Xaverian beats Catholic Memorial on last-second field goal

WESTWOOD For a large number of Friday night s football showdown between Catholic Memorial and Xaverian was billed as the match of the year Completely put it was Senior quarterback Will Wood completed -of- passes for yards and a touchdown while junior Zander Govostes drilled the clinching -yard field goal as time expired as the Hawks - snapped the Knights -game winning streak with an unforgettable - mastery It s great Wood reported Because this year we ve lost to games in the same situation where we weren t able to finish I m so proud of the guys for not giving up on that staying level coming into this event to finish in the fourth quarter We knew it was going to be a battle until the end With half an hour to go before the Catholic Conference heavyweight bout hundreds of fans had already poured into the Hawk Bowl with anticipation The number only grew as time wore on with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye even making an appearance Xaverian threw the tournament s first punch as Christian McIntyre took a handoff and sprinted up the sideline for a -yard touchdown scamper Rocco Sestito added a two-point rush and the Hawks were swiftly leading - with to play in the opening quarter However it did not take long for Catholic Memorial to respond On the ensuing drive Christian Simmons broke off a -yard touchdown run Ibrahim Kaba added a two-point rush of his own as the Knights drew even at -all with left in the first As the final seconds bled away in the opening stanza Wood dropped back to pass His screen attempt was tipped and picked off by Catholic Memorial linebacker Alijah Grupee With nothing but open field in front of him the junior took off for a -yard interception return for a sum as Catholic Memorial seized a - advantage entering the second quarter The outcome would hold until the third when the Hawks recovered a fumble deep in their own territory Xaverian proceeded to march yards up the field before Sestito capped things with a -yard touchdown run up the middle tying the match back up at - with left in the stanza As the third quarter concluded Catholic Memorial fired back with a haymaker of its own Harvard commit Kise Flannery spotted Caleb Garrity along the sideline and fired a pass to his wideout The senior shed a tackle then darted yards up the sideline for a tally giving the Knights a - lead in stunning fashion Yet the Hawks never relented Facing th-and- from the Knights with to play Wood tossed a pass over to McIntyre The senior slipped past a minimal tacklers then took off for a -yard touchdown reception Suddenly the meeting was dead-even again now -all While Catholic Memorial was able to stage a drive to midfield things stalled out and the Knights punted it away with left in regulation At that point the Hawks stood at their -yard-line looking to seal the deal Then Wood and McIntyre took things over With two minutes to go Xaverian tried a double-reverse pass with McIntyre lobbing a pass downfield Wood hauled in the catch picking up yards during the sequence Wood later picked up a first down with his legs setting the Hawks up in the red zone as the clock ticked With three seconds remaining Govostes took the field with the weight of the world on his shoulders The junior took a deep breath then launched the kick of his life The attempt soared through the uprights as his teammates stormed the field For Xaverian it was the first conquest over Catholic Memorial since It was a huge moment Govostes noted It really meant a lot because we haven t won in so long It was just great just seeing everyone happy and everybody celebrating a great win