In October, Central Catholic’s Caden Smith and Xaverian’s Will Wood provided the best quarterback duel of the season.
What will their state quarterfinals rematch provide for an encore?
The rematch is set for Friday night cavernous Lawrence Veterans Memorial Stadium with the sixth-seeded Hawks (5-4) on the road in pursuit of a fourth consecutive D1 state title. You can livestream the game at Globe.Com/Schools. Central held off Xaverian, 28-27, in a mid-season matchup in Lawrence last October.
Both quarterbacks are three-year starters with elite dual-threat ability. A month ago, Smith finished 16-of-22 passing for 237 yards with 149 rushing yards, and Wood went 13-of-22 passing for 259 yards with 86 rushing yards, matching Smith with six total touchdowns.
Central compiled 475 yards on 49 plays and Xaverian used 67 plays to generate 450 yards. The Hawks went 3 for 3 on fourth down and moved the chains 23 times, plus Jonathan Santosuosso averaged 63 yards on kick returns, punctuated by a 92-yard runback for 6 points. Central tailback Cody Arsenault responded with an 83-yard kick return touchdown during a wild fourth quarter, which concluded with Drew O’Keefe booting a winning 29-yard field goal.
“I’ve never been part of a game that had 100 points,” said Central coach John Dubzinski. “The scoring just kept going back and forth, back and forth. It was two great high school football teams with two prolific offenses and two great quarterbacks.”
For Xaverian coach Al Fornaro, who spent 37 years as a defensive coach at his alma mater before taking over the program in 2017, fewer fireworks would be a better outcome in this state quarterfinals bout.
“It was a classic, but it was not my favorite type of game,” Fornaro said. “I don’t want to get to get into a track meet. That’s not my soup de jour. We want to control the ball, because if we control the ball, we control the game.”
Read on to see who we’re taking in this matchup and 11 other state quarterfinals to watch Thursday and Friday:
Thursday
Barnstable at No. 8 Milford: A couple of pivotal plays doomed Barnstable in a 33-20 loss at Milford back in Week 4. The class of the Cape looks to write a different story in the D3 rematch. Pick: MILFORD.
Joseph Case at Abington: Aedan Borges put No. 11 Case on his back for an upset win over the reigning Division 6 champion Fairhaven. Third-seeded Abington looks to stop the Cardinals’ surprising run in its tracks. Pick: ABINGTON.
Amesbury at Cohasset: While Cohasset’s defense has tightened up during the second half of the season, Amesbury’s straight-T attack presents a unique challenge. We’ll be bold and take the No. 9 seed to pull off a massive upset in the Division 7 bracket. Pick: AMESBURY.
Friday
No. 12 Xaverian at No. 6 Central Catholic: Round 2 of this heavyweight fight should provide a close finish regardless of the tempo. Central has the horses to win a physical battle, or another shootout. Watch the livestream at Globe.com/Schools. Pick: CENTRAL CATHOLIC.
Andover at No. 1 St. John’s Prep: Andover has been game for upset bids all season, but has not managed to pull one off against the state’s elite programs. Facing Prep is the biggest challenge yet for the Golden Warriors. Pick: ST. JOHN’S PREP.
Peabody at No. 18 Billerica: Peabody has the offense to keep this Division 2 clash interesting, but Billerica’s beef on the offensive line should prove a decisive advantage. Pick: BILLERICA.
Westford at No. 16 Bridgewater-Raynham: The Ghosts’ great run continued with their first playoff win in eight years. Now, in D2, they face a Trojans squad that is firing on all cylinders since a 1-2 start. Pick: BRIDGEWATER-RAYNHAM.
No. 15 North Attleborough at No. 10 Marshfield: This intriguing Division 3 clash of styles pits a slow-paced North Attleborough run-heavy attack against a Marshfield team that can ramp up the tempo. Pick: MARSHFIELD.
Milton at No. 5 Mansfield: After getting pushed by No. 16 Malden Catholic for a couple of quarters, top-seeded Mansfield should be locked in for another tough D3 matchup against a perennial contender. Pick: MANSFIELD.
No. 13 Walpole at No. 11 Duxbury: Duxbury hasn’t lost a home playoff game since 2013. In this D4 showdown, will Walpole become the first to slay the Dragons in Duxbury? Pick: DUXBURY.
Northeast at Swampscott: With last year’s quarterback, Isaiah Robles, leading the charge at fullback, Northeast has blitzed opponents out of a double-wing formation. However, fourth-seeded Swampscott has the defensive chops to hold up in Division 5. Pick: SWAMPSCOTT.
Lynn Tech at Cape Cod Tech: Riding a 15-game win streak that seemingly formed out of nowhere, third-seeded Cape Cod Tech hosts a D8 showdown with a surging Lynn Tech program that capped the regular season with a pivotal win over Nashoba Valley Tech. Pick: LYNN TECH.
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com. Follow him on X @nweitzer7.