WESTWOOD — With their undefeated season and winning the Catholic Conference title outright on the line, the St. John’s Prep football team fell just five yards short of a victory Thursday morning.
Facing a 15-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback John Budrow nearly guided the Eagles to a dramatic win. But Maxwell Parent’s attempted halfback option pass fell incomplete as time expired as host Xavierian barely held on for a thrilling 21-18 victory at the Hawk Bowl.
The Hawks, who claimed a share of their first Catholic Conference title in seven seasons, improved to 10-2 while the Eagles dropped to 11-1 overall, finishing with the same 3-1 league record as Xaverian.
“It came down to the last play of the game and I’m not surprised,’’ said Eagles’ head coach Brian St. Pierre. “Both teams fought hard, and the guys never gave up being down (15) points in the fourth quarter. We had our chances in the end and we fell just short. Our guys battled hard and it was a great football game.”
St. John’s Prep will aim to atone for their Thanksgiving defeat as the two teams will battle for the Division 1 Super Bowl title in a classic rematch on December 6 at Gillette Stadium (6;15 p.m.).
Parent rushed for 106 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown for St. John’s Prep while fellow junior running back while Jordan Toribio added 78 yards on 12 carries and a score.
With five-star prospect and sophomore quarterback Chris Vargas injured, Budrow overcame a slow start and wound up completing 11-of-28 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.
A short field gave the home team a 20-6 lead early in the fourth quarter as Bryce Todd delivered a 4-yard plunge into the end zone with 10:49 remaining.
The Eagles scored midway through the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 21-12 as Budrow threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Riley Selvais with 4:03 to play. Two plays later, captain Aaron Radke recovered a fumble for St. John’s Prep and Toribio ran it in from six yards out, slicing his team’s deficit to three points with 2:22 to go.
An attempted onside kick was recovered by the Hawks, but the Eagles’ defense forced another turnover, recovering their second fumble with 1:04 to go. On third down, Parent ran for five yards before Budrow scrambled for 19 to the Hawks’ 16-yard line with just :23 remaining. A defensive pass interference penalty advanced the ball to 8, and Budrow’s three-yard gallop handed the Eagles a 1st-and-goal at the 5 with five seconds left. But Parent’s halfback option pass was broken up by Jackson Holmes as time expired.
Will Wood, Xaverian’s sophomore quarterback, capped his team’s nine-play, 61-yard opening drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to classmate Sargent Chaznadia.
St. John’s Prep’s Dayvian Sullivan recovered a fumble at the Hawk 46 on the hosts’ next possession, which drove into the red zone before the Hawks held firm and Liam Cullen’s 34-yard field goal attempt fell short. On the ensuing play the Hawks capitalized as Wood fired an 83-yard touchdown strike to Christian McIntyre for a 14-0 just over a minute into the second quarter.
The Eagles initiated a quick five-play 43-yard scoring drive late in the first half. A pair of completions by Budrow guided the Eagles to the Hawk 11, where Parent barreled through for a 10-yard gain before following through with a 1-yard TD plunge with 1:47 remaining. Parent’s attempted 2-point conversion rush failed as the Eagles ultimately didn’t capitalize on any of their their three conversion attempts.
“We don’t second guess our decisions,’’ St. Pierre said about electing not to kick the extra point. “The wind was tough, and we missed a field goal earlier. We trust our offense to come through for us, but Xaverian made some huge plays with their defensive line.”
Xaverian 21, St. John’s Prep 18
At the Hawk Bowl, Westwood
St. John’s Prep (11-1) 0 6 0 12 18
Xaverian (10-2) 7 7 0 7 21
Scoring summary
X — Sargent Chizmadia 28 pass from Will Wood (Zander Govostes kick)
X — Chrisian McIntyre 83 yard pass from Wood (Govostes kick)
SJP — Maxwell Parent 1 run (rush failed)
X — Bryce Todd four run (Govostes kick)
SJP — Riley Selvais 34 pass from John Budrow (rush failed)
SJP — Jordan Torbio 6 rush (rush failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: St. John’s Prep: Maxwell Parent 17-106; Jordan Toribio 12-78; John Budrow 2-22; Xaverian: Todd 17-24; Rocco Sestito 5-25; Will Wood 2-11; Sargent Chizmadia 1-0.
PASSING: St. John’s Prep: Budrow 11-28-118-1-0, Parent 0-1-0-0-0; Xaverian: Wood 10-17-211-0-2.
RECEIVING: St. John’s Prep: Riley Selvais 4-66, Pierson Scala 2-19; McEnaney 1-17, Jack Shrayer 2-13, Parent 2-3; Xaverian: Christian McIntyre 3-142; Chizmadia 2-56; Comella 1-15; Todd 2(-2).