Needham coach Doug Kopsco could see this scenario playing itself out three years ago.

A talented group of sophomores began to scratch the surface in 2022, blossomed into a legitimate contender last year and now enter Friday’s Division 1 state semifinal against St. John’s Prep as one of nine teams remaining with an undefeated record.

“We have a group of eight or nine kids that have started for us since their sophomore year,” Kopsco said. “They’ve dedicated themselves to playing for Needham, they wanted to play for their hometown team, which is a testament to them, and it’s been like a brotherhood.”

This core group has won 20 of their last 22 games with the only setbacks coming to Milton (10-9) and Xaverian (20-17) last year. Both  teams went on to win state championships in their respective division. They have a trio of scholarship athletes in Aidan Williams (Lehigh), Will McDonald (Army) and Charlie Simeone (Holy Cross).

“Needham is a really good football team,” said St. John’s Prep coach Brian St. Pierre, whose top-seeded team is 9-1. “You can tell they are experienced by the way they play. They’ve got good size, good talent and they’ve had a lot of success.”

St. John’s Prep has experienced plenty of success in its own right, especially in the postseason (the Eagles won it all in 2022 and lost in the final last year). They’ve always shown the ability to bounce back nicely as evidenced by the way they’ve played since losing to Catholic Memorial, rolling past BC High (28-0), Attleboro (42-0) and Methuen (44-7).

“We didn’t play well and combine that against a high quality opponent, we deserved the loss and to a man we owned it,” St. Pierre said. “I think having a quality opponent like BC High really helped because we didn’t have time to wallow after (Catholic Memorial).”

St. John’s Prep’s Andrew McManmon, left, is pulled down by Catholic Memorial’s David Timson during an Oct. 26 clash. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

Defense is a calling card for both teams. In its last six wins, St. John’s Prep has allowed just four touchdowns. Needham is just as stingy, permitting a mere 63 points in 10 games. Kopsco said there is no deep, dark secret as to what makes the Rockets tick on the defensive side of the ball.

“The first thing is that we have tremendous leadership on the defensive side of the ball,” Kopsco said. “Other than Will McDonald, who is 6-foot-7, we have a lot of undersized guys on defense, but they are very intense and fly to the ball. We have a swarming kind of mentality in that the first guy will take his shot, knowing if he doesn’t make the play, the next guy will be right there to make it.”

The winner will take on BC High or Xaverian in the final. These two met on Oct. 18 and the Eagles established themselves as a contender by knocking off the defending champions, 30-13.

Rematches are in vogue as five of the state semifinal matchup involve teams who faced one another in the postseason. None was wilder than the Div. 3 quarterfinal between Mansfield and Walpole, where the Hornets rallied to take a lead with 54 seconds left, only to watch the Timberwolves navigate 64 yards in 40 seconds to take a 39-31 win (the final six points coming on a defensive score as time expired).

Scituate and Grafton met in the Div. 4 semifinals last year with the Sailors emerging with a 20-10 win. The other three semifinals are rematches from state championship games of a year ago when King Philip rolled to a 42-14 win over Marshfield in the Div. 2 final, Foxboro capturied the Div. 5 crown with a 48-21 win over Hanover and West Boylston defeated Carver 41-7 to claim the Div. 8 championship.