Everett is too tough a task for Xaverian

QUINCY -- Crowds packed Veterans Memorial Stadium last night to see Isaac Johnson have an Isaac Johnson night.

The junior carried 10 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns at running back, made two interceptions at cornerback, and watched a potential third one bounce off his chest, as the Greater Boston League champ Everett cruised to a 31-6 victory over Catholic Conference champ Xaverian in the MIAA Division 1 semifinal.

The top-ranked Tide (11-0), who have a state-record five consecutive undefeated regular seasons, will face Brockton (6-5) in the Super Bowl Saturday.

"Once I figured out their routes and what they were going to do, it was a little easier," Johnson said. "I felt it went over well."

Everett made a few personnel changes before the game. In the absence of running back/safety J.W. Forte -- serving a suspension for violating team rules, though he will return Saturday -- coach John DiBiaso gave senior quarterback J.R. Suozzo his first start of the year at safety.

The move worked. Suozzo, and Johnson and sophomore cornerback Jim Noel shut down the Hawks' passing game. Walter Fallas also provided some pop from his outside linebacker spot.

Additionally, wide receiver Kevon Mason -- a big-play threat whose touchdown catch on Thanksgiving made SportsCenter -- was held without a catch, after registering 70 receiving yards in the teams' first meeting.

"When I'm out there, I know the moves of a quarterback, and I know what their next move will be," said Suozzo, who ran for a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter. "I love playing defense. I always wanted to play defense, and finally I got the shot."

The Tide's offense, which ran up 306 rushing yards on Xaverian earlier this year with seven ballcarriers, continued its dominance, collecting 271 yards on the ground from five ballcarriers, Johnson's 87 leading the way.

As in their earlier matchup, second-ranked Xaverian (8-4) had trouble getting the high-powered, run-heavy Everett offense off the field. The Tide converted twice on fourth down in the first half and didn't punt until the second half.

"It's true that we had trouble, and we knew that going in," Xaverian coach Charlie Stevenson said. "I think we did a better job than the first time, but it wasn't good enough, obviously."

The Tide capitalized on some early mistakes to build a 24-0 halftime lead. They scored 14 points off turnovers in the game

Everett capped its first drive with a 35-yard Igor Garcia field goal. On its next drive, after forcing a three and out, Suozzo faked a handoff to Nick Parker and scurried down the right sideline on a bootleg. He shed a final tackler at the 10 and raced in for a touchdown for a 10-0 lead.

The ensuing kickoff was muffed and Nick Brown recovered at the Hawk 14. Johnson scored on a 4-yard sweep around the right to start the second quarter.

Then, after returning a punt 43 yards to the Hawks' 14, Johnson got the call three plays later for another 4-yard touchdown, and the 24-0 halftime lead.

Aside from a 1-yard scoring plunge from Matt Shea (13 carries, 95 yards) in the third quarter -- which Everett answered on the next drive with a 28-yard Suozzo pass to Parker, making it 31-6 -- Xaverian's only other threat came on its final drive of the first half.

Quarterback Greg Hyman hit his speedy targets for consecutive gains of 20, 21, and 16, but on third and 10 from the Tide 13, he tossed a high floater to the corner of the end zone that was picked off by Johnson.

Xaverian was held to 90 yards, 27 on the ground, in the first half.