WOBURN — When you’re the No. 1 seed, sometimes, you have to prove you earned it.

Friday night, top-seeded St. John’s Prep (11-0) showed everyone why it’s the team to beat in Division 1. The Eagles knocked off No. 4 Andover, 35-7.

Prep is going back to Gillette Stadium for the fourth time in five years. With his current squad, coach Brian St. Pierre sees similarities compared to his 2018 and 2019 teams – both of which won Super Bowls.

He praised his hardworking players for getting back to the big game, this year, against No. 2 Xaverian.

“These kids deserve all the credit; they put so much work in. I’m just proud of how we work,” said St. Pierre, a former NFL and Boston College quarterback. “These kids roll up their sleeves, they put their hand in the dirt, and are willing to do it. That’s why we are here.”

“This year, we are a blue-collared group,” St. Pierre said. “It’s not stat-driven with us; it’s about winning and performing.”

And he’s always looking for someone to make a play. An example of that came from Anthony Bechalany, who recorded an interception in the first half.

“He’s playing the most snaps he’s ever played in his career the last two weeks,” St. Pierre said. “We’re just searching for guys to step up and we’re not afraid to put guys in positions that we think can help us. He did a good job.”

Football has three phases, but Friday, the Eagles only needed two. They didn’t punt in the first half and only used special teams units after scoring touchdowns.

Prep had three different scorers en route to a 28-0 lead at the half. Former Lynn English Bulldog Edwin Castro rushed for two scores, one for 11 yards and another for 3.

“We try to maximize opportunities to guys that help the team,” St. Pierre said. “As a staff, [we] try to look deeper [than just their position] and see if they can help us in other areas.”

Quarterback Deacon Robillard threw for 106 first-half yards with two touchdown passes. Tight end Mason McSweeney (14 yards) and Gavin Gold (28) hauled in the two touchdown grabs.

On defense, the Prep forced two first-half turnovers. In addition to Bechalany’s interception, Nick Schibli had a strip sack, which was recovered by Alexander Bajoras.

Andover showed some life in the third quarter after Dominic Papa threw a 54-yard pass to Chris Dessin inside the 5-yard line. After consecutive false start penalties, Andover stayed patient and scored its first points of the game as Papa found Dessin again, this time for 16 yards (28-7).

But the strength of the defending champs was too much for the Golden Warriors.

It’s a total team game for the Eagles, as on offense, 13 players touched the ball and five players recorded touchdowns. Hard-nosed running back Cam LaGrassa led the Eagles with 66 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Prep has seen a lot, but something unique is that the Eagles will face Xaverian twice in the next two weeks: Thanksgiving, and the Super Bowl.

“I’m not even there yet. I know it’s a topic on a lot of peoples’ minds. I’m just not there yet,” St. Pierre said.