The Everett High football team closed its 2021 season with a solid 44-14 victory over St. John’s of Shrewsbury on Thanksgiving morning at Everett Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Senior running back and Greater Boston League Most Valuable Player JC Clerveaux rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns to help Everett topple the Pioneers in the teams’ first-ever meeting on the holiday
Quarterback Karmarri Ellerbe also had a big day with three touchdown passes and 13-of-19 completions for 264 yards. Receiver Cam Mohamed (2 TDs, 9 catches for 160 yards) and tight end Marcus Scott (1 TD) helped showcase the multi-dimensional Everett offensive attack. Adonis Santos booted a 35-yard field goal to launch Everett’s third-quarter explosion.
The Everett offense scored the final 23 points of the game to turn a tight 21-14 contest into a runway victory.
“The score wasn’t indicative of how close the game was in the middle of the third quarter,” said Everett head coach Rob DiLoreto. “But we felt that our team had maybe our best overall performance of the season. It was nice to see our seniors go out with such a strong game on Thanksgiving morning.”
Indeed, the Tide’s deep and talented senior class can look back with considerable pride at a 9-1 record this season and winning 12 of their last 13 games under new coach Rob DiLoreto. With St. John’s staging a comeback in the third quarter, Everett’s seniors helped repel the challenge in front of the large hometown crowd.
“Our seniors really came to play in their final game,” said DiLoreto. “We got out to a really fast start (21-0 lead at the half). St. John’s, to their credit, punched us back early in the third quarter. What I was most proud of, that’s when the senior leadership really took over. We put a nice drive together and finished that off with a field goal, and then really dominated the rest of the game on offense and defense, finishing up with a nice, clean victory in a well-played game.
“After the loss against Methuen, our team showed a tremendous amount of perseverance and character and we really picked it up against Andover and St. John’s of Shrewsbury,” added DiLoreto.
Everett also beat a third playoff team, Xaverian High School, 21-19 in the season opener.
That impressive resume makes Everett High fans wonder about the No. 9 seed the Tide received in the playoffs, a scenario that sent Everett on the road to Methuen for the first-round game. Under the previous playoff format, Everett would have been the No. 1 seed and hosted the opening round game.
“I think the MIAA hopefully will take a look at the seeding and power-rankings process and make the necessary changes to create a more fair and equitable system for all of the teams in the state,” said DiLoreto.
By battling through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and going undefeated in the spring season and finishing 9-1 in the fall season, DiLoreto said, “Our seniors continued the proud tradition of Everett football, and I believe they’re passing the torch and continuing to set extremely high standards for our returning players, and we’re super proud of that.”
The Everett High football team will open its 2022 season against Xaverian High School at Everett Stadium.