Xaverian and Brockton competed in nearly a quarter-century in one of the premier nonleague contests in New England before the series came to an end in 2021. The two schools will meet in the opening round of the 2024 Division 1 state tournament Friday night at the Hawk Bowl.

Back by popular demand is a look at the rivalry through the years.

1988: Brockton 52, XAVERIAN 17 – Despite what the final score said, this was a terrific high school game for a half as John Schlittler (206 passing yards) kept the Hawks within striking distance for a half (24-17). The second half was a different story as Rudy Harris (242 yards and four TDs) and Chris Campbell (108 yards) proceeded to run roughshod over Xaverian.

1989: BROCKTON 39, Xaverian 18 – Much like the year before, the ground game was the story. The quartet of Anthony Comer (204), Chris Campbell (109), Adam Williams (97) and Bobby Zurinskas (67) teamed up to rush for an ungodly 473 yards.

1990: Brockton 14, XAVERIAN 7 – The difference in this game was a punt return for a touchdown by Adam Williams off a reverse handoff from Anthony Comer. Comer led all rushers with 121 yards.

1991: BROCKTON 34, Xaverian 13 – After running over Xaverian for years, Brockton relied on a lethal passing attack to subdue the hosts. Lamar Lee caught four touchdown passes from Mark Hartsell in the victory.

1992: Brockton 26, XAVERIAN 20 – Some veteran observers called this the best high school game played in the last quarter-century. The game came down a brilliant goal line stand by Brockton, culminating in Lucien Belanger’s epic stop of Greg Comella just inches from paydirt.

1992: Brockton 18, Xaverian 17 – The first post-season meeting between the two schools provided the most dramatic finish. Trailing 17-0, the Boxers rallied to win the game on a 24-yard field goal by Alan Bercy. This was the final game for George McCabe as Xaverian head coach.

1993: Xaverian 17, BROCKTON 6 – Chris Sheehan and Reenie Cato each rushed for touchdowns as Charlie Stevenson leads the Hawks to their first win since the series began on a fulltime basis.

1994: Brockton 31, XAVERIAN 29 – The Peter Harris show as the sophomore tailback lugged the ball 36 times for 406 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Boxers back from a 22-6 first quarter deficit.

1995: Xaverian 39, BROCKTON 14 – Tim Hasselback steals the show as he throws for 207 yards and five touchdowns in the first half.

1996: Brockton 14, XAVERIAN 0 – Peter Harris turns in a more pedestrian effort in the win, rushing for 142 yards and both scores.

1997: Xaverian 28, BROCKTON 2 – Xaverian wins the battle but loses the war. After throwing his fourth touchdown pass, quarterback Brian Mann breaks a bone in his passing hand. He doesn’t return as a quarterback until the Thanksgiving Day war with St. John’s Prep.

1998: XAVERIAN 33, Brockton 6 – A one-sided battle as future BC running backs Derrick Knight (197 yards and four TDs) and J.P. Comella (87 yards and a score) roll with ease.

1999: Xaverian 40, BROCKTON 23 – The Hawks rebound from a pathetic first-half by scoring 33 points after the break. Giovanni Benson rushed for 125 yards and four scores, while Peter Shean caught a pair of touchdown passes.

2000: Brockton 17, XAVERIAN 7 – Brockton’s win was memorable in that it was Armond Colombo’s 300th win as a high school coach.

2001: Xaverian 27, BROCKTON 26 – David Nelson refused to let the Hawks lose on this wild Friday night. Nelson carried the ball 27 times for 239 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-winning 51-yard TD run with 4:30 remaining.

2002: XAVERIAN 13, Brockton 7 – A pair of Shane Hopkins touchdowns in the first half was the difference as the Hawks held off a fast-charging Brockton contingent in the fourth quarter.

2003: Xaverian 14, BROCKTON 7 – A 53-yard punt return by John Barker and a 1-yard sneak by Zack Asack was all Xaverian needed to defeat new Brockton coach Peter Colombo.

2004: XAVERIAN 35, Brockton 21 – Zack Asack throws for 221 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawks jump out to a big lead and coast.

2005: BROCKTON 21, Xaverian 14 – Brockton jumps out to a 21-0 halftime, before holding off a late Xaverian charge to snap a four-game losing streak to the Hawks.

2005: BROCKTON 14, Xaverian 7 – Brockton defends its Super Bowl, keeping Xaverian out of the endzone from inside the 5 in the final seconds.

2006: Brockton 15, XAVERIAN 13 – Sharrieff Hall emerges as the hero, a blitz from his cornerback position resulted in an intentional grounding call in the endzone with 1:20 remaining, giving the Boxers the win.

2007: BROCKTON 42, Xaverian 14 – Hawks hung close for a half before getting bombarded in the second half as the Boxers rolled to their fourth straight win in the rivalry.

2008: XAVERIAN 34, Brockton 6 – Brockton turned the ball over six times as Xaverian recorded its largest margin of victory in the series. Anthony Knight rushed for 103 yards and three scores, while Anthony Varrichione threw for 124 yards before suffering a season-ending broken collarbone.

2009: Xaverian 14, BROCKTON 7 – Hawks take charge in the second half as Joey Colton rushes for 102 yards and one score, while Chris Tamasi provides the game-winner on a 25-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

2009: Xaverian 21, Brockton 14 – The Hawks completed a two-game sweep by besting the Boxers in the semifinals of the playoffs. Joey Colton rushed for two scores and Steve Warren hauled in a 26-yard TD pass from Alex Phelan to overcome a pair of touchdowns by Brockton’s Dominique Williams.

2010: XAVERIAN 23, Brockton 20 (double overtime) – One of the more bizarre games in the epic history between the schools. Hawks seemed dead in the water when a roughing-the-kicker penalty allowed the Boxers to retain possession, leading 14-7 with less than two minutes remaining. But Xaverian recovered a fumble and quickly marched down the field, tying the score on a TD pass from Chris Calvanese to Muir. After the team exchanged touchdowns on the first possession, Zach Maiuri’s interception led to Jules Murphy’s game-winning field goal.

2011: XAVERIAN 31, Brockton 0 – The first shutout in the series for Xaverian, the Hawks forced four turnovers and limited the Boxers to less than 150 yards of total offense. Hunter Taute scored twice, while Chris Calvanese completed 7-of-12 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

2012: BROCKTON 22, Xaverian 14 – Austin Roberts threw a pair of touchdown passes to Micah Morel and ran for a third as the Boxers snapped a five-game losing streak to the Hawks.

2013: XAVERIAN 14, Brockton 0 – Kenny Kern put a lid on Xaverian’s second shutout over Brockton in three years when he sealed the deal by returning an interception 57 yards for a touchdown with 47 seconds left.

2014: Xaverian 34, BROCKTON 14 – Jake Farrell (146 yards) and Kenny Kern each rush for two scores as the Hawks amass 295 rushing yards and pulled away late.

2015: XAVERIAN 33, Brockton 0 – Hawks keep Boxers without a first down for nearly three quarters en route to a one-sided victory.

2015: XAVERIAN 35, Brockton 0 – Devin Piccinin runs for 95 yards and three touchdowns, while the Hawks’ defense duplicated their performance in the regular-season meeting, holding the Boxers to two first downs en route to their third straight Div. 1 South sectional title.

2016: Xaverian 28, BROCKTON 7 – Hawks rally from an early 7-0 deficit to give Charlie Stevenson his 200th win. Mattison Cronin threw for one score and ran for the another to lead the way.

2017: XAVERIAN 31, Brockton 0 – Ike Irabor runs for 129 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawks shut out the Boxers for the fourth time in their last six meetings.

2018: Xaverian 14, BROCKTON 0 – Justin Wenstrom keyed a strong defensive effort with a pick-6, while Mike Masse and Mike Saliba had solid ground games for the victorious Hawks.

2019: Brockton 41, XAVERIAN 21 – Ahmik Watterson ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns, while Devonte Medley added 165 yards and two more scores as Brockton defeated Xaverian for the first time in seven years.

2020: Xaverian 42, BROCKTON 7: It was the Michael Berluti Show as the senior quarterback threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for a third in a lopsided win.

2021: XAVERIAN 42, Brockton 6: Jake Gilbert threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, while Michael Oates rushed for 124 yards and two more scores in the win.

Series: 24-15, Xaverian (includes Xaverian’s win in the 1960s’).