Xavier Shocks Christ the King in Epic AA Title Bout

By Matt Diano: They said “nothing could possibly top the first meeting between the Royals and the Knights as the game of the year”; they said “if it becomes a shootout, Christ the King will take the title”; THEY WERE WRONG!!!

In an NYCHSFL AA finals contest that saw the two combatants, the Royals of the CTK and the Knights of Xavier, take turns trading key scores for the entire 48 minute duration, it would be the most unlikely of plays that proved to be the difference maker in helping the latter [Xavier] to their first Catholic League title since 2012 by a score of 28-25 over their previously unbeaten opponents from Middle Village…Trailing 25-20 in the final 1:14 seconds of regulation, Xavier would go to an all-out punt block, a formation that Coach Chris Stevens and his program had not bothered to drill at all during the course of the year…As it turns out, practice would prove to be unnecessary as the Knights would convert as junior linebacker, Rory Kinsella, would be the one to get a piece of the ball and senior DB, Jack Abbruzzese would reap the benefits, scooping up the pigskin and sprinting 44 yards untouched to rip victory right out of the hands of defeat.

King, who was seeking their third overall AA crown (first since going back-to-back in 2002 and 2003) would have one final opportunity for the steal as senior Quarterback, David Navas would find the team’s leading receiver, junior Tosin Oyekanmi, multiple times during the last ditch effort, as the duo successfully moved the ball inside the Xavier 29-yard line…However, knowing that the clock was his enemy, the 6’0, 185-pound signal-caller would go to the well one too many times as his throw into the end zone [intended for for Oyekanmi] would be picked off by senior cornberback, Guiseppe Orlando, with 23 ticks remaining on the clock…The interception by the Brooklyn native would happily make amends for the touchdown reception he surrendered to Oyekanmi three and a half minutes earlier that gave the top-seeded Royals the aforementioned five point lead.

The action described above would be reminiscent of how the whole game was played, as there would be more than half a dozen lead changes, including four in the final quarter alone.

Breaking the ice on the first series of the game to take a 6-0 lead would be Christ the King who after receiving a big yardage pass play from Navas to Alex Miranda, would hand the ball off to junior, Siddiq Muhammad, who took it the remaining three yards for the touchdown 2:15 into the opening quarter.

With 8:24 remaining in first half, Xavier would capitalize off of a first down they were awarded following an offsides call against CTK on 4^th-and-1…Smelling the end zone, senior Michael Chiarovano, would take the direct snap and plunge it over the goal line to tie the game at six apiece…Xavier would put the extra point through the uprights to seize their first, but hardly their last lead of the afternoon.

The Knights’ advantage would be short lived though as just over two minutes later (approximately 6:00 remaining in the opening half), a Justin Terry fake punt and run on 4^th-and-long would set up the final score of 1^st half…With his team in the red zone thanks to Terry’s explosive dash down the sidelines, Navas would be the recipient of a little good luck, as his pass would get tipped but still find a way to land in the waiting arms of Aron Sanabria to give the Queens based squad the 13-7 edge heading into the locker room.

The second half would pick up where the first left off, as Chiaravano, who aside from his one TD, had been relatively quiet during in the first two quarters, would come out of the break like a man possessed, accumulating more grounds yards on this one drive than he had in all of his team’s 1^st half possessions…The 5’8, 175-pounder would culminate the series by punching in the second of his three TDs from 2-yards out to make the score 14-13 in favor of the second-seeded Knights.

Daring Xavier’s NYCHSFL leading run defense to deny them, Christ the King would march down the field towards the end of the 3^rd quarter, laying the tracks for Ahmad Fernandez’s TD run at the onset of the fourth quarter to once again put his team back in front, 19-14.

On the ensuing drive, it would be the Knights’ turn to answer and answer they answer would, as a 20+ yard pass from Orlando (who doubles as the team’s QB) to Michael D’Onofrio would put Xavier on the 1-yard line…A false start would push the ball back to the six, but on third down, Chiarovano would again rise to the occasion, finding a hole up the middle and cruising seven yards into the end zone for the 27^th and final time in 2015 to make the score 20-19 with 7:04 left to play…Chiaravano ended the game with 166 (127 in the 2^nd half) yards on 30 carries, and of course, those three TDs.

In the endless game of “gotcha last”, the AA division’s leading offensive team would record their final touchdown of the season with approximately 4:00 on the clock as Navas went deep to Oyekanmi for the 20-yard Touchdown strike cited above.

The 25-20 lead would look to be enough when senior linebacker, Nicholas Calle intercepted an Orlando pass with 2:44 remaining. But alas, on a Saturday afternoon where no lead was ever safe, the Xavier defense would not break, forcing CTK into a punting situation and acting as the precursor to perhaps the greatest come-from-behind win in Catholic football history.

Offensive MVP of the Game Honors went to RB Michael Chiarovano. Mike was the leading rusher in the game with 166 yards and 3 TD’s, 127 of those yards came in the 2nd Half of the wild see saw battle.

Defensive MVP of the Game Honors went to CB Jack Abbruzzese .  Jack’s scoop and score on the blocked punt late in the 4th Quarter gave the Knights the edge for good.

Game Stats

NYCHSFL FOOTBALL November 21, 2015   AA Championship – Christ the King vs. Xavier

 Xavier

Rushing              

Passing    

 Receiving

Christ the King

Rushing

Passing    

       Receiving