DANVERS – In the end, St. John’s Prep senior QB Deacon Robillard had to wait just over a quarter for his shot at redemption. Still stinging from a late interception in last week’s upset by Needham in the Div. 1 semis, Robillard came on in relief in the driving rain and threw for three touchdowns as St. John’s Prep toppled Xaverian, 23-6, in the 56th Thanksgiving sit-down between these two Catholic Conference heavyweights.

“I definitely thought about that moment a lot and I definitely did not want my last career pass to be an interception,” said Robillard, who came on in relief of freshman standout Chris Vargas with just over 9 minutes to go in the first half and with the Eagles down, 6-0. “This program means so much to me, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Robillard wasted no time going 4-for-8 for 52 yards in the quarter connecting with Merrick Barlow on a pretty fade from seven yards out and then found junior Pierson Scala (2 TDs) in stride from 26 yards out with 5:17 left as the Eagles (10-2) took a 13-6 lead into the break.

“Deacon has done so much for this program and I’m so happy for him to have that moment,” said veteran Prep coach Brian St. Pierre.

Xaverian, which leads the all-time series 32-24, rested a few key cogs, including standout back Vincent Busa, in advance of next week’s Super Bowl showdown with Needham.

Behind the hard running of senior Jeff Quigley (20-115), the Eagles controlled the ball in the second half and when Robillard found Scala on a pretty hookup from 15 yards out, the Eagles’ fans were ready to preheat the ovens across the North Shore. Senior kicker added the whipped cream on top of this pie when his line drive from 44 yards split the monsoon, and the uprights, with 4:50 to go in the third.

Xaverian, which got a monster game from receiver Dave Chiavegato (4 catches, 95 yards, TD), did not go quietly and drove to the Eagles’ 11-yard-line late in the third but a thundering sack by Prep senior Nick Schibli (2 huge sacks), followed by another from fellow senior Jackson Tucker, ensured this group of seniors would stay perfect for their four years at Glatz Field, to go along with a state title and a state runner-up effort.

“That was a really big focus point,” said Schibli. “It was my last time out there so I kind of emptied out everything I had. We’re not going to be in the Super Bowl, but I think we ended things on the right note.”