Last Call For Everett's John DiBiaso

Fans of the Everett High School football team have a passion for all things Crimson like no other city in Massachusetts. So when coach John DiBiaso announced his retirement Wednesday, less than a week after winning his second straight MIAA Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium, there were probably a few tears shed in the community of more than 46,000 people on the outskirts of Boston.

Pick a favorite game, a season, maybe even a player. But I'll pick one play - on Dec. 2, 2006. It was a crazy play, even reckless because of the stakes. It was all things Everett and there was only coach in the state with the guts to call it.

Everett was ahead of Brockton, 14-0, early in the second quarter of the Division 1 Super Bowl at Quincy's Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Crimson's drive had stalled at their own 16 and it was fourth-and-inches. It bears repeating ... the ball was on Everett's own 16-yard-line. And DiBiaso went for it.

I remember seeing the offense remain on the field and thinking maybe DiBiaso was distracted and didn't realize it was fourth down. Or maybe he was trying to draw the Boxers offsides. No, he was going for it.

The handoff went to Isaac Johnson, one of many great backs to have worn the Everett uniform. As he done all year, Johnson allowed his line to open a hole, and 84 yards later he scored to make it 21-0. They might as well have ended the game right there. Brockton was finished. Everett went on to win, 35-6.

A book was written about Everett football by Arnie Boardman. It weighs 17 pounds and much of it was hand-written. "City of Champions" chronicled the team from 1893 to 2007. DiBiaso's first year is well documented, although I can't tell you on what page since the book didn't have page numbers. But it was 1992 and Everett went 7-3 led by quarterback and safety Robert Moreschi. It was the Crimson's best record since 1975 according to Boardman, a Korean War hero who passed away in 2014 at the age of 85. DiBiaso continued to turn out talented players, many of whom earned college scholarships. Some, like Omar Easy, even played in the NFL.

Over the years, DiBiaso was popular in 02149, not so much elsewhere. Everett was the bully on the Greater Boston League block, winning title after title in dominating fashion. Many reasons were given when Arlington, Revere, Peabody, Cambridge, and Waltham left the GBL. But getting beaten up by the Everett football was one of them. Everett and the remaining GBL schools of Malden, Medford, and Somerville joined the Northeastern Conference this past year, with the stipulation that Everett played an independent football schedule.

And there were whispers, sometimes even loud screams, that Everett was stealing players from other communities. Somehow a great player suddenly was living with an aunt in Everett. It frustrated other GBL schools, especially when they felt the student belonged in their school. But where there was frustration, there was never proof.

Following in DiBiaso's steps won't be easy. He finished with a career mark of 304-75-1, including 12 Super Bowl titles at Everett, and one of only four coaches in the state to win more than 300 games. And he's the only coach that would have gone for it that December day in 2006.