There was little question it was payback time for St. John’s Prep.

The team that faced an undermanned Dragon squad and broke Duxbury’s 99-game winning streak against Massachusetts high school teams last year, celebrated on Taylor Field as if they had won the state title. They would suffer the consequences at the end of the year when the defending state champs remembered the Eagles’ antics and beat them for the state title at Harvard Stadium.

If there was ever a team that wanted to rub it in the face of the Dragons, it was Prep, and they showed how to do it on Saturday night in Danvers.

Jumping out to a 1-0 lead at the 7:29 mark of the first quarter on a goal by Matt Scalise, the Eagles had their way with the Dragons, separating themselves from the visitors after a Seamus Connelly goal tied it at 1-1.

Four more goals by the hosts in the last four minutes of the quarter would stun the Dragons, whose inability to win faceoffs and maintain possession would play right into the Eagles’ hands.

“Plain and simple. We just got outplayed,” said Duxbury Coach Chris Sweet.

There were certainly no excuses from the Duxbury coaching staff, as they watched the monstrous St. John’s defense squash the Dragons up front and bounce them all over the field with a lineup that looked like the starting offensive line for the Eagles’ football team.

Goaltender Micky Zaverucha was under the gun for the rest of the half, as the St. John’s forwards found themselves all alone on many occasions with shots a brick wall couldn’t stop.

Two goals in a 52-second span by junior Colin Blackwell made it 3-1, and another tally by senior Bobby Gallahue with 1:50 remaining suddenly had Duxbury in a panic with a 4-1 deficit.

The hosts would get possession again as the first quarter crept towards a conclusion, and they worked the clock methodically before junior Jon Farrow beat Zaverucha to his left for a 5-1 lead.

The Dragons have rarely, if ever, been in that position since the Sweet era started and how they reacted in the second quarter would decide their fate.

It didn’t take long, as junior Jimmy O’Connell found himself all alone in the slot, taking a pass and turning uncontested on Zaverucha for a 6-1 lead at the 10:27 mark.

Goals by Farrow, Gallahue, and Nick Marfongelli in the final six minutes would make it an unbelievable 9-1 before Duxbury’s Ricky Armstrong broke the Eagles’ scoring streak at eight when he buried a shot at the buzzer.

“They just thoroughly out-played us in the first half,” said Sweet. “They came out and played harder and better than we did. It was the only way we could look at it.”

Sophomore Henry Buonagurio replaced a shell-shocked Zaverucha to start the second half and his defense wasn’t much better, as the Eagles rung up three more goals, the final one of the quarter by Lance O’Donovan, who cruised through the slot with plenty of time to pick his spot.

Facing an impossible 12-3 deficit after three quarters, it was time for the Dragons to save face and show their metal.

Goals by Kane Haffey, Paul Hellar (2), and Armstrong closed the gap, but the damage had been done and Prep established themselves as the team to beat come tournament time.

“I’m not about to say our kids came out flat, but I thought they came out ready to play,” said Sweet. “That was too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of.  That is a good team we played and they came out and played flawless lacrosse in that first half and we didn’t do anything to stop them. It was definitely unfamiliar territory for our players.”

After taking on Whitman-Hanson at home Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m., the Dragons will get ready for another tough opponent when they tangle with Billerica next Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Duxbury.