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Catholic Conference champs

Print | Comments () Posted by Rob Greenfield, Globe Correspondent November 11, 2007 11:02 PM

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BC High clinched the Catholic Conference championship on Saturday in Danvers with a rather yawn-worthy 24-0 shutout of rival St. John's Prep.

It was quite an anticlimactic finish for the best conference in Eastern Mass. Division 1 football. It’s been a rough year in Danvers, as the Prep has just one win at home in the 100th anniversary of the football program, and the first year playing on the new grass at Cronin Memorial Stadium.

BC High coach Ron St. George, who puts a punishing defense and hard-nose running game on the field every weekend, got doused with a bucket-full of water while he spoke to reporters after the game Saturday. The Eagles came together after St. George delivered the postgame speech with a, “1-2-3 Champs” chant at the end.

BC High plays Catholic Memorial on Thanksgiving (should be the equivalent of a Patriots preseason game because it holds zero meaning for BC High) before facing the winner of the Greater Boston League – probably Everett, barring any stunning developments – in the first round of the playoffs. BC High and Everett are the only undefeated teams in Division 1.

Here are the final stats from Saturday’s game:
BC High:
Kyle Ewanouski – 11 carries, 67 yards, TD
Brian Sullivan – 12 carries, 45 yards
Mitch McClune – 3 carries, 14 yards, TD
Billy Kiley – 2 of 3, 19 yards passing; 1 carry, 20 yards rushing
Tom Duffy – 1 carry, 62 yards, TD

St. John’s Prep:
Derek Coppola – 8 carries, -4 yards
Scott Darby – 6/15, 43 yards passing
Andrew McHugh – 5 carries, 15 yards; 1 reception, 10 yards

Some observations from the game:

St. George knew that the Prep wanted to stop BC High’s running game between the tackles, and it’s no secret that BC High’s offensive power comes almost entirely from its ability to run the ball. The Eagles have several backs that they use in different capacities (Ewanouski, McClune, and Sullivan get most of the carries, although Duffy and Kiley will get a few as well), and defenses can judge where the Eagles will run the ball based on who is in the backfield. If it’s Ewanouski, most likely the carry will be in between the tackles because of Ewanouski’s powerful, north-south running ability. Sullivan is a speedier back and can be put in motion on sweeps and pitches to the outside, or used as a decoy when St. George wants to get a few yards up the middle with the fullback. Ewanouski tends to get his carries in droves, and didn’t get the first one on Saturday until the 10:00 mark of the second quarter, which went for 6 yards.

Ewanouski got four more carries on that drive, including the scoring run that made it 14-0 BC High. Ewanouski was actually stopped behind the line of scrimmage on a third and 1 from the Prep 31, but BC High went for it on fourth and 2 and Ewanouski plowed straight ahead for 6 more yards, demonstrating how difficult it is to hold him to short yardage on a consistent basis.

The Prep looked really good offensively to start the game. Maybe Prep coach Jim O’Leary had something up his sleeve, but the Prep did some things out of the ordinary and got chunks of yardage because of it. Coppola took the opening kickoff 17 yards to the 28 and the Prep began its first drive with two straight option plays. Darby is athletic and can get up field quickly, but the Prep usually uses him on counters in between the tackles, bouncing Coppola to the outside to draw some linebackers and defensive backs away from Darby. Another unusual sight was the Prep’s early passing game. The Prep usually sticks with Coppola, who has the speed to run outside the tackles and the strength to get the tough yards up the middle, and McHugh, a strong back who gets at least 3 or 4 yards up the middle with every carry. But BC High’s powerful and fast defensive line steered the Prep’s play-calling away from the middle of the defense, and the early passing game was a result of that. Darby had a spectacular first drive, hitting McHugh on a play-action rollout near the right sideline for an 8-yard gain on third and 6.

On the next play, first and 10 from the Prep 40, Darby executed a straight drop and found sophomore Brendon Felder in the secondary for an 11-yard gain. After McHugh rumbled forward for 4 yards on the next play, Darby fired a seed to Pat Dempsey on a slant over the middle for 13 yards and the third first down of the drive. Darby completed his first six passes, the last a 25-yard strike to Coppola on a fade toward the right sideline after being in motion before the play. However, St. George and his Eagles made the adjustment to Darby’s early aerial assault and didn’t allow a completion for the rest of the game. Darby had nine straight misses after the fast start.

BC High’s defensive line is extremely effective and gets into the backfield quickly to stop premier running backs from gaining big yardage, but they do miss tackles sometimes, and that’s why the Eagles have guys like Jabreel Wingard, who plugs running holes and smothers wide receivers with equal ferocity. Wingard laid several vicious hits on Darby yesterday, and is a defensive playmaker that will surely come in handy against whoever the Eagles play in the first round of the playoffs – a.k.a. Everett, with the athletic Jesus Crawford at wide out and the future ACC tailback Isaac Johnson breaking tackles, BC High will need Wingard and the rest of the Eagles to make some open-field tackles.

BC High only threw the ball three times on Saturday, and quarterback Billy Kiley’s first pass came with 1:10 in the third quarter, a 6-yard completion to Tim Murray. Kiley threw it again on the next play, an incompletion, and finished his passing for the day with a 13-yard strike for a first down on the first play of the fourth quarter. Kiley has to be a selfless teammate to quarterback the BC High offense, which is based entirely on the running game and rarely goes to the air. Kiley puts himself to use with an elaborate repertoire of fakes, and said earlier in the season that he takes pride in selling different plays to linebackers and defensive backs. For example, when the Eagles run a simple handoff up the middle, they will send a running back in motion (who typically starts from the slot on either side) behind the quarterback. Kiley, after he hands the ball off, will make a dramatic fake to the back in motion, trying to sell the sweep to the defense and buy the ball-carrier more room by getting a few defenders to bite.

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Several reporters and editors contribute updates, news and analysis to the High School Sports Blog.

Bob Holmes: A Reading resident (Go Rockets!) and Boston College graduate, Holmes is the Boston Globe High School Sports Editor. We remind you now that his weekly picks are often made in jest so everyone just calm down when he picks against Everett for 11 straight weeks. Contact him at rholmes@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeHolmes.
Craig Larson: A native of West Springfield (Leo Durocher anyone? Tim Daggett?) and Curry College graduate (a proud Colonel!), Larson is the sports editor for the Globe's regional sections: South, West and North, as well as a frequent contributor on the college beat. Abington to Xaverian: it all starts with the schools. Have a compelling story idea? Contact him at clarson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeLars.
Zuri Berry: Berry attended the same high school as sports legends O.J. Simpson and Joe DiMaggio. (Guess which one is his hero.) He's a South Boston resident (formerly of Eastie) and the editor of the High School Sports blog as well as the go-to-guy for everything high school sports on Boston.com. Contact him at zberry@boston.com and follow him on Twitter @ZuriBerry for all of the latest updates.

Also expect updates from correspondents Seth Lakso (boys basketball), Hannah Becker (girls basketball), Craig Forde (boys hockey), Liz Torres (girls hockey), Ryan Mooney and a host of others. To reach the high school sports correspondents and Globe editors, e-mail hssports@globe.com.