BURLINGTON — Led by 144 yards and a touchdown from workhorse running back Aidan Williams and a stingy defense, Needham punched its ticket to the Div. 1 final at Gillette Stadium with a 22-14 win over the top-seeded St. John’s Prep Eagles.

“It feels great. I don’t know if it’s even set in yet,” Needham coach Doug Kopcso said on a rain soaked night at Varsity Field. “Our kids focused on what they could control and did a great job.”

The Rockets (11-0) succeeded in all three phases on Friday.

Along with a time-consuming run game and a defense that held the Eagles under 100 yards until the fourth quarter, the Needham special teams came up with two big plays that directly led to touchdowns.

The first special teams play came late in the first quarter as both teams were struggling to get a foothold as a bad punt snap and pressure resulted in a Needham first down at the Prep 20.

Luck popped up for the Rockets one play later as Williams fumbled, but Joe Kajunski scooped it up and scored from 12 yards out.

The Eagles (9-2) responded with a 14 play, 80-yard drive that gave them the lead at 7-6 following Jeff Quigley’s 13-yard run.

That lead lasted all of 51 seconds and three plays. Williams hit Kajunski for 38 yards on a halfback pass. Then before the Eagles could recover, he bolted 41 yards on the next play and Needham was ahead for good.

“I call him the unicorn for a reason. He does everything the right way,” Kopcso said of Williams.

The Rockets blocked a punt on the next series, recovering at the Prep five. Griffin Carr’s six-yard scamper on third down game the Rockets a 22-7 halftime lead.

Both defenses dominated the third quarter before Deacon Robillard took over at quarterback for the Eagles and resurrected their chances by leading a 70-yard touchdown drive as Quigley’s second score of the night made it 22-14 with 10:04 left.

On St. John’s next possession, Jordan Toribio’s 49-yard run on fourth and three moved the ball to the Needham nine. But that’s where the potential tying drive for the Eagles died as Robillard rolled left on second down and was picked off at the goal line by Ben Schreiber with 3:57 left.

From there, Williams carried eight straight times to run out he clock and spark a wild celebration.

“This entire team is just resilient,” Kopcso said.