No one can ever accuse the 2023 Xaverian football team of backing into a Division 1 state title.

The Hawks survived what could be best be described as a gauntlet on their way to the school’s first Super Bowl title since 2015. There was an epic quarterfinal win over state power Springfield Central, a hard-fought semifinal win over a 10-win Needham team and two wins over archrival St. John’s Prep in a six-day stretch to claim the Div. 1 crown.

“If you were writing a book, they might say this one would have been sports fiction,” Xaverian coach Al Fornaro said. “I don’t know if anyone has ever had to beat teams like that and then to beat a team the quality of St. John’s Prep was impressive, but our guys were ready to play.

“We had some guys banged up (the Hawks played the final two games without star wide receivers Jonathan Monteiro and Charlie Comella), but we always say next man up. Sometimes it’s nothing more than words, but we let them know that they are one injury away from playing. We were fortunate to have depth and a group of kids who have confidence in themselves.”

One of those players was Henry Hasselbeck, who saved his best for last. He came to Xaverian last year bearing the burden of being a Hasselbeck, not a small task considering both his father and uncles were quarterbacks at the school and later went on to play in the NFL. Add in the fact that another uncle (Nate) was one of the school’s all-time best wide receivers and you have a recipe for unrealistic expectations.

Hasselbeck handled the outside pressure with class and went on to prove that anything he got, he earned. He literally left his blood on the field (the product of a broken nose) in the Thanksgiving Day win over St. John’s Prep and refused to let his team down in the state finals, making countless big plays when it was needed.

“When Henry came here, we sat him down and said, ‘I don’t want you to be Matt, I don’t want you to be Timmy and I don’t want you to be Nate. I want you to be you’ and that turned out to be pretty danged good,” Fornaro said. “All the expectations never bothered him one bit and I think it’s because he’s a bit of a California-type kid, things don’t get to him. I’m just so happy for Henry that he was able to have the season he had.”

A season that concluded with not one, but two wins over St. John’s Prep. Some on social media have questioned the significance of Thanksgiving Day games under the current statewide football format, but don’t count Fornaro among that group. A pulsating 23-21 Turkey Day victory capped off by a 30-yard field goal by Luke Bell on the final play was just what the Hawks needed in the eyes of their coach.

“I really do think winning on Thanksgiving really helped our confidence going into the second game (a 31-25 win),” Fornaro said. “St. John’s Prep had been rolling over people and there were times when they rolled over us, but our kids hung in there. Winning that game and going on to beat them again at Gillette speaks to their resiliency as young men. We had our bumps and bruises as did every team at this stage of the season, but we just went out there and played the game.”

And emerged as the Div. 1 state champion.

FINAL SWEET 16

1. Xaverian (11-2): He was only there for two years but Henry Hasselbeck cemented his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks in the school’s storied history.

2. St. John’s Prep (11-2): A pair of losses to Xaverian shouldn’t take away from the season the Eagles had.

3. King Philip (13-0): The Warriors took no prisoners in their march to the Div. 2 state title.

4. Duxbury (11-1): Few will ever forget the performance Alex Barlow turned in against Scituate in the Div. 4 state championship game.

5. Marshfield (9-4): Rams are proof that it pays to play a tough schedule. They certainly did that and it played a large part in them getting to the Div. 2 state finals.

6. Catholic Memorial (8-3): Knights lose some talent, but you know they will be back in the hunt for a state title once again next year.

7. Needham (10-2): They will be talking about the 2023 Needham football team for years to come.

8. Foxboro (12-1): The short ride to Gillette Stadium proved to be a very happy one for this band of Warriors.

9. Andover (10-2): One thing we can say for sure about E.J. Perry: he knows exactly how many times we picked against his team in the weekly Pickorama.

10. Milton (9-4): Steve Dembowski said his team would be much better prepared to play Walpole the second time around and he wasn’t lying.

11. Walpole (9-4): The same things which plagued the Timberwolves early in the season came back to haunt them in the Div. 3 state championship game.

12. Milford (10-2): Not many teams can say they won 10 games and that’s a testament to the program.

13. Billerica (9-2): If you can’t get to Gillette, ending the year with nine wins capped off by a victory at Fenway Park isn’t such a bad thing.

14. Hanover (11-2): The season didn’t end the way the Hawks would have liked, but they did something no other team did – beat Duxbury.

15. Methuen (8-3): Drew Eason will certainly go down in the record books as one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history.

16. Scituate (9-4): Sailors simply had no defensive answers for Patriot League rival Duxbury at Gillette Stadium.

ON THE BENCH: Everett (9-2), BC High (6-5), Lincoln-Sudbury (8-2), Weymouth (7-4), Fairhaven (12-1), Barnstable (10-2), Bishop Feehan (8-2), Peabody (10-1), Mansfield (6-5), Woburn (8-3), Central Catholic (5-6)

SWEET 16 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1993 – Wellesley (11-0)

1994 – New Bedford (11-0)

1995 – Barnstable (11-0)

1996 – Mansfield (12-0)

1997 – St. John’s Prep (11-0)

1998 – Xaverian (10-0)

1999 – North Attleboro (11-0)

2000 – Norwood (12-0)

2001 – Everett (11-1)

2002 – Everett (12-0)

2003 – Everett (11-0)

2004 – Brockton (11-2)

2005 – Brockton (13-0)

2006 – Everett (12-0)

2007 – Everett (13-0)

2008 – BC High (11-1)

2009 – Xaverian (13-0)

2010 – Everett (12-0)

2011 – Everett (13-0)

2012 – Everett (11-1)

2013 – Mansfield (13-0)

2014 – Xaverian (12-0)

2015 – Xaverian (12-0)

2016 – Everett (10-2)

2017 – Everett (11-0)

2018 – North Andover (12-0)

2019 – St. John’s Prep (11-1)

2020 – Catholic Memorial (4-0)

2021 – Catholic Memorial (13-0)

2022 – Catholic Memorial (12-0)

2023 – Xaverian (11-2)