By Mukala Kabongo

NEFJ Staff

WEST ROXBURY — Xaverian’s late rally fell short as the Hawks dropped a heartbreaker to Catholic Conference rival Catholic Memorial, 40-37, in front of a packed crowd at James R. O’Connor Field.

Last year when these two teams faced off it was a late drive by Xaverian ending with a Lasean Sharp touchdown pass as time expired that gave the Knights a thrilling victory.

The game started off with the Knights marching down the field on their opening drive with Isaiah Simmons making two big catches to get the Knights into Xaverian territory. Senior back Mekhi Dodd scored the first of his three touchdowns from 15 yards out to give Catholic Memorial the early lead.

Dodd, who rushed for 172 yards, was just getting warmed up.

“I just gotta thank my offensive line,” Dodd said. ”They work hard and keep me protected.”

After the Hawks cut the lead to 7-3 on a Luke Bell field goal, Dodd on the ensuing possession took it 63 yards to the house to give the Knights a 13-3 lead.

Xaverian quickly responded. Will Wood found Vincent Busa on a short pass and Busa turned it into a 77-yard gain into Knights territory. Luke Bell punched it in from two yards out to make it a 13-10 game.

Once again the Knights’ offense quickly responded, this time it was Sharp. The senior on his first carry of the game dodged a few Xaverian defenders and took it 56 yards to the end zone.

In the third quarter, Dodd once again showed off his speed as he took the carry on the Knights first offensive drive of the second half 75 yards that made it 26-13.

“Feed Mekhi,” CM coach John DiBiaso said. “Feed Mekhi, we feel he’s the best running back in the state.”

Momentum seemed to be going the Knights way after Kise Flannery found Gavin Brown in the end zone that seemed to put the game out of reach, but the Hawks did not go away quietly.

Will Wood started making plays with his arm especially since Busa left the game due to injury. Wood connected with Dave Chiavegato in the end zone to give the Hawks some life.

The Hawks defense forced a three and out and a muffed punt resulted in a safety that seemed to breathe life into the visitors as they found themselves down 33-22 all of a sudden.

Xaverian’s defense once again forced a three and out and you can hear the Hawks fans begin to get louder and louder. They would get much louder after the Hawks went into their bag of tricks with a Bryce Todd half back option touchdown pass to Chiavegato that cut the lead to 33-30.

That made it 17 unanswered points in two minutes by Xaverian.

“Our energy started to come low, our heads started to come low, but we persevered,” said Dodd.

Catholic Memorial’s offense went three and out once again, giving the visiting Hawks a chance to take the lead but DJ Overall came up with a momentum killing play.

Overall picked up the Hawks fumble and went 49 yards for the touchdown that gave the Knights some breathing room.

“Chris Sanchez, he came in and put his helmet on the ball and I just scooped it up and ran as fast as I could,” Overall said.

The Hawks responded once again, this time Wood found Todd for an 8-yard touchdown that cut it to 40-37.

After the Hawks defense forced a punt, the offense marched down the field and this time it would be their chance to shock the home crowd.

On fourth and goal, Bell, who was perfect to that point on field goal attempts, hit the upright with his kick, as it took an unfavorable Hawks bounce, and the Knights faithful went into a frenzy.

“We were very fortunate,” DiBiaso said.

The game of the week lived up to the hype and the Catholic Conference rivals added another classic to their long history.