Brockton slips by St. John's Prep

BROCKTON 21, ST. JOHN'S PREP 19 
By Jon Hussey, Globe Correspondent, 10/5/2003
DANVERS -- St. John's Prep should have been kicking a
winning field goal with time running out to win yesterday's
game against Brockton.

Instead, Eagles defensive star Mike Pitt was kicking his
helmet in disgust after St. John's fumbled on the Brockton 1
to bring a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback to a crushing
denouement as the Boxers held on for the win, 21-19.

"We were going to kick a field goal on the next play," said
St. John's coach Jim O'Leary. "We had plenty of time to do
it. We took one more shot to the end zone. We got pretty
close to getting in."

The Eagles' doomed final drive began with 2 minutes 45
seconds remaining, when junior Chris Zardas, who finished
the game with 74 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries,
recovered Jon Grasso's onside kick at midfield.

As it had been doing through much of the day, St. John's
(2-2) marched the ball steadily through the sizable Brockton
defense with dueling workhorses, Zardas and Doug Washington.

At fourth and four on the Brockton 24, O'Leary made a gutsy
call that paid off when senior quarterback John McCarthy hit
Peter Burnham for a 7-yard gain through the middle.

Two plays later, McCarthy slipped in the rain-soaked
backfield, but recovered and scrambled for 9 yards, setting
up the heartbreaking final play.

With 19 seconds on the clock, McCarthy dropped back and
threw a perfect pass through coverage to Ian Merry. Two
Brockton defenders quickly hit Merry, while the third
defender in the area, Lamont Penn, slipped and fell at
Merry's feet.

It proved to be a serendipitous slip, as the ball fell from
Merry's hands and into the arms of Penn on the ground.

When asked how the painful defeat would affect his team,
O'Leary replied, "We'll see next week."

The rivalry, which began in 1992 and pits city vs. suburb,
public vs. private, was heated from the start.

Both teams scored on their opening drives, Brockton grinding
out a 15-play, 81-yard drive, while St. John's answered with
a 15-play, 64-yard scoring drive.

Sampson Blevins got the score for Brockton from 11 yards,
while Zardas ran the ball in from the 1 for the Eagles.

Blevins's touchdown was set up by the powerful running of
the Boxers' twin ground attack of Richard Johnson (13
carries, 74 yards) and Robert Simpson (13 carries, 30
yards).

On St. John's Prep's third play from scrimmage in the second
half, linebacker Sam Besong intercepted a McCarthy pass,
killing any momentum the Eagles had after stopping a late
first-half Brockton drive.

"The [interception] right after the half, that could go
either way," said O'Leary. "That kid made a great athletic
play right in front of us. If he doesn't jump an inch
higher, it's ours right down the sideline."

Brockton made it 14-7 on the next play when Johnson ran the
ball in from the 37.

The Eagles got back within 1 in the fourth quarter, but a
big hit by Penn on the 2-point conversion kept the Boxers
ahead.

That stop gave Brockton the momentum and set up the play of
the game. Dustin Leonard (three completions, 95 yards), on
second and 17, hit John Mendes for a 62-yard touchdown pass
through the middle.

"I saw they were bringing the middle safety up and we had to
go for it," said Brockton coach Peter Colombo. "I knew they
weren't done. You can't sit on a lead against St. John's --
not here. I thought it was a good call. We still had two
downs if we needed it.

"[Dustin] was on target tonight. We got him back healthy and
you see the difference in our offense when we have Dustin
playing well."

Washington scored for St. John's on a 20-yard run on the
following possession, but as the field became more
rain-soaked, the Eagles let a comeback slip through their
hands.

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