By Sophia Sargent
NEFJ Staff

DANVERS – Saturday was a special day for those around and involved with all things St. John’s Prep.

The Eagles held Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in the morning before putting an undefeated season on the line against 4-1 Malden Catholic on homecoming weekend.

Bill O’Brien was the big name inducted in the morning before Prep blew out one of its rivals 36-6 to move to 6-0.

“I thought defensively we were outstanding,” head coach Brian St. Pierre said. “Set the tone early, stop them, and then I thought offensively throwing the ball, Chris Vargas played really well. The receivers played well. I thought our line protected him well. I thought we just kept going forward. We would score, and defense would stop them.”

Freshman phenom QB Chris Vargas got things started early with a touchdown pass to Riley Selvais one minute into the first quarter with the PAT from LJ Laws. Vargas had his second touchdown shortly after when he found Merrick Barlow.

Vargas found Barlow again with just 58 seconds left on the clock before halftime. Jordan Toribio followed up the play with a two-point conversion, leaving the score 22-0 at the half.

“That slant where I faked it to Jordan and threw it to (Barlow), and (he) went for the touchdown, reached, and went into the end zone…our play calling has a little bit of different plays…kinda like that stretch play to Jordan, and it worked. So great play calling.

“There’s always pressure going into the game, but my preparation helped me definitely.”

The third quarter was quiet until the last 28 seconds when Jeff Quigley ripped off a 35-yard touchdown run.

With 9:37 into the fourth quarter, Jeremiah Figaro put a touchdown on the board for Malden Catholic. The game wrapped up with a final touchdown from SJP’s Josh Haarmann, a 47-yard rumble to the house.

The real fun stuff came in the morning spent honoring alumni being inducted with a classy ceremony prior to the game. Some of the athletes include Johnny Thomas, Tucker Mathers, Brandon Bingel, Ryan Fortin, Nick Zolotas, Jon Loyte, Eric Conrad, Tom Gately and of course, Boston College head coach O’Brien.

O’Brien had a minute long acceptance speech, reflecting on his time at SJP, and how it made him the leader that he is today.

“My parents loved St. John’s Prep,”he said. “I grew up in Andover. I remember when I was in the eighth grade…things weren’t going so well. I remember they sat me down, and they said you’re going to take this exam and you better do well on it because you’re going to St. John’s Prep. I went kicking and screaming and to look back on that now, just to thank them for that vision because St. John’s Prep is a life-changing place…you know, in the sports world, organizations, and all the places I’ve been, and things like that, what makes a place special? What makes a place special is the people.”

O’Brien also shared some fun stories as well from when he played, especially when it came to his family.

“My mom was the type of mom that was like, into the games. She would tell you like ‘hey, after the game, you didn’t play that well.’ She was a very honest mom. So, we’re playing Malden Catholic, and it was my senior year. It was at Malden Catholic, a freezing cold game, but it was a big game… my mom would kind of tailgate in the parking lot with another mom… they might have a a couple cocktails. So they go into the game and it’s one side stands. We’re losing the game, but it’s a very tight game and the Malden Catholic student section is like ‘St John’s sucks!’ So, the game is going on and at the end of the game we come back, we won the game. It’s cold outside, my mom is feeling pretty good, she stood up and she said ‘We’ll see who sucks now!”

Another memory he shares, is about Billy Stroud. “Billy Stroud was our D line coach when I was here…he would make up fake reports about teams we were playing. We would be playing Danvers and be like ‘this is what they’re saying about you OB,’ and you’d believe it. I’d run through a brick wall for him.”

Most importantly, he shares how he’s been able to do it all as a coach and as a father.

“I have to thank my wife Colleen. I love Colleen so much. Anybody that knows Colleen knows what she’s meant to my life, to our life… basically, when you’re a coach…we’ve moved like 20 times. Your wife raises the family and made so many sacrifices.”

The thank yous were endless from Coach O’Brien, because each and every one of those people prepped him to coach BC today.

The current batch of Eagles certainly lived up to the foundation and culture that O’Brien and the others honored on Saturday helped create.

“It was definitely added pressure this morning,” admitted St. Pierre. “You know, you want to do well in front of the ball coach, but it was a great morning at SJP, a really classy event for the Hall of Fame guys, and then you go and put on a show for the home crowd. I thought we played our best game in totality.”

It was a stellar day on and off the field for everyone who loves and cherishes being an Eagle.