By Tim Crowley
NEFJ Contributor
ATTLEBORO – Xaverian’s defense of the D1 state title got off to a hot start Friday night.
The two-time defending champ Hawks wasted no time making a statement through the air, with the offense leading the way to a dominant 35-7 road win over Bishop Feehan.
Junior quarterback Will Wood – who holds an offer from Syracuse – wasted no time emerging as the star of the show. The Hawks faced a 3rd-and-long on the opening drive when Wood rolled out left, flipped his hips and placed the ball over a defender into the hands of tight end Richie Edgehille for the 31-yard touchdown.
Wood hit Christian McIntyre for a 16-yard score later in the quarter before another off-platform throw just before the half. The Hawks passer rushed out right, threw back across his body through contact and got the ball off to the middle of the end zone where wideout Patrick Curley snagged Wood’s third passing touchdown of the half.
The junior’s ability to improvise, extend plays and impress with his arm talent jumped off the page in the Xaverian win.
“He’s worked really hard,” Xaverian head coach Al Fornaro said. “That off-platform stuff drives me nuts. He’s worked on his craft really hard. I think by mid-year last year he really matured and had more confidence in himself with what we wanted to do. He’s special.”
The unsung hero of the night rang out postgame with the coach and quarterback’s instant praise of quarterbacks trainer Mike McCarthy.
“He teaches quarterbacks to get the ball out of their hands fast,” Fornaro noted.
“That’s an area of improvement that I really worked on with my quarterbacks trainer,” Wood said. “You see a lot of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, that’s where you see the difference. They’re able to make a lot of throws off-platform. Here at Xaverian, we’re very big in strength and conditioning and our speed work. That helps making those quick movements to get out of the pocket. It all comes together.”
Bishop Feehan had some magical quarterback play of its own, despite just seven points to show for it. On the lone touchdown play of the night, Shamrocks quarterback Owen Mordas stepped up in the pocket, flushed left, fired back across his body and found Dylan Goodwin for a 65-yard catch-and-run to the house.
From there, Xaverian emphasized scramble zones and an emphasized pass rush that barely gave Mordas time to drop back for the majority of the second half.
“We didn’t do a lot of exotic (blitzes), but let’s get pressure and keep him in the pocket so that he can’t go do that and play good defense,” Fornaro said. “It’s very satisfying. Sacks are nice, but pressures are better. You’re going to get more pressure in a game than you are sacks.”
Xaverian pitched a second half shutout. That came even after a turnover when a punt hit a Hawk followed by a pass interference penalty on a Shamrocks fourth down attempt in the third quarter. Despite nearly eight minutes of ball control to start the second half, Bishop Feehan couldn’t punch it in.
The Hawks took the chance to build the run game as well with rushing touchdowns from Bryce Todd and Kyle Celestin.
“It was dominant, our o-line took care of business,” Wood added.
So far, so good for the Hawks as they chase another title.
“Every year is different,” Fornaro said. “It’s coach speak, but it’s true. They performed. For those boys that had not played a lot or were out last year, now’s your opportunity. Last year is last year and now I can change my tune.”
Bishop Feehan travels to Chelmsford next week while Xaverian gets two weeks to prepare for a marquee matchup at home against Everett.
Photos by Tim Crowley