CHESTNUT HILL — Michael Seward Jr. rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score with a minute to go, to lead St. Paul’s to a 23-20 win over BB&N in the John Papas NEPSAC Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium on the campus of Boston College.

The game featured a pair of heavyweights with St. Paul’s (9-0) the Evergreen champion and BB&N (8-1) this year’s ISL-7 champion.

“This is amazing,” Seward Jr. said. “We won a bowl game sophomore year versus BB&N but last year we fell short. From the beginning of the year, I knew we were strong enough and could get it done. Shoutout to our athletic director Chris Smith for getting this all done (to play at Boston College) and ensure this experience. This was very special.”

On the heels of a pair of scores from Seward Jr., to go with a 23 yard field goal from the senior, St. Paul’s held a 16-7 lead at the break. BB&N running back Bo MacCormack came to life in the second half with 20 of his 28 carries (179 yards, 2 touchdowns). After the Knights defense forced a pair of St. Paul’s punts, MacCormack rushed on seven of eight offensive plays to get BB&N to the one-yard line before quarterback Damon Taylor trucked into the end zone to trim the deficit to 16-14 early in the fourth.

Moments later, the Knights defense forced a third consecutive punt from St. Paul’s allowing MacCormack to go back to work. The senior rushed five times for 27 yards down to the 24-yard line. Then, the premier back in the Northeast put forth his best run of the day, bursting through the line of scrimmage, shedding a pair of tackles from Big Red linebackers and then holding off the free safety for a 24-yard touchdown and a 20-16 lead with 4:44 remaining.

St. Paul’s, however, proved to be the team of destiny.

After a defensive holding penalty brought the Big Red to midfield, Seward Jr. rushed for 10 yards to bring the ball inside the 40. An eight-yard completion from Webber Marx to Teigan Pelletier coupled with a roughing the passer penalty pushed the Big Red down to the 16-yard line. Seward Jr. hauled in a swing pass for 13 yards to set up his three-yard TD with 1:00 remaining.

“Our quarterback Webber Marx came up with some big throws,” St. Paul’s coach Craig Vandersea said. “Our guys have been behind before against Dexter Southfield which is a pretty similar level of team. So I think that helped us. It was as good of a football as I’ve seen.”

BB&N had one final hope on its own 36-yard line, but Lee Brady came up with the interception.

“Somehow, (Michael Seward) needs a college. He does not have a college,” Vandersea said. “He had a terrific senior year.”