By Matt Diano: The quarterback position darn near had a monopoly on the NYCHSFL during week #3 as four or our six selections take the snaps for their respective schools… All four members of the honored QB fraternity threw for 250+ for a combined total of approximately 1,100 yards…In addition, the foursome averaged 3.75 TDs scored with a collective tally of 15 (13 throwing, 2 rushing)…There was an even split among the group, as two were returning POTWs from 2015, while the other half is making their debut on the list today.
The third week of the season was also chalk full of barn-burners as three of the six recipients were either the main components or significant assets in fourth quarter comeback victories.
For the first time this season, we have an underclassman among the chosen few, as a sophomore tailback from Brooklyn is new to our scrolls, but is certain to find his way back multiple times over the course of the next 2.5 years…The way he is making a habit of tearing up opposing defenses on the ground, we see a lot of pancakes (CHSFL awards brunch) in his future as well.
And finally, no Catholic Player of the Week article is official until we have an obligatory Monsignor Farrell representative…The only school to have one of their students recognized all three weeks of the season, the Lions are so gangbusters at the moment that a historic clean sweep is not the least bit far-fetched.
Francis Perry (Sr.); QB – St. Joseph’s by the Sea Vikings
Forget “Johnny Football”….If the last two weekends have been any indication of what we can expect the rest of the way for the senior signal caller from Staten Island, then the New York Metropolitan Catholic Football League has their own “Frankie Football”….The engine behind Joe’s by the Sea’s two-game win streak, as well as their first road victory since 2014, the 6’0, 160-pound field general [Perry] was so locked in during weeks 2 and 3 that the best way we can described the level of play is to say that he has been putting up “video game” statistics.
Fresh on the heels of a 259 yard throwing (17-for-25), 99 yard rushing effort that yielded five (3 in the air; 2 on the ground) scores in a 36-20 victory over St. John the Baptist on September 16th, Perry found a way to be even more exceptional last Saturday, rescuing Head Coach, Mike Corona’s Vikings from a 32-19 third quarter deficit by leading the school on a 23-6 rally to close out the game to steal the “w”, 42-38 over their hosts, Mount St. Michael Academy….Perry, whose third touchdown pass of the contest came in the final 2:00 of regulation and proved to be the game-winner, finished week #3 with an aerial stat line that read as follows: 21-for-31 (.678 completion percentage) for 274 yards, the previously referenced three TD tosses. In addition, he was directly responsible for accounting for 105 of SJS’s 174 rushing yards, reaching the end zone on two of his 18 carries.
Through three weeks, there has been a more prolific scorer in all of Catholic football as Perry’s 12 total touchdowns (7 passing, 5 running) is second to none! Furthermore, with averages of 237.7 yards throwing and 92.3 rushing per game, unless someone finds a way to slow down the Senior Class Vice President, he is well on his way to shattering the 3,000 yard total offense milestone.
With a date against the current highest scoring team in the NYCHSFL, Holy Trinity (41.3 points/game), on the horizon, Perry knows that if Joe’s by the Sea is to keep their AA league record immaculate, he will have to continue to raise the proverbial bar for himself….Circle the October 1st game on your calendar as the winner will give themselves the inside track on home field advantage come postseason.
Matthew Valecce (Jr.); QB – Fordham Prep Rams
Twice a NYCHSFL Player of the Week selection as a sophomore in 2015, after week #1 [while honoring teammate, Will Loffredo] when we said that “Valecce deserved and was destined to get his fair share of praise” this season, we did so with the knowledge that as it pertains to the rocket arm of this young man, it is always a question of when and not if.
A student-athlete who seems very determined and intent on rewriting the Catholic passing record book before his time roaming the Coffey Field sidelines concludes in the fall of 2017, the 6’5, 200-pounder who hangs his hat in Mamaroneck, is averaging just under 300 yards (296.7) per game in the air, and has hurled three or more touchdowns (10 total) in all three of the Rams’ games in 2016.
The protégé of former Syracuse University starter/renowned northeast quarterback guru, Madei Williams (credited with the development of current Notre Dame sophomore/top-100 prospect from the class of 2014, Brandon Wimbush), unlike a lot of young men playing the QB position on the scholastic level, Valecce is the furthest thing from a game manager; on the contrary, he is a game changer who was blessed with such a golden arm that no matter the scenario or the opponent, he is a constant threat to take over the contest.
If you need evidence to support the statement that no lead is ever safe when playing against Valecce under center, consider the act of heroism he performed on Saturday night when he connected with senior wide-out, Thomas Natkin, on a 51-yard TD strike on the last play from scrimmage (:03 remaining on the clock after the score) to send the home crowd smiling ear to ear following a miraculous 34-31 victory over Kellenberg Memorial High School.
Throwing two of his four touchdown passes during the first 24 minutes of play, Valecce sent the Rams into the break leading 13-10…His third TD toss of the game in the third quarter increased the lead to 27-10 before the visiting Firebirds scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter (the third of which came with only 1:02 on the clock) to seemingly put themselves on the verge of a huge come-from-behind triumph….But, as detailed above, the bigger the stage, the more clutch the returning All-Catholic honoree shows himself to be, as that dagger to Natkin (3 catches, 92 yards, 2 TDs) was his final act to close out a 17-for-28, 277 yard night….Valecce hit three different targets for touchdowns, and completed passes to five individual teammates overall as a means of showcasing his amazing field vision….Not one who normally gets recognized for his scrambling ability, Head Coach, Pete Gorynski, wanted to make sure that Valecce’s contributions on the ground did not go underappreciated as his 22 rushing yards were quite essential in helping to extend eventual scoring drives.
The owner of a 118+ quarterback rating will take his canon on the road next weekend for a showdown against Mount St. Michael Academy…Last season, he posted one of his best games of his sophomore campaign against the Mountaineers, completing 11 of 14 pass attempts for 205 yards and four TDs. The 159.2 QBR was his highest of the 2015 season.
Michael Apostolopoulos (Sr.); QB – Iona Prep Gaels
Making the list for the first time in 2016 and the second time (a 2015 week #6 recipient) in his two-year varsity career, if you look only at the Gaels’ 1-2 record (both losses in non-league games), then you would be guilty of missing the big picture….Even in the two games that did not go the way of Iona Prep, Apostolopoulos most certainly performed up to standard, as IP averaged 37 points during the first two weeks of the season…In these games, the 6’2 senior captain threw for 535 yards and four touchdowns while completing 56 percent of aerial attempts.
This past Saturday, Apostolopoulos and the Gaels not only notched that first win of the season, but also further to revealed themselves as strong contenders for the AA throne when they knocked off 2014 runners-up/2015 semifinalists, St. John the Baptist, 31-10, on the road….Doing his part to put a large number on the scoreboard week after week, the Scarsdale resident came within five yards of a second consecutive 300-yard effort (threw for 342 yards against Stepinac), as he connected on 21 of his 35 attempts, accumulating 295 yards and two more TD passes…His senior totals now read as follows: 64-112, 830 yards, and six TD (versus only three INTS).
Succeeding in the primary duty of any captain, Apostolopoulos has been masterful when it comes to making the people around him better. Never was this fact more evident than in the case of junior receiver, Michael Degasparis…A player who everyone on the Iona coaching staff was confident could be an immense contributor as an 11th grader, the instant rapport and sixth-sense that the 6’2 wide-out enjoys with his senior signal caller has led to one of the finest pitch-and-catch duos in all of the Empire State thus far at the onset of 2016….Reaching double digit receptions in back-to-back weeks (13 catches for 211 yards against Stepinac; 11 catches for 142 yards against SJB), at the pace at which he is on the receiving end, all signs point at Degasparis posting program highs in both categories.
While it may have been Degasparis’s #10 that got called most frequently, it was another junior, Johnryan Freeman, who had the two biggest catches of the day, as his touchdowns receptions of 5 and 35 yards capped off a 31-0 run between the second and third quarters.
Roberto Auguste (So.); RB/DB – Xaverian High School Clippers
With nearly 2,000 yards of ground attack having graduated off of last year’s Single-A title winning roster, if there was one pressing issue entering the season for Head Coach Mike Jioia and his staff, it was who would step up and become the rock on which the rest of the offense could lean….The Clippers have found that person in perhaps an unlikely source as it has been the sophomore phenomenon, Auguste, who has carried both the ball and the torch with conviction through the first three weeks of the 2016 season.
A 100-yard rusher in the first game of the season (100 yards on 11 carries in a 16-0 win over St. Dominic’s), the 5’9, 160-pound 10th grader nearly doubled that total this past weekend, averaging 8.4/carry on 23 touches (193 yards) and scoring a touchdown from 27-yards out to power Xaverian to a 25-22 victory over Kennedy Catholic in clash of 1-1 teams that could determine who earns the #3 seed in the postseason.
Auguste added to his day by serving as a capable weapon out of the backfield as 26 of the team’s 50 passing years were accounted for on his three receptions….He also caught a key 2pt conversion pass to complete a 22-6 fourth quarter rally that saw the Clippers trail most of the game and as late as the 4:00 mark of regulation (22-17).
Defensively, Auguste recorded four tackles from the secondary.
Auguste and his more than 125 yard per game average on the ground will return to the friendly confines of the Aviator Sports complex this week when Xaverian faces out against Nazareth Regional….Look for him to surpass the 100-yard mark for the third time in four weeks as the Kingsmen have surrendered an A-Division high of 98 points (32.7/game) in losses to Spellman, Kennedy Catholic, and St. Dom’s.
Michael Nicosia (Jr.); QB – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
It is never easy when you are asked to step in and fill the shoes of a departed All-State player at your respective position. For the Crusader junior quarterback, Nicosia, the weight of that pressure was doubled as he had the unenviable task of moving under center with the full knowledge that the two gentlemen (Brandon Coleman-5th team in 2014; Tyquell Fields-1st Team last year) who preceded him in walking that path had both been recognized by the New York Sportswriters Association…And, during the first two games of his varsity career, the responsibility of trying to adhere to such an imposing standard may have gotten the best of the 6’0, 175-pound Thornwood resident, as he completed less than half of his passes (21 for 43) and accumulated only 252 yards and two TD throws in non-league conquests over Cornwall Central (Section IX) and Iona Prep.
Last Sunday, as Shakespeare coined, would be “a horse (in his case a thoroughbred) of an entirely different color” for the 11th grade field general, as he erupted in the most momentous of manners, hitting on 22 of his 25 passing attempts (88 percent complete rate) for 252 yards and four touchdowns to trigger Stepinac’s 42-24 victory over Cardinal Hayes in a rematch of the 2015 AAA championship game….His performance during this one 2.5 hour stretch removed any doubt that the Crusader air attack was alive and well.
Forced to wait an extra 21 hours when poor field conditions resulted in the game being pushed back and relocated to noon on his home field, Nicosia wasted little time in setting the tone for the type of afternoon it was going to be, both individually and collectively, when he made the Cardinals pay for an opening drive fumble, connecting with senior WR, Brandon Gasparre, on a 31-yard completion to register the first of their two touchdown hook-ups (also struck from 52 yards in the third quarter) less than four minutes into the 1st quarter to give the two-time defending triple-A titlists a 7-0 lead….His second TD throw of the half (to Antonio Giannico), which coincidentally also came from 31-yards away increased the Crusader lead to 20-7.
Back-to-back touchdowns by Hayes late in the second quarter and early in the third drew the game within 23-18, but the margin would not get any closer with Nicosia commanding the troops as he found Jonathan Gomez from eight yards out with 2:00 remaining in the third quarter and then went back to Gasparre 1:41 later for his fourth and final TD heave to make it a three-score game, 38-18, with only the fourth quarter still to be played.
Surpassing his career totals in completions (22>21), nearly equally his throwing yardage (252 vs. 254), and doubling his previous touchdown output (4 on Sunday compared to a total of 2 in weeks 1 & 2), Nicosia’s 157.0 QB rating on the day catapulted his season average from 76.7 all the way up to 109.0. He also raised his three-week completion percentage to one of the league’s best at 63.2 percent.
With their sniper now in a comfort zone, Stepinac’s next step towards a three-peat will come against 1-2 (0-2 in AAA games) Holy Cross…In their two previous league contests against St. Peter’s and Monsignor Farrell, the Knights were victimized in the air to the unpleasant tune of a nearly 80 percent connect rate…Unless major adjustments are made in the secondary, the opportunity may be there for Nicosia to fire BBs all over the gridiron to his band of capable receivers (eight different targets were hit by Stepinac’s trio of quarterbacks).
John Kelly (Jr.); LB – Monsignor Farrell Lions
And the streak lives to see another week….For the third time in as many opportunities, the Lions have an honoree following a 33-7 win over Holy Cross that improved their record to 3-0 overall (2-0 in the league)…Most fascinating about the start of the 2016 season for the boys on Amboy Road is that both side of the ball are functioning so well that it seems that every weekend is turning into an intra-squad fight for bragging rights….In week #1, the defense were the victors as Adley Raboy’s four sack effort shined above the rest in a 41-0 shutout over St. Joe’s Collegiate of Buffalo…Last week, the offense took center stage, with running back Gavin Monreale, racking up 244 yards and three touchdowns in defeating Cardinal Hayes 24-18…This past weekend, the “D” returned to the forefront In the person of junior linebacker, John Kelly.
The cornerstone to Head Coach, Anthony Garofalo’s linebacking corps, Kelly entered the game averaging 11 stops per contest, including a 14 tackle performance in week #2 in the “w” over Hayes…He equaled his average on Sunday afternoon, making exactly 11 tackles to post his second straight double digit game.
In addition to stonewalling the Knight running game, the 6’1, 215-pound Staten Islander proved quite adept as a pass rushing threat, earning two sacks to bring his yearly total to three.
Perhaps sensing that he was due for a POTW nomination, Kelly refused to be shut out of the points scored category as he notched one of the team’s two safeties against Holy Cross.
In agreement to what we said about Apostolopoulos on the offensive side of the ball, the ultimate compliment we can give to Kelly is that with him on the field, there seems to be a new found energy that is spreading like a wildfire to the rest of his teammates….Since embracing the role as “head honcho” among LBs, Kelly’s clout has resulted in the Lions shaving off an average of 13 points per game, as thus far, they are giving up just a tad bit over eight points per outing a season removed from surrendering in the area of 21 points/contest.