WESTWOOD — Xaverian senior linebacker Colin Lama was just hoping he could hold onto the ball. The Hawks’ sideline was certain he would the moment the ball hit his chest.
With 31 seconds to play in Saturday afternoon’s season-opening matchup against the top-ranked Hawks, No. 2 Everett faced a third-and-15 on the Xaverian 19-yard line.
Under pressure from Xaverian captain Callum Flanders, Everett senior quarterback Jordan McAfee quickly fired the ball toward the end zone.
Lama jumped the route, picked off the pass at the 5, and high-stepped toward the Xaverian bench — his teammates already celebrating the 17-14 victory.
“We put a lot of pressure on our defense to come up big,’’ Lama said. “We were ready for that. They marched down on us, but we were ready to come up big. We knew we had to make a big play.
“I was like ‘oh man, I hope I don’t drop this.’ But yeah, [defensive coordinator Al] Fornaro just sets us up, perfect position. Cal Flanders getting crazy rushes on McAfee, and he just had to throw it and I was right there.’’
The Hawks offense returned for one snap, quarterback Mattison Cronin took a knee, and the two-time defending Division 1 Super Bowl champions had sealed their 25th straight win.
“I’ve always said the best non-league rivalry around is Xaverian and Brockton,’’ said Xaverian coach Charlie Stevenson.
“And I still believe that because of the length of time that we’ve played each other. But now that we’re playing Everett during the regular season, and we’ve now played close to 20 games and it’s pretty even in terms of the number of wins for one team vs. the other, I think that it’s becoming a really great nonleague rivalry, too.’’
Everett scored on the game’s opening drive when McAfee found junior wide receiver Anthony Norcia wide open across the middle of the field. Norcia reached the end zone untouched for a 75-yard score. Sophomore Gabriel DeSouza kicked the extra point and Everett held a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
“We were ready for McAfee, that one big play was kind of the only thing they had on us,’’ Lama said. “We weren’t really worried because we knew we’d get rid of that.’’
Xaverian responded in the second quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run by senior back Devon Piccinin. Brian Fallon nailed the extra point for the tie.
Just over three minutes later, Piccinin scored his second touchdown of the day, breaking through the middle for a 2-yard score. Fallon’s extra point gave the Hawks a 14-7 advantage they carried into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Fallon drilled a 23-yard field goal to start the fourth, extending Xaverian’s lead.
But Everett junior Jason Maitre erased the breathing room, returning the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
“They were a little better at making some big plays than we were,’’ Stevenson said. “We had one big pass play, they had that big kick return and actually had two big pass plays. It really boiled down to just us making the big interception at the end of the game and having time run off the clock.’’
Facing third and 10 with just over a minute to play, McAfee connected with Norcia for a 56-yard gain to keep Everett’s drive alive. A pair of incomplete passes and a false start set up the final play and Lama’s clutch pick.
“I think we just know we’re just two great teams and we just want to get after it,’’ Lama said. “First game, best game right there. Just awesome to be in that game.’’
Emily McCarthy can be reached at emily.mccarthy@globe.com.
