Carver is on a collision course with West Boylston for the D8 state title.

Both teams are undefeated, and have been playing great all season.

We wanted to get in touch with Crusaders coach Ben Shuffain to talk about his team, so we spoke with him Monday over the phone.

Here is an edited version of that conversation.

Adam Kurkjian: We talk about it a lot, but you guys had so much success in 7-on-7. What was the value of that for you guys? Did you know then that you guys had this type of season coming?

BS: I knew what I had from last year coming back. When I talked to Steve Dembowski in the spring, I saw that he had the Xaverian league going. We started that one in April. I kind of got the kids excited about the teams we’d be going up against. They didn’t think they could do it. Catholic Memorial was in it, Milton Academy, Milton. I think Marshfield may have been in it. They were like, why are we going to do it and get killed. I said, first of all, I don’t think you’re going to get killed. Second, it’s a great experience. You’re going up against the top talent in the state. It’s going to help you guys get ready for the summer and get ready for the fall. We held our own and went 6-6, if I remember correctly. That helped a lot with the confidence levels. Our receiving corps, it’s freakishly tall for Division 8. Our shortest guy is 6-1 at receiver. That helps a lot. It’s tough to cover those kids, especially in high school, Division 7, 8. When they saw what they could do with those other guys, the Xaverians, CMs, Andovers, it gave them kind of a swagger and confidence that they really needed to have to push them over the edge.

AK: I know about quarterback Tyler Lennox, but who are some of the other guys who have been really crucial for you in this run?

BS: Definitely Robbie Peterson, plays wide receiver and cornerback. He’s got 925 yards receiving this season. He’s got 19 receiving touchdowns. On defense, he’s got five interceptions. The kid on the other team we’re always worried about game plan-wise at receiver, he usually just shuts him down. Next up would be Derek Lopes, also receiver and outside linebacker. I think he’s averaging 28 yards per catch this season. He’s got over 800 yards receiving. He’s got 10 touchdowns. He’s 6-2, 190, good size, good speed. He’s a 50-50 ball kid that is more 90-10. Jameson Helms, he’s a running back, H-back, linebacker. He had 1,000 yards as a junior. He carried it over. Little less yards as a senior just because we have so many more weapons to use. But he’s got five touchdowns the last two weeks of the playoffs, 14 for the season. He’s got over 90 tackles, 15 TFLs on the season, a couple sacks. Then, I would say, other than those kids, linebacker Tyler Swain. He didn’t play varsity as a junior, he was a JV player. We were 3-8 last year. This kid just committed himself to the weight room. He put on 40 pounds. Puberty helps, too, when you’re his age, you get bigger and stronger as you get older. He had over 90 tackles. Played offensive guard this year. Went from receiver last year on JV to offensive guard because he put on size and strength. There’s so many kids. I can keep going. We had seven all-stars, and some kids who did not make all-stars that probably should be all-stars with the numbers by itself.

AK: What do you know about West Boylston? They are a great team that runs that double wing very well. What are you facing?

BS: They’re excellent. I’ve watched all of their games I can get my hands on, whether it’s YouTube or Hudl. Saw them play last year in the Super Bowl. They won Division 7 last year, lucky for us they moved to Division 8. They run the double wing very well. Their offensive line is very good at what they do. They get the second and third level in tandems blocking downfield. They got three good running backs. Quarterback is good. They’re very well coached. I’m sure you’ve seen them play, either last year or this year. They run that system well. Luckily for us, it’s not the first double wing team we’ve seen. They’re probably the best at it. We play Randolph every year. Randolph runs it really well. They’re very good. I watched the Cathedral game the other day. It’ll be a very tough challenge. Hoping my guys are up for the challenge. I have faith in my guys coming through.