EVERETT — Everett junior Jake Willcox had big shoes to fill.
The vacancy at quarterback left by current UConn freshman Jordan McAfee — his arm, his legs, his leadership, his grace — was the only question mark on an otherwise airtight Crimson Tide roster heading into 2017.
It took Willcox all of one pass to silence any murmurs emanating from the packed stands on Homecoming Day at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Willcox comfortably dropped back in the pocket, finding senior wide receiver Jason Maitre over the middle for a 70-yard touchdown that was equal parts stunning and electrifying.
The emphatic opening statement set the tone for top-ranked Everett’s 38-7 thrashing of No. 2 Xaverian, a rematch of the 2016 Division 1 Super Bowl, which the Crimson won last December.
“It was great,’’ said Willcox of his first pass as the undisputed starting quarterback of Everett football. The 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound slinger saw his first varsity action as a freshman when injuries sidelined McAfee for part of the 2015 season.
“Jason Maitre ran a great route, broke the safety’s ankles, and was just wide open. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I was really happy to get the chance to show what I could do today.’’
Willcox made his predecessor proud, finishing with 306 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-16 passing. Though he showed occasional glimpses of inexperience — namely an interception deep in Xaverian territory late in the first quarter — the positives far outweighed the negatives.
Willcox flaunted the poise of a four-year starter, spreading around the ball to a bevy of dynamic weapons and using his agility to escape pressure and break down the Xaverian linebacking corps on multiple occasions.
“He did it himself,’’ said Everett coach John DiBiaso of Willcox’s sterling preparation. “There’s no plan or formula that you use. You just hope that the kid works hard at practice, and he did. He took a lot in and he’ll be the first one to tell you he has a lot of weapons.’’
A 2-yard touchdown run by senior Jacob Miller gave Everett a 15-0 lead heading into the break.
Any hope of a second-half Hawks comeback was quelled immediately.
Xaverian’s first snap of the third quarter resulted in a 15-yard loss, senior linebacker Duane Binns delivering a bone-crunching hit on running back Ike Irabor that jarred the pigskin loose and pinned first-year coach Al Fornaro’s squad on its 1-yard line.
The ensuing snap offered a similar result, though this time it was junior safety Lewis Cine sending the decisive blow, tackling Irabor in the Xaverian end zone for a safety and 17-0 advantage.
From there, the Crimson were off. Just more than a minute later, Willcox lofted a beautiful fade pass to senior Isaiah Likely in the corner of the end zone, a 17-yard score that all but put the contest on ice.
Everett amassed 456 yards of total offense.
“I thought Duane’s hit on that screen pass set the tone for the whole second half,’’ said DiBiaso. “We have great team speed everywhere. We can make up for mistakes. We don’t want to make mistakes, but we can make up for mistakes because of the speed.’’
Willcox summed up the opener.
Said the junior, “It’s a great start against a great team. They played hard. We played hard. We were just better today.’’
Owen Pence can be reached at owen.pence@globe.com.
