Star quarterback Chris Vargas generates much of the buzz for St. John’s Prep, and deservedly so, but the Eagles know every QB needs a reliable running back to keep defenses guessing.
With their perfect regular season on the line, they turned to senior Maxwell Parent to spearhead a scintillating 87-yard drive against Catholic Memorial. Parent ran six straight times, punctuating a masterful performance with a 2-yard score behind a block from William Seaha with 27 seconds left.
“This is why I came to the Prep, for these big moments,” said Parent, who started his high school career at St. Mary’s. “I dreamed about this.”
Will Codreanu intercepted a Hail Mary near the end zone as time expired, as the Eagles escaped with a 42-35 triumph Friday at Catholic Memorial High.
The top-ranked Eagles (8-0, 4-0 CC) clinched the Catholic Conference outright and cemented their spot as the No. 1 seed in Division 1. They received one of their toughest tests yet from the No. 3 Knights (6-2, 2-2), gracefully withstanding every Catholic Memorial surge and prevailing in the clutch.
“We’ve had so many battles with them,” said St. John’s Prep coach Brian St. Pierre. “When it’s 1 vs. 2 in New England, what do you expect? I don’t know what they charged for admission, $5, $7, $10, but it was worth every cent.”
The junior Vargas, who is committed to Ohio State, finished 12-for-21 passing, for 203 yards, 2 TDs and 0 interceptions. He was accurate and disciplined, but didn’t have to force anything because of Parent (26 carries 220 yards, 2 TDs) and Michael Salemi’s explosiveness and the offensive line’s reliability.
Parent fumbled early in the fourth quarter, yet immediately brushed it aside and responded with conviction.
“He’s probably the toughest person on our team,” Vargas said of Parent. “Things like that don’t faze him.”
The Eagles jumped ahead, 14-0, through 1, on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Vargas to Codreanu and a 51-yard TD rush from Salemi.
Catholic Memorial responded with a 1-yard plunge from Aman Messiah, then a Jahyden Alves-Armstrong fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff led to a 30-yard dart from Kingston Rust (17 for 26, 348 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) to Ramar Thomas.
Salemi gave the Eagles a 21-14 edge on a 2-yard rushing score with 8:40 left in the half. The touchdown capped a frenetic stretch with 21 combined points in 1 minute, 5 seconds. The teams headed into halftime knotted at 21 after another 1-yard Messiah rush.
Messiah vaulted the Knights in front with another 1-yard dive, then Parent delivered a 1-yard score of his own to tie it at 28. Owen Hawke intercepted a Rust pass to keep it there through three.
Vargas found speedy receiver Riley Selvais (6 catches, 136 yards) for a 36-yard score.
“If it’s possible for him to be slept on, I think he’s still being slept on,” St. Pierre said of Selvais.
Kingston Rust hit his brother, Christian Rust (7 catches, 154 yards) for a 73-yard TD to tie it again at the 10:10 mark.
St. John’s Prep’s Jay Arnett came up with a critical stop on fourth and 1 from the Knights’ 13 with 3:18 left, then Parent, Vargas, and the offensive line took care of the rest.
“Offensively, we had some big-time, championship-caliber drives,” St. Pierre said.
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.