By Gordon Vincent
DANVERS — And a sophomore shall lead them.
Aise Pream, a 10th-grader, returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown and then ran 27 yards for the winning score with 2:02 left to lift the St. John’s Prep football team to a 33-29 victory over Haverhill, in a wild, thrilling non-league game on Saturday at Brother Linus Athletic Commons.
Eagles quarterback Mike Yarin, in his first varsity start, threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another.
For Haverhill, a Merrimack Valley Conference outfit which led for most of the game, halfback J.C. Laguerre ran for a pair of scores, and quarterback Broghean McGovern added another rushing touchdown. Jukka Morales also returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown.
“Do we ever do it easy?” asked St. John’s Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “They (Hillies) have a very good team. They gave us a tough time, and I expect them to do some damage in the MVC. Our inexperience showed at times today, but we found a way.”
Haverhill scored on its first possession, a crisp, 68-yard drive that ended with McGovern keeping the ball around left end for a 10-yard touchdown run. The Eagles answered early in the second quarter when Yarin hooked up with Hayden Rockett (4 catches, 109 yards) for a 67-yard bomb down the left sideline. Rockett caught the ball at about the Haverhill 30, juked inside, juked outside and then beat the defense to the end zone.
Morales, who got burned on the long touchdown throw but was otherwise Haverhill’s best player on Saturday, answered with his 55-yard interception return down the left sideline to put the Hillies back in the lead. St. John’s Prep responded with a 63-yard touchdown drive. Yarin snuck in from the 1-yard line with 16 seconds left in a first half that ended with Haverhill on top, 13-12.
The Hillies scored on their first possession of the second half, a 68-yard march capped off by Laguerre’s 26-yard run around left end. The Eagles responded again with a touchdown drive, with Yarin finding Cam Weaver on a 21-yard scoring strike with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
St. John’s Prep took its first lead when Laguerre fumbled on Haverhill’s ensuing possession. Pream scooped up the ball at his own 45 and raced down the left sideline, smartly avoiding a defender at the Hillies’ 25 on his way to the end zone.
Haverhill came right back with a 72-yard scoring drive that concluded with a 3-yard touchdown run by Laguerre with 5:10 left in the game. Laguerre added a 2-point conversion to give the Hillies a 29-26 lead.
The Eagles’ winning drive started at their own 37 and was kept alive then Yarin found Delcan Burt for an 8-yard gain on fourth-and-2 from The Prep’s 45-yard line. Three plays later, Pream took the ball down the left side and into the end zone from 27 yards. Pat McTiernan’s extra point kick put the Eagles ahead, 33-29, with 2:02 left.
“(Pream) probably weighs 130 pounds soaking wet, but he’s a tough kid, and he’s super competitive,” St. Pierre said. “His competitiveness is what I love about him.”
Haverhill advanced the ball to the Eagles’ 25-yard line, but McGovern threw four straight incomplete passes, the last of which was batted down by middle linebacker Ryan McNeil with 22 seconds left.
BOX SCORE:
Haverhill 6 7 8 8 — 29
St. John’s 0 12 8 13 — 33
H — Broghean McGovern 10 run (kick failed)
SJ — Hayden Rockett 67 pass from Mike Yarin (kick failed)
H — Jukka Morales 55 interception return (Kyle Bellemore kick)
SJ — Yarin 1 run (kick failed)
H –J.C. Laguerre 26 run (Morales pass from McGovern)
SJ — Cam Weaver 21 pass from Yarin (Declan Burt pass from Yarin)
SJ — Aise Pream 55 fumble return (rush failed)
H — Laguerre 3 run (Laguerre rush)
SJ — Pream 27 run (Pat McTiernan kick)
H P
1st downs 13 14
Yds rushing 27-129 29-117
Yds passing 131 207
C-A-I 11-24-0 10-20-1
Fumb-Rec 1-1 1-1
Pen-Yds 7-63 2-11
Tot. Yds 260 324
Plays 55 52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
HAVERHILL: Laguerre 16-85, McGovern 10-49; ST. JOHN’S PREP: Joe Masterson 14-59, Pream 3-33, Alex Rodolosi 5-17, Yarin 5-11
PASSING
HAVERHILL: McGovern 11-24-0-131. ST. JOHN’S PREP: Yarin 10-20-1-207
RECEIVING
HAVERHILL: Morales 4-69, Aaron Brooks 3-44; ST. JOHN’S PREP: Hayden Rockett 4-109, Mike Galatis 1-28, Wes Rockett 2-27, Weaver 1-21, Rodolosi 1-14, Michael Slattery 1-8
