Jonathan DiBiaso needs 17 minutes to break Massachusetts TD passing mark

If Everett (Mass.) senior quarterback Jonathan DiBiaso was nervous on Friday night, he sure didn't show it once the game got underway.

Needing just three touchdown passes to break the state career record, DiBiaso fired a 36-yard scoring strike on his initial attempt and finished the first quarter with four and a new record.

With five minutes left in the second quarter, he had completed nine of 12 passes for 209 yards and six touchdowns and then sat out the rest of his team's 41-14 rout of Medford (Mass.).

The previous record of 85 touchdown passes by Tommy Colombo of Brockton (Mass.) had stood since 1987. DiBiaso's record now stands at 88 with up to five games remaining.

Colombo, who played for his legendary father, Armond Colombo, told Bob Holmes of the Boston Globe, "He comes from a great family. I'm really happy for him. He's a wonderful kid and he comes from a great football tradition. If you're in a home run hitting contest with Babe Ruth, being second isn't a bad thing."

Jonathan also plays for his father, John DiBiaso.

"It's very gratifying," the coach told us Saturday. "I'm very proud of him. He was pretty apprehensive the whole day. That is not his regular demeanor. Once the game started, his competitive juices flowed. We ran only 14 plays and 12 were passing plays. He hit nine even though they were dropping 10 guys in coverage trying to stop him."

Said Jonathan: "As it came closer to game time, I was getting more nervous because I wanted to get it over with. (The record) feels great. Colombo is a legend in Massachusetts and it's a great honor."

Surprisingly, Jonathan's big dream as a youngster wasn't about records - it was all about a special uniform number.

"My dream was to wear No. 6," he said. "Through Pop Warner I always wore No. 6. The top players (at Everett High) wore No. 6. My father wore No. 6 (when he played for Everett). I always looked up to my dad. He's been the biggest influence on me. He's a lot more tougher on me and I always get a lot of criticism from others (because he's the coach's son). That just sets a fire in me."

John DiBiaso isn't surprised by his son's passing accuracy. He knows where it came from.

"When he was a little guy, he used to come to the gym (he also was the basketball coach then) with me," he said. "He would throw his little Pop Warner football in the basket. He would throw from the corner, then the top of the key, then half-court when he was four or five years old. He would throw it full-court when he was 11 or 12. My quarterback would try to beat him and he couldn't do it. It would crack the (older) kids up. I still tell him that's why he is so accurate today."

Jonathan has a 4.0 grade point average and ranks No. 29 in a class of 450. He is being recruited by the likes of Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton, Penn and Holy Cross.

"If other schools pop up, things could change," he said.

Meanwhile, his only mission is to add more victories to the Crimson Tide's 8-0 record and repeat as Super Bowl champion.

"Anything less than that is failure," he said.