Jonathan DiBiaso
The great victory over St. Johns Prep by the Crimson Tide football team in the Superbowl last Saturday is one of the truly magnificent achievements in modern sports history in the life and times of this city.
The stars of this championship team are many and their exploits were extraordinary.
Jonathan DiBiaso, son of coach John DiBiaso, was the Tom Brady of this outstanding team.
He broke the all-time single season touchdown passing record.
He led the Crimson Tide to a 12-0 season.
But his essence is that of a highly accurate passing prodigy.
Matt Costello, one part of the astounding duo who DiBiaso threw to for all those beautiful touchdowns, will be heading to the Ivy League. Is it any wonder?
He has great hands, great athleticism, great timing and all the qualities that make a wide receiver such an integral part of a winning football team.
There is Manny Asprilla, who will take his brilliant athletic skills to Boston College next year.
Asprill was another favorite target of John DiBiaso, who was a threat to score every time he touched the ball.
Vondell Langston – here is superb running back with power and grace who understood the importance of teamwork.
Chris McCarthy led a ferocious defense that made it so difficult for other teams to score points against the Tide.
Ryan Pietrantonio carried on the excellent football tradition of his family by helping to lead Everett to another football championship.
And we haven’t even mentioned the unsung heroes of this team, the offensive line.
It all comes back to Coach John DiBiaso who we believe has supplanted the late Stan Bondelevitch – the legendary Swampscott football coach – as the greatest coach in the history of high school football in Massachusetts.
DiBiaso is the Bill Belichick of high school coaches.
He is a genius at what he does.
He is a genius at how he motivates young men to become football players and stars.
DiBiaso and his football players have won an astounding 8 football championships.
There is no team in modern history that comes close to such an awesome achievement.
The Crimson Tide this year ruled the major football fields in Massachusetts.
Its stars aren’t just athletes but students as well.
They are students and athletes, products of Everett High School and of a public school culture that aided them in reaching for the stars.
To the parents of everyone who played on this team we offer congratulations.
For the players themselves, we offer congratulations on this fabulous achievement.
And to the public school administration and School Department and School Committee who fund sports and everything else that is meaningful in this public school system – we say thank God you all care and look at what it has reaped.