FOXBOROUGH — Growing up in the neighboring towns of Norwood and Walpole, Christian McIntyre and Dave Chiavegato were always rivals.
By the time they concluded their high school careers at Xaverian, the tandem had made trips to nearby Gillette Stadium an annual ritual. And they cemented their legacy with prolific performances in Saturday’s finale, a 41-35 win over St. John’s Prep for a third straight Super Bowl title, the first three-peat by a D1 program in the new playoff format.
“It improved our offense exponentially, because having two guys that can stretch the field creates a lot of problems for a defense,” Xaverian coach Al Fornaro said about Chiavegato returning this postseason after missing the regular season with a shoulder injury.
McIntyre (6 receptions, 181 yards, 2 TD) saved Xaverian (10-2) from getting into a slugfest with a familiar foe by taking the top off Prep’s defense with first-quarter touchdowns of 65 and 62 yards from junior quarterback Will Wood (11 of 16 passing, 345 yards, 5 TDs, INT).
When the Eagles adjusted, Chiavegato (five receptions, 142 yards) caught a trio of touchdowns and set up another score with a circus catch near the goal line. The UMass-bound senior tied a Super Bowl record for touchdown receptions, and Wood’s five TD tosses tied another record.
With Chiavegato out, McIntyre was the leading man and became Xaverian’s first 1,000-yard receiver with 1,514 yards and 26 touchdowns. Wood broke 2,000 passing yards with 41 touchdowns and just one interception, surpassing Tim Hasselbeck’s program record for career touchdowns with a season of eligibility remaining.
“I’ve been playing with Christian and Dave since I was in eighth grade and they were on the freshmen team,” said Wood. “We have great chemistry. I know where they’re going to be and I’m going to put it where they’re going to be.”
Defensively, McIntyre helped slow down Prep’s top receiver Riley Selvais (three receptions, 81 yards, TD), and Chiavegato patrolled at safety while sophomore Jackson Holmes handled the other cornerback slot.
Prep (11-2) initially struggled to keep pace, with sophomore Chris Vargas returning from a knee injury suffered in the Round of 16. Down 27-7 at halftime, the Eagles clawed back with a forced fumble, a kickoff return for a touchdown by Selvais, and three Vargas passing scores — one to Selvais, and two to Ethan Stefanovich (four receptions, 111 yards), the last an 11-yarder to make it a one-score game with just under five minutes to go.
“When we went in at halftime, it was not looking good,” said Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “I just told the guys in life, you have choices to make. This is a choice you’re going to make. You’re going to show your character. They did. They definitely showed their character.
“That could have gone a different way. A couple inches short of getting that ball back. We got the ball back, we’re scoring. Too little, too late.”
Prep didn’t get the ball back thanks to McIntyre, who had a vital 13-yard catch during the final clock-killing drive. Wood’s keeper on fourth and 2 got the needed first down to seal the win.
“We’ve known each other for so long, and freshman year we finally got the opportunity to play with each other,” said Chiavegato, who had a 40-yard score early in the fourth to push the lead to 41-21. “And we were grateful for it, because I knew [McIntyre and I] would make a great duo. This was the game we really put it all together.”
Xaverian 41, St. John’s Prep 35
at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Xaverian (11-2) 14 13 7 7 — 41
St. John’s Prep (11-2) 7 0 14 14 — 35
X — Christian McIntyre 65 pass from Will Wood (Xander Govostes kick)
SJ — Riley Selvais 48 pass from Chris Vargas (Liam Cullen kick)
X — Christian McIntyre 62 pass from Will Wood (Xander Govostes kick)
X — Dave Chiavegato 14 pass from Will Wood (Xander Govostes kick)
X — Rocco Sestito 1 run (Xander Govostes kick)
SJ — Riley Selvais 80 kickoff return (Liam Cullen kick)
X — Dave Chiavegato 30 pass from Will Wood (Xander Govostes kick)
SJ — Jordan Toribio 2 run (Liam Cullen kick)
X — Dave Chiavegato 40 pass from Will Wood (Xander Govostes kick)
SJ — Ethan Stefanovich 30 pass from Chris Vargas (Liam Cullen kick)
SJ — Ethan Stefanovich 11 pass from Chris Vargas (Liam Cullen kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — SJ, Jordan Toribio 10-85, Maxwell Parent 8-37; X, Rocco Sestito 22-76, Will Wood 13-43, Nico Tordiglione 3-11, Bryce Todd 4-7, Christian McIntyre 1-(-1), Dave Chiavegato 1-(-2)
PASSING — SJ, Chris Vargas 10-25-2-217; X, Will Wood 11-16-1-345
RECEIVING — SJ, Ethan Stefanovich 4-111, Riley Selvais 3-81, Andrew McManmom 2-20, Pierson Scala 1-5; X, Christian McIntyre 6-181, Dave Chiavegato 5-142, Nico Tordiglione 1-22.
Trevor Hass contributed to this story.
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com. Follow him on X @nweitzer7.