Xaverian-Central Catholic scrimmage take

WESTWOOD — MassVarsity made the short trek over to the Hawk Bowl to watch Xaverian and Central Catholic battle in their annual scrimmage. Here are a few things we saw:

— Xaverian senior Cooper Deveau should have a huge year. On offense, the Hawks moved him around a fair amount, and on defense, he showed off good wheels and tackling ability. Toward the end of the scrimmage, he caught a long touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Michael Berluti. Deveau will be one of the better two-way players in the state again.

— The Xaverian offensive line is in good standing as we inch closer to the first week. Seniors Grant Laws and Lucas Ferraro are solid pieces to build around, and the line as a whole performed well against the Central front.

— One of the other highlight plays for the Hawks came when junior cornerback Justin Wenstrom jumped a route along the Xaverian sideline and returned it for a pick-six. He saw some time as a sophomore last year, but expect his role to increase this season.

— Xaverian had intermittent success on offense, and moved the ball well on the ground one drive with several backs taking turns carrying the ball. That's how this team will butter its bread this season, which should come as no surprise.

— Central is definitely on the young side. The Raiders graduated nearly every starter, and also lost a key contributor to the ISL. Coach Chuck Adamopoulos is particularly green along the offensive line, where he started five juniors Tuesday. One senior will start but could not take part, but the overall feel is that this team will take a little time to mesh.

— The two players Adamopoulos can rely on right now are seniors Joe Howshan and Cam Boes. They are two of the better players in the state in both the secondary and at linebacker, respectively, and will act as leaders for this inexperienced squad.

— The quarterback race will be interesting. Junior Jared Silverio saw a lot of action with the first team, and ran in the Raiders' only touchdown with the first team. Keep an eye on senior Aidan Gordon, though, as well. Over the course of the season. Adamopoulos may need both.

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