St. John's can't revel in No. 1

Prep gets ready to face Brockton

There is no rest for St. John's Prep. After upsetting Everett, 20-7, Monday night and gaining the No. 1 spot in the Globe Top 20, the Eagles visit a talented but struggling Brockton team tonight.

"It was a wonderful victory," Jim O'Leary, St. John's athletic director and coach, said earlier this week. "But we have to put it aside quickly. We have three days of preparation and we must improve for Brockton."

With fewer days between games, players don't have the time to bask in the glory of defeating a No. 1 team that hadn't lost in 63 regular-season games.

"This is only a regular-season game," said O'Leary. "We won't celebrate until later, maybe not until after the season."

Even with less time to prepare for Brockton (1-3), O'Leary believes his squad will not be affected by the time crunch.

"When you play in the Super Bowl, you have the same amount of time off," said O'Leary. "We aren't changing what we do and we believe in what we do."

St. John's Prep beat Everett handily and will face a team that has struggled all season. Brockton beat St. John's Prep, 19-14, last year and O'Leary knows his team will have to be ready.

"Brockton shouldn't be a trap game," said O'Leary. "We better come ready to play."

A factor sure to come into play is the emergence of junior running back George Sessoms. Sessoms was the catalyst for St. John's Prep against Everett.

With all of the focus on Brendon Felder, Sessoms was able to carve up Everett to the tune of 180 yards and three touchdowns. Sessoms has been a contributor, but never to the magnitude he was against Everett. O'Leary knew he had a special player and it was only a matter of time before Sessoms would break out.

"George is a football player," said O'Leary. "This was his first test. He got in the game and happened to make plays for us."

Sessoms is a back with size and speed. O'Leary attributes Sessoms's success to his work ethic.

St. John's Prep is the new top dog in Eastern Massachusetts football. With that notoriety comes pressure. Every team that faces the Eagles will give them their best shot in hopes of doing what the Eagles did to Everett. O'Leary knows his team will have to play its A game every week.

"We have a bull's-eye on our back," said O'Leary. "We must be focused."

In other action, Somerset (3-0) hosts Dartmouth (3-0) tonight in a nonleague battle. Somerset also went into the Dartmouth game undefeated each of the last two seasons (1-0 in 2006, 2-0 in 2007), losing on both occasions. This time, Somerset is looking to stop the trend.

Needham (4-0) hosts Norwood (3-1) tonight in a battle of Bay State Carey and Herget teams. Needham is led by Jean Baptiste, who has scored seven touchdowns already this season. Norwood's only loss was to No. 6 Natick on a last-minute field goal. Norwood's Jhorgy Antoine is a threat out of the backfield. He has four 100-yard rushing performances and has scored eight touchdowns.