It’s wire-to-wire for No. 1 Everett

Everett started the season as the consensus No. 1 team in the state.

The Crimson Tide ended it in similar fashion.

Everett capped off a second straight Division 1

Super Bowl in impressive fashion, taking Xaverian’s best shot in the first half before rolling over the Hawks in the final 20 minutes, 35-10.

The hallmark of the Everett team was its prolific offense. Jake Willcox stepped in at quarterback for graduated All-Scholastic Jordan McAfee, and the offense never skipped a beat. He took advantage of a talented stable of receivers to go along with running backs Jacob Miller and Kevin Brown to put up an average of more than 40 points per game.

Now that we’ve taken care of the simple issue of who is No.1, the compelling argument is who follows Everett in the final Sweet 16. The obvious two candidates are Central Catholic and King Philip.

Let’s start with the Merrimack Valley Conference Large champions from Central Catholic. The Raiders dominated the competition and nearly mounted a historic rally from a 31-point deficit against Everett in the Div.1 North final before bowing, 37-29.

On the other hand, there is King Philip, proud owners of a statebest 25-game winning streak. The Warriors rallied once again in the second half, this time to defeat Lincoln-Sudbury, 10-7, on a Cole Baker field goal to defend the Div. 2 title.

The slight edge goes to Central Catholic. The Raiders, with more game-breakers, were a little more explosive on offense.

Perhaps the best team not to compete in a bowl game was BC High. The favorite to come out of Div. 1 South, the Eagles were stunned by archrival Catholic Memorial in a sectional semifinal on a Hail Mary.

The Eagles did exact some revenge on the Knights, defeating them at Fenway Park to clinch the Catholic Conference title, but there will always be the thought of, “What if?”

It certainly was a year of repeat winners. In addition to Everett and King Philip, Mashpee carted home its third straight Super Bowl title. For those who want to point to the fact that the Falcons are a Div. 7 team, tell that to their imposing linemen.

Then we have little ol’ Millis, the team with few members. Unfortunately for the competition, what the Mohawks lack in numbers, they more than make up for in talent.

Millis certainly earned its second straight title, defeating St. John Paul, Wareham and Cathedral on the road just to get to the final.

One team that should factor into the equation next year is Lincoln-Sudbury. The Warriors lost a heartbreaker to King Philip Saturday, but this is a team with a host of juniors in the starting lineup. If you’re looking for a trendy pick for the top spot next year, here is your team.

It was finally a joyous December day for Melrose, a team that went 0-3 in past Super Bowls. Despite losing standout back Rey Guity to a knee injury midway through the season, Isaac Seide took over as the featured back and took the Red Raiders to the promised land.

Xaverian didn’t look like much of a contender, especially after losing to Catholic Memorial during the season. Give first-year head coach Al Fornaro a lot of credit for changing things around on the fly and the players responded. The Hawks captured an unprecedented fifth sectional title and took it to Everett for the better part of a half in the Super Bowl. While the second half wasn’t what Xaverian wanted, progress was definitely made.

Final Sweet 16

1. EVERETT (11-0): Crimson Tide might lose some quality players, but Jake Willcox, Mike Sainristil and Lewis Cine are a nice nucleus to build around.

2. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (10-1): There will certainly be plenty of new faces in the Raiders lineup next year.

3. KING PHILIP (12-0): The kings of the second half were at their best over the final 20 minutes to win the Div. 2 Super Bowl.

4. DENNIS-YARMOUTH (13-0): Impressive finish to an impressive season for the Dolphins.

5. BC HIGH (10-1): The Eagles will always wonder what could have been had that Catholic Memorial Hail Mary pass not landed in Jarrett Martin’s hands.

6. LINCOLN-SUDBURY (11-1): With the majority of the team returning, longtime coach Tom Lopez won’t have to wait too long to reach the 300-win mark.

7. MELROSE (13-0): The fourth time was the charm for the Red Raiders, who finally carted home a Super Bowl title.

8. NORTH ATTLEBORO (11-2): Red Rocketeers gave St. John’s (Shrewsbury) all it could handle in the Div. 3 Super Bowl.

9. XAVERIAN (7-5): Hawks played Everett about as well as they could have for the first 20 minutes before the Crimson Tide’s talent took over.

10. MASHPEE (13-0): Three-peat for Matt Triveri and his talented flock of Falcons.

11. BRIDGEWATER-RAYNHAM (92): Trojans lose some key components, but always manage to be in the hunt.

12. NATICK (9-1): The Bay State Herget championship trophy will reside in Natick once again.

13. TEWKSBURY (10-2): Redmen love playing the little engine theory against the rest of the Merrimack Valley Conference.

14. MARBLEHEAD (10-1): Jim Rudloff has built up an annual contender in the Northeastern Conference.

15. MIDDLEBORO (10-3): The 1-2 punch of Evan Gwozdz and Jeremy Soule delivered in the clutch as did several other Sachems.

16. MILLIS (12-1): Two-time Super Bowl champs will face the numbers crunch next year.