Schutt Sports Coaches of the Year

North Jim O'Leary St. John's Preparatory, Danvers, MA 1997: 11-0, Div. 1 Super Bowl Champions Record at School: 96-38-2, 14 seasonsOn a drizzly and cold Thanksgiving morning, the earliest onlookers could be found claiming their seats as early as 6:30. Eventually, 10,000 interested followers would turn up in their coats and blankets to watch one of the most hyped contests in Massachusetts football history. In a state without a true playoff, tradtional rivals St. John's Prep and Xaverian, both undefeated and ranked one-two as they had been all through the year, were meeting on St. John's turf. The countdown to the event, forgetting all other games for the schedule, had been hyped by Boston media for weeks. Xaverian had won the match-up three years running, but St. John's would score late and converted a two-point conversion to win 15-14. Even a tie would have sent St. John's to a mythical