BROCKTON — Most football coaches don’t mind a little adversity, but even this was pushing it for Xaverian in Friday night’s game with Needham.

The Hawks lost two of their best offensive players to injury in the first half, but Xaverian coach Al Fornaro will tell you his team is nothing if not resilient.

Behind monster performances from quarterback Henry Hasselbeck and running back Mike O’Connor, Xaverian earned a hard-fought 20-17 win in a Div. 1 state semifinal.

The Hawks (9-2) punch a ticket to play St. John’s Prep in the final, preceded by a game with the Prep on Thanksgiving.

Star running back Denzil Pierre and standout receiver Jonathan Monteiro left the game with injuries, but the Hawks persevered.

“Absolutely fantastic,” Fornaro said of his team’s performance. “I am so proud. I don’t think I’ve been prouder of a team, either as an assistant, or a head coach, ever. Usually, when you lose a star player, right, you can feel the energy in the sidelines (go out). Not here at all. We had to play three games this year without Denzil, and (Needham is) a very good football team, and we’re very fortunate to come out of here with a win. We were able to do what we wanted to do: control the ball, pick up first downs when we needed to. Secure the victory.”

“It’s just straight business,” O’Connor said. “Denzil is a hell of a player, but, when he went down, we knew it was just next guy up. We had a lot of running backs get reps in practice. I trusted my line, so there was no hesitation at all, no doubt in my mind that we could get this done.”

O’Connor rushed for 187 yards on 26 carries. Hasselbeck completed 8 of 12 passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 102 yards on nine carries.

But Needham was a worthy opponent and matched Xaverian’s physicality in a way that many teams can. Xaverian held a 13-10 lead at halftime, then increased it to 20-10 late in the third quarter when Hasselbeck hit William Benting for a 4-yard touchdown.

The Rockets answered, though, with a drive that mostly moved forward on the ground. The 12-play march featured plenty of Aidan Williams (76 yards on 11 carries), and ended when Griffin Carr hit Spencer Chapman on a 13-yard touchdown. Chapman made a nice catch in the back of the end zone.

That brought Needham to within 20-17, but the Rockets did not touch the ball again. Xaverian ran the ball nine straight times, with O’Connor and Hasselbeck doing most of the work, and the Hawks closed it out in the victory formation.

“I love RPOs,” Fornaro said. “Run power often, and run people over.”

Needham has a similar philosophy, and showed from the start it would not be intimidated. After Xaverian took a 3-0 lead on a Luke Bell 39-yard field goal, Needham’s Tate Hoffmeister scored a 13-yard touchdown to give the Rockets a 7-3 lead.

Xaverian grabbed the lead back when Hasselbeck hit Caleb Brown on a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Needham’s Dante Varano booted a 35-yard field goal to tie it at 10, but the Hawks grabbed the lead again when Bell kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.

All that’s left for Xaverian is two games with its biggest rival.

“I’m just happy that we get to go out on Sunday and have a meaningful practice for a Catholic Conference championship game,” Fornaro said. “And then we’ll go on from there.”