A’S ON D — Everett’s defense, more than solid enough to begin with, had its best game of the year. The Tide did a good job in containing Aise Pream, who finished with 70 yards on 17 carries.
The elusive, 5-foot, 7-inch senior was at his best in the third quarter, when he picked up 39 yards on seven carries. But, overall, he wasn’t nearly as productive as he was the week previous in the Prep’s easy win over Central Catholic.
The Tide also continue to punish teams that try to throw the ball all over the place. For the third week in a row, the opposing QB completed less than 50 percent of his throws vs. Everett’s fantastic secondary. Crowley threw it up 32 times, connecting on only 12 of them.
Conversely, St. John’s defense is much improved from last year. The Crimson Tide scored more than 80 points in its two wins over the Eagles in 2017, and they did so with ease. It was a different story Saturday, as the Prep defense intercepted three passes, due in part to a strong pass rush.
The Eagles were even better against the run, limiting the Tide to 118 yards on 26 carries.
UPS AND DOWNS ON OFFENSE — Doherty had another strong game for the Tide, completing 14-of-25 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Sainristil had five catches for 58 yards, Eli Auguste 2 for 63, Robbie Riobe 3 for 50, and Baptiste 3 for 42.
Two of the Prep’s three interceptions ended potential EHS scoring drives, including a Pat Keefe pick in the end zone on the first drive of the game.
Credit the Eagles for pressuring Dillon at different points during the game. They also dropped a lot of people into coverage, clogging up the middle of the eld.
Prep quarterback Matt Crowley completed six of his first 10 throws, followed by seven consecutive incompletions. In the second half, it was a similar story as he connected on 6-of-10 throws for 53 yards before missing on five straight throws (including an interception by Baptiste) to end his afternoon.
ETC.— It’s hard to imagine someone leaving Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday not believing that Everett and St. John’s will meet again in the Div. 1 North playoffs … The Prep had some trouble on shotgun snaps, leading to lost yardage or disrupted timing on a handful of plays. Conversely, EHS operates seamlessly out the ‘gun … Everett’s three opponents are 6-0 against other teams. This past weekend, Mansfield beat Franklin, 24-8, while Xaverian downed Archbishop Stepinac of New York, 42-19. Xaverian plays Catholic Memorial this Friday night … Everett travels to Lawrence, which is coming off of a 38-14 loss to Andover, on Friday night … Opponents have no choice but to devote extra personnel to defending Sainristil. There are consequences, however, as that leaves less attention on Auguste and Baptiste, who have combined for 12 catches for 198 yards and four touchdowns through three games … Isaac Seid is Everett’s leading rushing with 301 yards on 35 carries.