys to funnel enemy ballcarriers inside and not allowing them break it to the outside, running stunts and blitzes to confuse their opponents … all while serving as leaders of the defensive unit as a whole.
Quigley, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound wrecking ball from Peabody, and Minogue, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound heat seeking missile from Hamilton, fit that job description perfectly. They’re geared up to do their thing Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (6:15 p.m.) when their top ranked Eagles (11-1) meet rival Xaverian (10-2) for the Division 1 Super Bowl.
“Our defense is designed for the defensive linemen to take out blockers and let our linebackers clean up,” said head coach Brian St. Pierre, who is taking the Eagles to their fifth Super Bowl in eight playoff seasons, having won three of those (2018, 2019, 2022). “You have to be a really good tackler, which takes toughness. Connor and Bo, they’re dudes for us back there.
“Connor is like a golden retriever with an attitude problem. He’d go to the end of the earth for his team,” St. Pierre continued. “He’s a real plug-and-play guy and he’s as tough a kid as you’ll never find. He practices like it’s a game. Bo is a faster, leaner, more athletic version, a sideline-to-sideline guy. He’s a hair-on-fire, 100-miles-an-hour player with no fear. He’s dynamic.
“They have different styles while still having the requisite toughness and physical makeup to do what needs to be done. They want to tackle, they want to mix it up and shy away from nothing.”
Brains and brawn
Minogue has forced four fumbles this season, including one in the second half of his team’s quarterfinal playoff victory over Leominster that allowed the Eagles to score again and pull away in what had been a back-and-forth affair. He’s also picked off a pair of passes. Quigley has caused a pair of fumbles of his own.
Intelligence certainly plays a role in the success for both players on and off the gridiron. Minogue describes himself as a “very dedicated student” and his 4.5 grade point average backs that up; he’s a member of both his school’s National Honor Society and German NHS. Quigley, owner of a 3.9 GPA who is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society and is enjoying taking economics right now, also mixes plenty of brains with his on-field brawn.
The fact that they “unquestionably lead us in tackles every week”, according to their head coach, while relishing the violent nature of both the sport and position that they play, sets them apart.
“A big part of it is the preparation,” said Quigley, who played with his older brother Jeff on the Eagles for one season. “Like going heavy in the weight room during the week. If you’re not trying in the weight room, that means you’re not trying on the field. It’s all about being locked in.”
“Watching film and trying to identify plays before they even happen, I love that,” added Minogue, a state champion defensive middie for the Prep lacrosse team who’ll play that sport at Division 1 Lafayette (Penn.) College. “Being ahead of everyone else means knowing what’s coming before it actually happens.”
No conflicts for these two
Modern day offenses aim to put opposing linebackers ‘in conflict’: in other words, show them a perceived look, only to cross them up and run something else entirely. St. John’s Prep does this as well as anyone, and St. Pierre knows his defense will see this same thing Saturday against Xaverian.
“It’s like, ‘We know you have A gap run, and we’re a good running team. So here’s the ball, see the ball, here it comes … and oh no, now we’re throwing a slant behind you. Then the next play could be a fullback right up the middle — smack!,” St. Pierre, pounding his fist for emphasis, said. “So let’s see how tough you are, bloody your nose and find out.
“So by its nature, it’s a violent position that demands toughness. That’s intrinsic; a kid either likes to tackle and wants to get there, or he doesn’t. Bo and Connor both love to get there. So when Xaverian blocks down and pulls a guard around for Connor, he knows what his job is: put his helmet right under his chin into his man’s breastplate and blow it up. And they both do that, winning way more of those battles than they lose.”
Neither player likes taking a play off defensively, either. On an 85-man squad with plenty of teammates who could fill this role, both Minogue and Quigley are on the Prep’s kickoff team because they love it.
“I honestly think it helps me get ready for what’s coming,” said Minogue. “I run downfield, it’s a great warmup, my legs are ready to go, and if I make the tackle … I’m totally locked in. It preemptively prepares me for the next drive ahead.”
Quigley was, unsurprisingly, more to the point.
“I just love to hit,” he said with a chuckle.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN