By Paul Vozzella
NEFJ Staff
DORCHESTER — BC High took on Xaverian Friday night in a Catholic Conference battle.
The Eagles controlled the scoreboard for the majority of the game with a big swing in momentum coming early in the second quarter that led to the 30-13 win.
BC High running back Brenden Ryan suffered an injury early in the game, leaving the brunt of the backfield workload on running back Jackson Richard.
Richard followed on the first play from scrimmage following Ryan’s injury, but it was all up from there.
With 8:27 left in the second quarter, Richard reached paydirt to tie the game up, 7-7.
Following the touchdown, the Eagles forced a quick three-and-out.
It only took two plays for Richard to house a 68-yard touchdown on BC High’s next offensive drive.
BC High coach Paul Zukauskas had high praise for the running back.
“He does not care. He just goes out there and he’s old school, ‘We got a game today? Let’s go play,’ ” said Zukauskas. “I think he really sums up a lot of what this team is about.”
Richard gave praise to the teammates playing in the trenches against a talented Xaverian front.
“It’s the (offensive line),” Richard said. “We had a great week in practice and the win is because of them.”
The Eagles tacked on another three points to take a 17-7 lead into halftime with the Hawk’s touchdown coming on a quarterback sneak from Will Wood that started the scoring in the first quarter.
The third quarter consisted of a couple of short drives from each team followed by a 15-play drive from the Eagles that included eight rushes from Richard and ended in his third touchdown of the game.
Xaverian was quick to answer with a 70-yard strike to wide receiver Dave Chiavegato.
Those were all the points the defending state champions secured, however, an accolade Zukauskas attributed to his defensive staff.
“Well, we have a great defensive coordinator in Walt Washington,” Zukauskas said. “He does an outstanding job. Our defensive line coach, Tim Bulman, played here and beat Xaverian. Brendan Delaney, our secondary coach, (make a group of) outstanding coaches.”
On the subsequent drive, the Eagles hit a big play through the air themselves with a pass to wide receiver Conrad Babka that resulted in a 79-yard catch-and-run.
The Hawks were unable to drive down the field to put anymore points on the board resulting in their third loss of the season, officially moving them to 4-3. They now prepare to take on Malden Catholic next week.
The Eagles stay undefeated at 5-0 and now prepare to defend home turf against the St. John’s Pioneers next Friday.