2025 Division 1-4 Football Championships: Xaverian, Catholic Memorial, Scituate Keep Rolling; King Philip Prevails

The 2025 MIAA Football Tournament began with a total of 126 teams across eight divisions, with 16 qualifiers in each division except Division 2 (14 teams). Following three weeks of action before Thanksgiving, 16 teams took to the turf at Gillette Stadium from December 4-6, and eight champions ultimately were crowned.

Three of the four champions were repeats from 2024, as Xaverian Brothers High School (Division 1), Catholic Memorial School (Division 2) and Scituate High School (Division 4) continued their winning ways. Meanwhile, King Philip Regional High School celebrated its second title in three years but first in Division 3.

Here is a recap of the Division 1-4 championship games:

Division 1

It was a historic night for Xaverian, which became the first program in the MIAA statewide era (since 2013) to win three consecutive championships in the same division.

The No. 3 seed Hawks rode a huge performance from junior quarterback Will Wood and a big first half to hold off No. 1 seed Saint John’s Preparatory School, 41-35.

Wood threw for 345 yards, the third-most in an MIAA championship game, and five touchdowns while completing 11 of 16 passes. The biggest recipients were a pair of senior captains, as Dave Chiavegato had 5 catches for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Christian McIntyre added 6 catches for 181 yards and two scores.

Xaverian also beat St. John’s Prep for the 2023 championship, then followed up with last year’s 14-7 victory over Needham. The Hawks are 11-6 all time in Super Bowls/MIAA Championships.

Wood connected with McIntyre for a pair of long touchdowns (65, 62 yards) as well as a 14-yarder to Chiavegato, and sophomore Rocco Desisto (22 carries, 76 yards) added a TD run as the Hawks stormed to a 27-7 halftime lead.

St. John’s Prep rallied in the second half, starting with an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown from sophomore Riley Selvais, who also had a first-half touchdown reception. Sophomore quarterback Chris Vargas also connected twice in the fourth quarter with senior Ethan Stefanovich (4 catches, 111 yards), but the Eagles were unable to complete the comeback.

Vargas completed 10-of-25 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns for St. John’s Prep. Jordan Toribio led the ground game with 10 carries for 85 yards and a score. St. John’s Prep is now 6-6 all time in championship games.

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 2

Sophomore Christian Simmons ran for three touchdowns, senior quarterback Kise Flannery added a pair and No. 1 seed Catholic Memorial continued its recent dynasty with a solid 41-14 victory over No. 2 seed Bishop Feehan High School.

Simmons and Flannery scored touchdowns just 42 seconds apart in the second quarter to help the Knights break a 7-7 tie and eventually pull away for the program’s fourth Division 2 championship in five years. Catholic Memorial repeated as champion after beating King Philip in 2024 (as well as 2021 and 2022) and improved to 6-3 all time in Super Bowls/title games.

Flannery’s first touchdown opened the scoring at 3:29 of the first quarter, but the Knights found themselves in a battle when Bishop Feehan responded early in the second on a 7-yard touchdown pass from senior captain Owen Mordas to senior Andrew Orphanos to tie the game, 7-7.

After Catholic Memorial took control with a 21-7 lead at the half, the Knights put it away in the third quarter with two more touchdowns from Christian Simmons (8 carries, 69 yards) sandwiching another by senior Isaiah Simmons (6 carries, 83 yards). Flannery ran for another 81 yards on 16 carries, and also completed 6-of-11 passes for 69 yards.

For Bishop Feehan, making its first championship appearance since 2012, Mordas completed 16-of-25 passes for 157 yards and two scores. Senior Max Pennelatore had 7 catches for 58 yards, and senior Kaden Baltazar added 3 catches for 57 yards and the game’s final score.

Bishop Feehan is now 8-3 all-time in Super Bowls/MIAA Championship games.

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 3

Seniors Tallan King and Keigan Canto-Osario each rushed for more than 100 yards and No. 1 seed King Philip capped a perfect season with a 21-10 victory over Hockomock League rival North Attleboro High School.

The Warriors ran for 281 yards, led by King’s 149 on 23 carries. Canto-Osario added 103 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown, and King Philip also got rushing scores from senior quarterback Zachary Gebhard and senior running back Ryan Greenwood.
Greenwood’s 1-yard plunge with 43 seconds remaining in the first half put the Warriors ahead to stay, 14-10. Canto-Osario’s 7-yard TD capped the scoring in the final minute of the third quarter.

The No. 7 seed Red Rocketeers took a pair of leads in the first half, starting with a 1-yard run from sophomore Nathaniel Robin with 1:18 left in the first. After KP tied it on Gebhard’s score from 2 yards, senior Nick Torres booted a 25-yard field goal to give North Attleboro a 10-7 lead.

For King Philip, this was the fifth straight appearance at Gillette, with the previous four coming in Division 2. The Warriors won the title in 2023 (42-14 over Marshfield) and are 4-4 all time in title games, all since 2016.

Senior Dylan Brousseau completed 5-of-13 passes for 147 yards to lead North Attleboro, which was the defending Division 3 champion (35-0 over Mansfield in 2024). The Red Rocketeers are 8-5 all time in Super Bowls/MIAA State Championships.
King Philip also prevailed in the teams’ regular-season Hockomock meeting, 21-7, on Sept. 12.

Box Score     Bracket     

Division 4

In one of the best back-and-forth battles in recent championship history, Scituate had the final answer.

Captain Jonny Donovan connected with fellow senior Miller Shea for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds remaining and the top-seeded Sailors capped a comeback and defended their title with a 42-41 victory over No. 2 seed Tewksbury Memorial High School.

Scituate got the ball with 1:42 to go after Tewksbury reclaimed the lead, 41-36, on a 17-yard TD run from senior captain Ben Christopher. The 2-point try failed, which left Scituate in position for the late winning points. The title is the third in the last five years for the Sailors (2021 and 2024), and they are 4-2 all time in Super Bowls/MIAA Championships.

Donovan completed 17-of-27 passes for 336 yards, the fifth most ever in a championship game, as well as four touchdowns. Shea had a pair of scores, junior Grayson Foley hauled in 5 catches for 137 yards, and senior Cam Cerussi (6 catches, 81 yards, TD) and sophomore Sam Higgins (5-yard TD) also contributed to the big passing day.

Foley also ran for 68 yards on 21 carries for the Sailors.

Tewksbury used a big second quarter to take a 28-14 lead at the break. Christopher scored twice while senior captain Emeka Olu (14 carries, 107 yards), senior Nicky Desisto (13 carries, 71 yards) and sophomore Will Harrison (7 carries, 58 yards) all added touchdown runs. Harrison also completed 12-of-20 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown to senior captain Jonny Sullivan (6 catches, 92 yards).

Tewksbury was playing in a state championship game for the first time since 2018. The Redmen are now 3-6 all time in Super Bowls/MIAA Championships.

Box Score     Bracket