DENZIL PIERRE ’24
he future for Denzil Pierre is more up in the air than his fellow Hawks,
but it’s not for lack of talent or drive. Te truth is that Denzil took a risk
coming to Xaverian, and it cost him a whole season.
Denzil was a junior year transfer to Clapboardtree Street, and he knew
there was a possibility that the MIAA might not give him a waiver to play
football - his sport, his passion, and what he sees as his (and his family’s)
ticket to a better future. He knew his junior season was critical to getting looks
from NCAA schools, but the MIAA denied his request. Faced with the choice
between continuing in Boston Public Schools and playing his junior season,
or transferring to Xaverian and losing his chance to play, he says, “It was an
easy decision.”
But life hasn’t been easy for Denzil — being evicted, having utilities cut
off, losing his sister to violence, and having neighborhood friends die far too
young. He’s someone you would expect to have a chip on his shoulder, but
instead he praises God for his blessings. Denzil is playing the long game. “No
matter where you’re from, you can make it to where you want to be if you put in
the effort,” he says.
While he couldn’t compete with the Hawks his junior year, he could practice
with them, and he put in the effort year-round. He took the gridiron by storm
when he finally got back out under the Friday night lights this year, helping
power the Hawks to a D1 State Championship. And now he waits for a college
offer. Te scholarship money would be a game changer, and he wants to make it
to the NFL so that he can provide for his mother and his extended family.
“Being a young kid in today’s society, it’s hard to figure out what you’re
going to do in the future or how you’re going to beat the giant in front of
you. But God gives me peace of mind, knowing that everything will be OK in
the end.”
MIKE O’CONNOR ’24
ike “Okie” O’Connor joins Charlie Comella and Henry
Hasselbeck on the gridiron as football legacies…all three of their fathers
having donned the blue and gold in the 1990s. As co-captain, he’s a leader on
the field, but he’s also a leader for all Xaverian students as Class President of the
Student Council, a role he has held for four years.
While Mike says football is his passion, it’s not a career goal for him. Instead,
it’s a pathway to college. He’s committed to Trinity College in the fall and says he
is excited about the academic opportunities he will find there. “I know I am not
going to the NFL, but it’s a dream come true to be playing for four more years.
I wanted to use football to get me to a college that would have been difficult
for me otherwise. I was looking for good academics along with a good football
team I could call my family. Once football is over, I want to be lef with a strong
foundation and with connections for networking.”
Just as Mike’s college plan involves a well-rounded approach, he experienced
Xaverian the same way, exploring opportunities in leadership, campus ministry,
athletics, and academics. “I came with football in mind,” he says, “but once
you get here, you open your eyes and realize there’s way more to Xaverian than
football. It’s just a small aspect of the opportunities available to you, and I’ve
learned that by getting involved in different aspects of the school.”
When Mike says he’s looking for a family out of Trinity football, he means like
the family he found as a Hawk. He notes, “Tere are so many times during the
season when Coach says, ‘Look at the guys around you, recognize the family you
have, and have that be what you’re playing for, rather than making yourself look
good.’” says Mike. It took on an even deeper meaning for this year’s team when
two players tragically lost family members. “I think in a week’s span, we had Will
Benting ’25 lose his brother and Matt Spaulding ’26 lose his father, back-
to-back. It was really beautiful to see how we all came together to support one
another, and then how we went out on the field and played for one another. We
played for the lost members of our teammates’ families.”
Winter 2024 Xaverian Magazine
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