ESPN

WEST ROXBURY, Mass. -- Following last week's season-opening loss to Milton Academy, St. Sebastian's knew one slipped through its fingers — due, in part, to some costly turnovers which led to their demise.

On Saturday, the Arrows saw things from a different perspective — bearing witness to advantages one can have when they are on the receiving end of turnovers. Roxbury Latin was the gracious gift giver, coughing up the ball on its first three possessions. That led to three touchdowns for the Arrows as they went on to roll, 37-7, in an ISL contest held at Schoolhouse Field.

Still stinging from Milton Academy defeat, St. Sebastian's, who finished 9-0 a year ago and took home the Arthur Valicenti Bowl trophy, set a precedent all week that its season begins now.

Such attitude appeared to work. The Arrows (1-1) proved highly-effective on both sides of the ball against the Foxes. They limited Roxbury Latin's offense to 153 yards, just 49 in the opening half. Offensively, they finished with 290 yards — much of that coming from its strong ground attack consisting of Connor Strachan, Blake Gallagher and Edosa Onaiwu.

"Last week, we made three big mistakes and it costs us," Arrows longtime coach Bob Souza said. "This time, Roxbury Latin made the mistakes. We did a lot of good things against Milton and our kids knew it. I told the kids this league is still up for grabs and we still have our destiny under our control. I think we'll be in the hunt for a title throughout the year."

After shutting out St. Paul's last week, the Foxes (1-1) were feeling good about their chances entering this one. But confidence suddenly turned to panic after a pair of miscues in the opening minutes gave the Arrows a short field to work with.

The first mistake came after punter John Baron couldn't handle the snap, losing control of the ball that was recovered by Miles Hunter, allowing St. Sebastian's to set up shop on the Roxbury Latin 20. Four plays later, Strachan (52 yards on 8 carries) scored from a yard out giving the Arrows a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Foxes returner Parker Kent failed to field the ball cleanly, allowing an alert John McNamara to pounce on it.

Standing the at the Foxes' 15-yard line, St. Sebastian's needed only one play to go up by two scores as Strachan busted through for the score with 4:11 still left in the initial quarter.

"We knew coming off our loss last week that we needed to be firing for this game," said Strachan, a Boston College commit. "We have a bunch of kids on this team playing both ways so we need to go heavy in the first half like we did today and set the pace for ourselves."

The two turnovers left Roxbury Latin deflated, as it could never get anything going thereafter. The Foxes’ run game was held in check throughout and quarterback Peter Cahill (8-of-16, 91 yards, 1 TD) was under constant pressure throughout by the Arrows' massive front line.

Things didn't get much better for Roxbury Latin to start the second quarter. Cahill was picked off by Strachan, which led to a 74-yard, 11-play drive culminated in Matt Daniel hauling in a 27-yard scoring pass from quarterback Geoff Wade and go up by 20.

"We told the kids all week leading up to this game that we needed to start fast," said Souza, who was inducted into the Massachusetts High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010. "We can't let up and not give Roxbury Latin any kind of an opportunity to gain momentum. Now we just need to build on this win and continue to get better."

With under two minutes remaining before the half, St. Sebastian's offense was back at it. Following a Foxes punt, the Arrows drove 65 yards behind Gallagher (9 carries, 86 yards) and Onaiwu (64 yards on 10 rushes) before Strachan was given the ball from the 1-yard line and dove across for his third touchdown to send St. Sebastian's into the break well in-command at 27-0.

"Anytime the defense can come out and do what they did and put the offense in good positions to score that's huge," said Wade. "We aren't looking to gain 500 yards a game, we just want to put the ball into the end zone."

With this contest in his control, Souza began substituting other players in. But the Arrows never lost a beat. Running back James Fiore scored on a 3-yard run to begin St. Sebastian's first drive of the second half, pushing the margin to 34 points.

The Arrows added three more early in the fourth on Kevin Ginns' 27 yard field goal.

Roxbury Latin avoided the shutout in the closing minutes as Cahill connected with receiver Sean Lowrie in the back corner of the end zone.

"That's a tough team to come back against," Foxes coach Pat Ross said. "I dreaded all week in hoping we wouldn't give up something quick to them but after our first one things began to snowball. But our guys never quit and fought the entire game. We know we aren't as big as St. Sebastian's and we knew we needed to play near-perfect football against them and unfortunately it didn't work out."

The St. Sebastian's School football team has to ask itself a tough question heading into the 2013 season.

“How do you duplicate perfection?”

After a 9-0 season, which saw the Arrows win their seventh ISL title and first NEPSAC championship, head coach Bob Souza will head back to the drawing board with yet another talented team. Despite losing nine offensive starters and four on defense, St. Sebastian's looks ready to attack a schedule that's a little tougher than last year's.

“We have a pretty good nucleus of kids coming back, including two of the best kids from last year. We think we're going to be a pretty solid team in the league, but this year the league is more balanced than it has been in previous years,” said Souza, the 2012 Massachusetts High School Football Coach of the Year.

Leading the way is all-everything senior Connor Strachan, who will play both running back and linebacker for the Arrows. Souza, entering his 36th year, said Strachan is one of the best players “and one of the better people” he has ever coached.

Strachan, who verbally committed to Boston College, is considered one of the top football prospects in New England. However, Souza is confident that his Arrows aren't a one-player team.

“At our level, he's been a special player, but as good as he is, we still have kids that are really good players,” he said. “We're a solid team, so it's not all on Connor. We think our depth is going to make it difficult for other teams. You can't just stop Connor. You have to pay attention to a few other guys.”

Several of those “other guys” will play in St. Sebastian's backfield this season. Running out of the I-Formation, the Arrows have three running backs capable of carrying the load. Strachan is the headliner, but senior James Fiore and junior Edosa Onaiwu will split carries.

Sousa is also particularly impressed with Blake Gallagher, a freshman fullback who is playing well beyond his years.

“He's a lot like Connor. He just has tremendous instincts. I would have to think he's one of the top players in his age group, and not just in Massachusetts,” he said. “I can't imagine seeing too many kids who are as physical with better instincts than him.”

There is a quarterback competition going on at St. Sebastian's, and Sousa thinks both guys could be a good fit. Junior Geoff Wade and senior Andrew Corcoran are duking it out for the top spot, and so far Wade has the edge.

“He's a very talented kid, but until you start playing and get into games, you're never quite sure how people are going to respond. He has to respond to make us good offensively,” he said.

Tight end Dan Fulham, who plays both tight and defensive end for the Arrows, will be a big target for whoever starts under center.

Defensively, St. Sebastian's will come out in its traditional 4-4 base set and hope to duplicate its performance last year. The Arrows allowed the least points in the ISL and did so behind a hulking defensive line, which needs to be replaced.

“We were a good defensive team last year. We gave up the fewest points out of everybody last year. Luckily we got a lot of kids back, but what we're missing is guys on the defensive line,” Sousa said. “We lost three guys to graduation, and all three of those guys are really good football players.”

While there are some questions on the line, the Arrows have a ton of young talent ready to step in. Factor that in with three returning linebackers – including Strachan, the team's leading tackler – and St. Sebastian's looks to be on steady ground.

ST. SEBASTIAN'S SCHOOL AT A GLANCE

Coach: Robert Souza (36th season, 154-104-9)
Last season: 9-0
Returning Starters: 9
Key Returnees: Sr. RB/LB Connor Strachan, Sr. TE/DE Dan Fulham, Sr. RB James Fiore, Jr. RB Edosa Onaiwu, Fr. FB Blake Gallagher.
Strengths: Senior leadership, depth at running back, experienced linebackers, culture of winning
Weaknesses: Inexperience on offensive/defensive line, new quarterback.

Overview: There's little doubt that the Arrows are facing a tougher schedule this season. Games against Buckingham, Browne & Nichols and Governor's Academy are tough tests for anyone. However, St. Sebastian's has good depth at its skill positions, and if it can find some continuity in the trenches, Souza may have himself another championship-caliber team. Of course, it helps when your best player is one of the top athletes in the region. Strachan is the best linebacker in the state, and Souza said “Boston College is going to be very happy with the kid they recruited.” Strachan is a stud, and is the type of kid that can change a game by himself. The quarterback position needs to get settled, but in a run-first offense, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. There is a ton of depth at running back, and St. Sebastian's is going to grind a lot of teams down the old-fashioned way. Factor in freshman phenom Blake Gallagher, and it looks like the Arrows are simply reloading.