Everett romps past Xaverian

CHELSEA -- Fifty-eight seconds into the game, Xaverian looked golden.

Thirty-nine minutes later, not so much.

Zack Asack hit Chris Fox with a 53-yard touchdown pass on the third play from scrimmage to give Xaverian a quick lead over Everett in last night's Division 1 playoff game at Chelsea High School, but when the final bell tolled, it was the only bright spot for the Hawks, who were dismantled by Everett, 36-6.

Quarterback Matt Nuzzo was the catalyst for the Everett offense, carrying 21 times for 147 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Crimson Tide to their 35th consecutive win.

Everett had not trailed this season until Fox got behind cornerback Jeff Enayo and hauled in Asack's pass. Xaverian held the lead at the end of the first quarter. Nuzzo restored order with a 7-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, five-minute drive that gave Everett a 7-6 lead.

"They hit us real quick like that," said Everett coach John DiBiaso, "and it was the first time we'd been down all year. But we responded the right way. We came down and got a score."

After forcing a punt on Xaverian's next possession, Everett regained control at its 39 with 2:49 to play in the first half. Sparked by a 26-yard run from fullback George Paone on third and 9, Everett finished the drive on a Nuzzo keeper with 23 seconds left to take a 14-6 lead into halftime.

Despite the initial success, the Xaverian offense failed to make headway for the remainder of the game. Asack (4 for 15, 90 yards) was picked off by Enayo on the Hawks' first possession of the second half, but Enayo's 70-yard touchdown return was called back because of an inadvertent whistle.

Nuzzo took care of that loose end by breaking free for a 50-yard touchdown run on the next play, faking a Xaverian defender to the ground with an open-field spin move at the 30.

Armed with a 22-6 lead (Nuzzo ran in the 2-point conversion), Everett was able to play the pass. The defense sacked Asack three times and came up with two interceptions (Joe Lynch's thievery with five minutes to play sent many of the more than 3,000 spectators heading for the exits).

"The D-backs knew we had to step up," said Enayo. "We sort of blew the coverage on that first pass, but after that, we closed it up and I redeemed myself."

"We knew they were going to come out passing," said Nuzzo, also a safety. "Even when they got out early with the touchdown, we stayed in there and kept the coverage tight."

DiBiaso credited the entire defense with shutting down the Xaverian attack.

"We had a great pass rush," he said. "The coverage was great, we just had people all over the place."

Linebacker George Paone finished with 9 tackles, while Lynch and Enayo each picked up two passes defensed.

Theluxon Pierre and Patrick DeLeon added fourth-quarter touchdowns for Everett, which advanced to the Division 1 Super Bowl against Brockton.