The Dragons finished the second leg of their quest to regain their sixth consecutive Division I State lacrosse championship when they knocked off Xaverian, 10-7, at Taylor Field on Wednesday afternoon in Duxbury.

The victory sends them into Friday afternoon’s semifinal round against Boston College High School; a 6-5 winner over last year’s finalist, Billerica, and a 7-3 victim of the Dragons back in April.

The game will be played at 5 p.m. at Plymouth North High School.

If there was one thing that worried Duxbury Coach Chris Sweet about playing Xaverian, it’s the fact that the Hawks never quit, so the Dragons had to go all out for 48 minutes.

Getting off to a great start was just what Sweet had hoped for, as it gave him plenty of opportunity to substitute regularly in the first half, while giving some rest to players who’ll be logging heavy minutes on Friday.

Goals by seniors Andy Popuolo and Quinn Cully had the Dragons leading 2-0 after four minutes of play, and 3-0 at the end of the first quarter as Cully made a mad dash from midfield to beat Xaverian goalie Chris Hebert.

The second quarter saw the Dragons start to widen the gap, as sophomore Kane Haffey made a beautiful move coming out from behind the net for a 4-0 lead with 8:25 left in the half.

Rob Cavanaugh finally got the Hawks on the board 14 seconds later when he caught the Dragons flat-footed, but the euphoria of averting a shutout ended quickly, as senior Jake Harvey, Haffey, and Cully scored in the final six minutes to give Duxbury a 7-2 halftime lead.

While Duxbury defenders Will Shields, JB Marston, Kyle Gavoni, and Max Randle were outstanding in the first half, the Hawks began to chip away at the lead in the third quarter, cutting the Dragons’ lead to 9-7 and making the Duxbury faithful a little uneasy.

Both teams were tentative throughout the fourth quarter, as errant passes on both sides slowed down the offenses and kept Duxbury’s narrow two-goal lead intact.

With all the experience in the Duxbury lineup, it was the freshman Randle who made a big defensive play that put the game away.

After making a rush into the Xaverian end and losing possession, Randle recovered and stole the ball back, sending a pass that eventually found its way onto the stick of Cully, who beat Herbert for the clincher with 3:33 to go.

“Getting that early lead really helped us because they were playing a zone and it allowed us to slow the game down and work the clock,” said Sweet. “Our guys know how to be patient.”