VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Springfield Central Pulls Away from St. John's (Shrewsbury) in D3 State Semis

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Westfield, Mass. - In one of the weekend's more anticipated state semifinals, Springfield Central ran away from St. John's (Shrewsbury) 56-20 to clinch a spot in the Division 3 state championship.

That game will be played at Gillette Stadium in two weeks time, but for now, check out highlights of SC's big win below.

VIDEO: St. John's edges Crosstown Rival Shrewsbury in Shootout

Video by Matt Siegel (@SportVideoMA)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - In a shootout that lived up to all the pregame hype, St. John's (Shrewsbury) topped rival Shrewsbury, 42-34, Saturday afternoon on its newly renovated Pioneer Field.

For video highlights of all the game's biggest plays, continue below for some clips from our Matt Siegel.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) rolls past Westfield into D2 C/W Final

Click any image to enlarge.

Photos by Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Worcester, Mass. -The St. John's (Shrewsbury) Pioneers are headed to the Division 2 Central/West title game after defeating the Westfield Bombers, 11-8, Tuesday at Assumption College.

Our Andrew Bowman was there to capture these fantastic images of the Pioneers' big win.

Continue for photos -

RECAP & PHOTOS: St. John's Wins Playoff Slugfest against Cross-Town Rival Shrewsbury

Story and Photos by Ryan Morgera (@RyanMor_ASSCO)

Ed. Note- Continue below for even more photos of the Pioneers and the Colonials' playoff classic. Note that you can click any image to enlarge. 

Worcester, Mass. - Rivalry is defined as “competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.”

St. John’s vs Shrewsbury is certainly that, plus a little extra pushing and shoving. Each time these cross-town rivals meet in the playoffs, they put on a great display of lacrosse at the highest level Shrewsbury, MA has to offer. Thursday, the Pioneers got the better of the Colonials, winning their Division 2 Central/West playoff game 5-4 at Assumption College.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) rolls Past Minnechaug on Senior Day

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Worcester, Mass. - The St. John’s (Shrewsbury) Pioneers handled the Minnechaug Falcons, 13-5, Tuesday at Assumption College.  The Pioneers overcame not only the Falcons, but also the heat for a memorable senior day win. 

“The heat was a challenge all day,” St. John's defensemen Joe Franzoso said. “We had to focus on winning, and playing the best defense we could to help the team win.”

RECAP & PHOTOS: St. John's (Shrewsbury) Pulls Away from Grafton

Story by Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

Ed. Note- Scroll down for a full photo gallery from the game, and note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Grafton, Mass. - Grafton High School hosted one of the best lacrosse rivalries in Central Mass, with the Indians welcoming regional power St. John's (Shrewsbury).

It would be the visiting Pioneers who would emerge victorious, defeating the Indians 10-4.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Wins a Thriller Against Wakefield

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - Host St. John's (Shrewsbury) won a chippy affair against visiting Wakefield Monday, overcoming an early deficit to steal the game in the final 35 seconds and prevail 8-7.

"We just have to show up to the games on the schedule," senior Ben Scharf said. "Once we got comfortable out there, we started to click."

PHOTO GALLERY: Xaverian Lax Downs St. John's (Shrewsbury)

Photos by Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - Xaverian hit the road and defeated Central Mass power St. John's (Shrewsbury) 9-6 Wednesday in a battle of two of the state's best Catholic School lacrosse programs.

Our Andrew Bowman was there with his camera to capture these sweet shots for you.

Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Rolls Past Westboro

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - The Saint John’s Pioneers defeated the Westboro Rangers by a final score 13-5 at Pioneer Field Thursday, led by senior captain Jack Donahue's eight points (5G, 3A).

St. John's (Shrewsbury) tops Algonquin in CMass Lax Showdown

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - The Saint John’s High School Pioneers defeated the Algonquin Tomahawks by the score 9-5 in a physical boys' lacrosse battle Tuesday afternoon.

The game was yet another chapter in Central Mass' most storied lacrosse rivalry, and these two clubs have also been highly competitive this season.  The leading scorer of the game was senior captain Jack Donahue of the Pioneers. Donahue had a hat trick and tagged two assists to go along with it. 

BC High Lax Holds off St. John's (Shrewsbury)

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Shrewsbury, Mass. - The Eagles of BC High School defeated the Saint John’s Pioneers 10-6 in lacrosse on Pioneer field Tuesday afternoon.

This game resulted in the eighth win of the season for the Eagles, while handing the Pioneers their third loss of the year.  Both teams showed fantastic grit and skill throughout the game. In the first, Chi Chi Price (3G) broke the ice for the Eagles, netting two contested and close shots on the goal. UNC commit and BC High School senior defenseman Will Bowen starred on the other end, strongly contesting SJ attacker Jack Donahue, not allowing the senior captain to get into rhythm offensively. 

Now the Ace: Sean Burke ready to Embrace New Role Atop Pioneers Rotation

Maryland commit and St. John's (Shrewsbury) star Sean Burke is now alone as the Pioneers ace.

By Matt Feld (@Mattyfeld612) 

St. John’s Shrewsbury’s 2017 season ended the way many thought it would.

Leading St. John’s Prep 5-4 in the top of the ninth inning of the Division 1A “Super Eight” finals, Pioneers’ ace Ian Seymour spun an 0-2 changeup past Tyler MacGregor to begin the celebration.

Catcher Jack Gardner embraced Seymour and the rest of the St. John’s squad that overwhelmed the opposition for most of the season followed.  A loaded senior class that included Gardner, Seymour, number two-starter Matt Stansky, and shortstop David Turco capped off their career in picture perfect fashion.

Sean Burke, who came charging in from first base, however, is back for his senior season ready to lead St. John’s back to another dog pile. 

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) vs Andover in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

North Billerica, Mass. -St. John's (Shrewsbury) is still alive in the MIAA Division 1A "Super 8" hockey tournament, after defeating Andover 3-2 in an overtime thriller.

Scroll below for some great shots of the Pioneers' big win, taken by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Henderson Powers Algonquin Past St. John's, Into D1 Central Finals

Algonquin senior Kyle Henderson finished with 36 points to lead Algonquin to its first ever D1 Central title game.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Worcester, Mass. - Behind one of the greatest performances in program history, Algonquin is headed to its first ever Division 1 Central final after defeating perennial power St. John's (Shrewsbury) 82-70 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

That historic performance came from senior captain Kyle Henderson, who poured in 36 points for the T-Hawks, including 19 during a wild third quarter, to help Algonquin avenge a 65-60 defeat at the hands of the Pioneers earlier this year.

Algonquin advances to face top-seeded Franklin Friday night at WPI in its first sectional final since the T-Hawks were a D2 team back in 2001.

PHOTO AND VIDEO GALLERY: Algonquin Boys' Basketball tops St. John's (Shrewsbury)

Photos by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)
Videos by Matt Siegel (@mattsiegel147)

Worcester, Mass. - We will have a full recap of Algonquin's Division 1 Central semifinal win over St. John's (Shrewsbury) a little later. For now, scroll down for images and highlights of Gonk's 82-70 victory.

Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

PHOTO GALLERY: Central Catholic vs St. John's (Shrewsbury) in Super 8 Action

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Our Mike Abelson already has a full recap of Central Catholic's big win over St. John's Thursday night, and you can check that out here.

But now, continue below for photos from the big game, snapped by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Central Catholic blanks St. John's (Shrewsbury) in Super 8

Photo by Eamon Convey

By Mike Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Lowell, Mass. - A year after watching a state title disappear in overtime of the championship game, the Central Catholic Raiders stepped back into the Super 8 tournament and put the rest of the bracket on notice.

Central went wire-to-wire against an overmatched Saint John’s (Shrewsbury) team, and rolled to a 5-0 win at Tsongas Center.

Pope Francis and St. John's (Shrewsbury) Prevail in Super 8 Play-in Games

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Billerica, Mass. - Up until this past weekend, St. John's (Shrewsbury) had no clue as to what its postseason course would be. The Pioneers went to the the MIAA Super 8 tournament seeding meeting last Saturday unsure if they did enough to earn a spot in the state's most prestigious high school hockey tournament, or if they would be cast off to the Division 1 tournament.

St. John's clung to the belief that its regular season resume was enough to get in, and the MIAA selection committee felt the same, awarding the Pioneers a Super 8 play-in game on Monday night. With opportunity now in its grasp, St. John's did not disappoint, as it blanked St. Mary's (Lynn) 3-0 inside Chelmsford Forum. Seeded eighth, the Pioneers (14-6-3) move on to play No. 1 Central Catholic (21-1) Thursday at Lowell's Tsongas Arena at a time still to be determined.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) Hockey Tops Austin Prep

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Marlboro, Mass. - You can read a full recap of St. John's (Shrewsbury) hockey's big 4-2 win over Austin Prep here, but for now, continue below to the sights of the game, courtesy of our Eamon Convey.

Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Hockey Pulls Away from Austin Prep for Signature Win (UPDATE)

Photo by Eamon Convey

(CORRECTION: A previous version of this story claimed that St. John's qualified for the tournament by defeating Austin Prep when, in fact, the Pioneers remain one point shy of postseason qualification. We regret this error and have since edited the original story.)

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

Marlboro, Mass. - Not since his inaugural season back in 2013, when he reached the playoffs, has Mike Mead enjoyed this kind of success. Over the past three years his St. John's (Shrewsbury) Pioneers hockey club is usually playing out the season at this point.

But not this year.

Following Wednesday night's hard-fought 4-2 victory over Austin Prep at New England Sports Center, St. John's is now on the brink of the Division 1 postseason for the first time since that '13 campaign. The Pioneers merely need to tally one more point over their final half-dozen games to qualify for the tournament.

And, depending on how St. John's fares during the month of February, the Pioneers could prove worthy of a Super 8 berth.