BC High advances past Springfield Central in wild affair

DORCHESTER – Carter Carroll has been dreamt at the thought of playing for a state championship. Now he is one step closer.

With Springfield Central charging back to within a score with less than two minutes to play, and BC High facing a third and 15, Carroll rolled out and hit Conrad Babka for a 57-yard reception. One play later, Carroll trucked home from a yard out to seal a trip to the Div. 1 state semifinals as No. 2 BC High defeated No. 7 Springfield Central, 41-36, on Friday night at Murphy Stadium.

BC High will take on Catholic Conference rival Xaverian in the Division 1 State Semifinals on a date and time to be determined. The Eagles won the regular season matchup 30-13.

“This is unbelievable,” Carroll said. “We have been dreaming about this since freshman football. I’ve been saying it to my friends, ‘we’re living this dream and we have got to keep it going.'”

BC High was on cruise control early in the fourth quarter as a Jackson Richard (17 carries, 90 yards) three-yard touchdown run gave the hosts a 34-12 lead with 11:56 to play.

Springfield Central came storming back. A 24-yard touchdown run by Ja’Cyion Cox pulled the visitors back within 16. Then, the Golden Eagles came up with a big defensive play as Xavier Thomas intercepted a Carroll pass.

Thomas’ pick set up a 29 yard touchdown pass from Jareth Staine to Devon Brown to trim the deficit to 34-24. The Golden Eagles kept the pressure on forcing a BC High turnover on downs. After a pair of completions from Staine, Isaiah Rogers got to the near sideline and took off for a 37 yard score that pulled Springfield back within 34-30 with 2:47 left.

The Golden Eagles looked poised to get an opportunity to go for a game winning score when their defense forced BC High into a third and 15 with 1:55 left. Carroll, however, came through, initially rolling right before throwing across his body to a wide open Babka who sprinted 57 yards. Moments later Carroll sneaked in from a yard out to seal the deal.

“We knew how talented Xaverian was when we played them in the regular season,” BC High coach Paul Zukauskas said of the impending rematch. “They’re a really good football team. It’s exciting to play in a game like that.”

Adam Ayyub began the game with a flash as he picked up the opening squib kick and went 74 yards to put BC High up 7-0. BC High upped its edge to 13-0 on a 23 yard-shovel pass for a score from Carroll to Brendan Ryan.

The Eagles maintained a 20-7 lead going into the break before opening things up to begin the third quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Carroll to Matty Duddy.