DANVERS — The old Guy came to watch the young Guy play Thursday, as he’s done through most of the boy’s life.
And to say the least, the old Guy is sufficiently impressed.
“He’s better at this point than I was,” said the old Guy, who goes by the name JP, as he did when he played football for Lynn Classical.
The young Guy is James Jr., who is a sophomore running back at St. John’s Prep. The family lives in the Wyoma Square area of Lynn, where the Guys have gone through a lifelong experience with football.
“My father taught me everything,” James Guy said Thursday, after torching Xaverian High School with 151 yards and three touchdowns in The Prep’s 35-0 win over the Hawks. “Right from when I was a little kid to now.”
JP Guy was a pretty fair running back when he played for Classical. So was his cousin, Brendan, who once ran for more than 400 yards in a game against Swampscott. So the young Guy comes by it naturally. Or perhaps that’s more naturally.
“He’s way better than I ever was,” said his father, who coached him all through his years with the Lynn Chargers youth football team.
“He’s more patient. He knows how to follow his blockers better than I did.”
There’s one other thing James Guy has going for him: He’s headed to his second straight Division 1 state Super Bowl, with St. John’s looking to defend its championship against the same team it defeated last year — Catholic Memorial.
“He’s got me beat there,” said his father, who played for the Rams during the Matt Durgin era. “I never made the postseason. There was always some team that kept us from getting there. Usually it was Gloucester.”
The Guys — the whole family of them — chose St. John’s Prep for several reasons. First, obviously as far as James goes, was football.
“But it’s for the academics too,” he said. “My mom was more concerned about that. That had a lot to do with it too.”
Prep coach Brian St. Pierre is clearly impressed with Guy, and if he doesn’t say effusively with words, he says it in the trust he places in him. Thursday’s game that may have meant as much to the players as either last year’s or this year’s Super Bowl. He gave James Guy the ball 23 times, and he made St. Pierre look like a genius. But it wasn’t all James Guy and he’d be the first to tell you.
“Our line played great, just like it’s played in every game this year,” he said.
St. Pierre would agree with that assessment.
“James runs hard and he runs smart,” said St. Pierre, “but those guys up front. They’ve been playing great. This is the second game we’ve won in the trenches, and we wouldn’t have done it without them.”
Though James Guy didn’t technically miss any action this season (meaning he suited up) various bumps and bruises did limit him in a few games. However, one thing that helped St. John’s tremendously was that the Eagles had a week off before the playoffs began, giving the nicked-up players a chance to heal.
“I tried to play through it,” he said, “But I’m OK now.”