By Matt Diano:
We promised you a plethora of action in the CHSFL Triple-A final and neither team disappointed as the #3 and #4 seeds from Stepinac and Cardinal Hayes respectively combined to score 80 points, with the Cardinals doing just a tad bit more to claim the top prize, 41-39….The victory avenges last year’s title game loss and ended the Crusader’s two-year reign as kings of the Catholic League.
A tale of two quarters in the opening half, we weren’t even a full three minutes into the game an C.J. O’Neil’s Cardinals already led 14-0 behind a pair of Lucas Nunez touchdowns.
Nunez, who entered the game leading NYS in receiving touchdowns did not waste any time adding his 18 of the season when Christian Anderson hit him on a bubble screen and he did all the rest, running 76 yards down the sideline to give the underdogs from the Bronx the quick 7-0 lead.
The 5’5, 143-pounder put his unmatched speed on full display approximately two minutes later when he received a punt and immediately threw found another gear, cruising 81 yards and then adding his second PAT to double the lead.
In the latter ticks (14 seconds remaining) of the opening quarter, someone other than #6 in white would do something as junior running back, Carlos Fernandez, took the ball from the Stepinac 16 and cut back finding open space to record his sixth rushing TD of the year…While it was the tailback who will get the love in the box score, equal respect goes out to Anderson who converted on multiple third down toss attempts to Emmanuel Oliver and Shameen Jones (Rutgers commit who was thought to be lost for the year during the preseason, but suited up in what could potentially been the last game of his scholastic career)…A pass interference call against Stepinac also proved influential…The extra point was unsuccessful, but the damage was done as the lead increased to 20-0.
During the next 12 minutes, it was the two-time defending champions from Westchester’s turn to make some noise, which they did, 53 seconds into the 2nd quarter as Michael Nicosia exploited a hole in the Cardinal secondary, finding a completely undefended Tyger Winston on a 23-yard yard connection for the score to cut the hole to 20-7….Earlier in the drive, Nicosia hit Jonathan Gomez on a 21-yard strike on 2nd &9, and Antonio Giannico complemented it on the next play with a 1st down run that brought the ball to the 23.
Stepinac drew even closer with just under 8:00 remaining in the half when Hayes gambled on 4th down in their own zone….Needing four yards to move the chains, the Cardinals opted for a fake punt and run, just barely falling short of the sticks on a very debatable spot to turn the ball over on the 46….The Crusaders made Hayes pay for their aggression 90 seconds later when Gomez punched it in from the four-yard line to make it a one score game, 20-14 with 6:17 before the break….Prior to the TD, the junior QB teamed up with Alex Thomas for a first down pitch and catch on 3&9 to put the ball on the Hayes 25, followed immediately by a screen pass to Shawn Harris that moved the ball to the 4.
Both schools would have their chances in the final 6:00 of the half, but neither would be able to muster additional points.
The non-stop fireworks show continued in the second half as the two offensive juggernauts took turns exchanging long TD passes during the opening two minutes of the third quarter….Bringing the crowd to their feet first was Hayes, who after recovering a fumble, would find Nunez again, this time on a 35-yard pass to make score 28-14.
Shortly after, it was Nicosia and Gomez doing the deed from 43-yards out, making the tally 28-21.
Successfully defending a pass attempt on 4th&8 to regain possession, Stepinac actually had a chance to tie the score when a very poised Nicosia did an incredible while under heavy pressure, finding his favorite target, Brandon Gasparre, in the back of the end zone with a little under 4:00 to go in the third…Unfortunately, a missed XP would keep them trailing by a point, 28-27….Nicosia also had a spectacular first down throw to the 9-yard line to Harris on 4th&19.
With it becoming all too obvious that this contest was never going to settle down into a defensive affair, Hayes regained the eight point edge when on 3rd&10, Anderson pulled a new trick out of his bag, utilizing a throwback screen pass to Elijah Jones….Jones caught the ball for short yardage but would battle his way through several tacklers to take it to the house for 77 yards with 3:23 remaining in the 3rd.
For the second time in a matter of minutes, the opportunity presented itself for the Crusaders to earn the equalizer, as a 26-yard screen pass to Giannico, coupled with a Harris run and 15-yard penalty for head-to-head put the pigskin on the Hayes 5…Gomez was happy to take it the rest of the way, busting in to make the score 35-33 with 46 seconds on the clock in the 3rd.…Needing the deuce to tie the game, AS tried a reverse, but the ball was mishandled, prematurely sabotaging the attempt.
After taking turns turning the ball over during the first 5:30 minutes of the final stanza, Hayes found themselves firmly in the driver’s seat, leading by 2 with 6 and change on the clock…Taking their time and slowly bleeding the clock, Anderson came up big on two separate occasions, using his legs to scramble for 1st downs….But alas, to just run the clock out for the “w’ would be an unfitting conclusion….Instead, on 3rd and long, rather than keep the ball on the ground, the Cardinals went hunting for the dagger, as Anderson threw a perfect ball to a waiting Shameen Jones for the 29-yard TD…Now an extra point away from icing the game, the PAT would be no good as Stepinac’s chances for a three-peat remained intact as they trailed by only eight, 41-33.
With 26 seconds remaining, Stepinac’s miracle was granted as Nicosia put the ball in between two Hayes’ defenders for a 43 yard TD launch to Harris…For the third time, the chance to pull even was at their fingertips…But again, it simply was not meant to be as a throwback pass to Gasparre was knocked away.
In a game where every play seemed massive in importance, there may not have been a bigger one than the [Emmanuel] Oliver’s safe fielding of Stepinac’s desperation onside kick try.
Christian Anderson and his four TD passes was your offensive MVP; Tahshawn Brinson was your defensive winner.
Hayes, which will return to action on Thanksgiving for their annual battle for local bragging rights against Mount St. Michael, will especially be looking forward to their date with Monsignor Martin champions, Canisius in a few weeks.
NYCHSFL FOOTBALL November 19, 2016 AAA Championship – Archbishop Stepinac vs. Cardinal Hayes
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
| Cardinal Hayes | 20 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 41 |
| Archbishop Stepinac | 0 | 14 | 19 | 6 | 39 |
| 1st | 11:39 | Cardinal Hayes | Lucas Nunez 75 yd pass from Christian Anderson (Nunez kick good) | 7-0 |
| 1st | 09:21 | Cardinal Hayes | Lucas Nunez 81 yd punt return (Nunez kick good) | 14-0 |
| 1st | 00:14 | Cardinal Hayes | Carlos Fernandex 16 yd run (kick failed) | 20-0 |
| 2nd | 11:03 | Archbishop Stepinac | Tyger Winston 23 yd pass from Michael Nicosia (Rafferty kick good) | 20-7 |
| 2nd | 06:17 | Archbishop Stepinac | Jonathan Gomez 3 yd run (Rafferty kick good) | 20-14 |
| 3rd | 11:39 | Cardinal Hayes | Lucas Nunez 35 yd pass from Christian Anderson (Jones from Anderson) | 28-14 |
| 3rd | 10:17 | Archbishop Stepinac | Jonathan Gomez 43yd pass from Michael Nicosia (Rafferty kick good) | 28-21 |
| 3rd | 03:55 | Archbishop Stepinac | Brandon Gasparre 9yd pass from Michael Nicosia (kick failed) | 28-27 |
| 3rd | 03:23 | Cardinal Hayes | Elijah Jones 77yd pass from Christian Anderson (Nunez kick good) | 35-27 |
| 3rd | 00:48 | Archbishop Stepinac | Jonathan Gomez 5 yd run (conversion failed) | 35-33 |
| 4th | 01:31 | Cardinal Hayes | Shameen Jones 29 yd pass from Christian Anderson (kick failed) | 41-33 |
| 4th | 00:26 | Archbishop Stepinac | Shawn Harris 43yd pass from Michael Nicosia (conversion failed) | 41-39 |
| Team Totals | Cardinal Hayes | Archbishop Stepinac |
| FIRST DOWNS | 9 | 16 |
| Rushing | 3 | 6 |
| Passing | 4 | 7 |
| Penalty | 2 | 3 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | ||
| Rushing Attempts | 29 | 31 |
| Average Per Rush | 3.6 | 2.6 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 1 | 2 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 103 | 112 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 0 | -30 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | ||
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 14 -28 – 1 | 20-31-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 12.8 | 11.0 |
| Average Per Completion | 25.5 | 17.1 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 4 | 4 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | ||
| Total offense plays | 57 | 62 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 8.1 | 6.8 |
Archbishop StepinacRushing
| Name | # | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Long | Average |
| #7 Antonio Giannico | 22 | 87 | -11 | 76 | 0 | 14 | 3.5 |
| #17 Jonathan Gomez | 6 | 24 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 7 | 4.0 |
| #4 Michael Nicosia | 3 | 1 | -19 | -18 | 0 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 31 | 112 | -30 | 82 | 2 | 14 | 2.6 |
Passing
| Name | Att Cmp Int | Yds | TD | Long |
| #4 Michael Nicosia | 31 20 0 | 341 | 4 | 43 |
| TOTALS | 31 20 0 | 341 | 4 | 43 |
Receiving
| Name | # | Yds | TD | Long |
| #30 Shawn Harris | 6 | 109 | 1 | 43 |
| #16 Alex Thomas | 4 | 45 | 0 | 20 |
| #17 Jonathan Gomez | 3 | 66 | 1 | 43 |
| #88 Brandon Gasparre | 3 | 19 | 1 | 9 |
| #7 Antonio Giannico | 2 | 51 | 0 | 26 |
| #21 Isaiah Walker | 1 | 28 | 0 | 28 |
| #5 Tyger Winston | 1 | 23 | 1 | 23 |
| TOTALS | 20 | 341 | 4 |
Cardinal Hayes
Rushing
| Name | # | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Long | Average |
| #8 Carlos Fernandez | 22 | 75 | 0 | 75 | 1 | 16 | 3.4 |
| #1 Christian Anderson | 5 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 4.2 |
| #5 Jawuan Jones | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.0 |
| #7 Kayshaw Saravia | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 |
| TOTALS | 29 | 103 | 0 | 103 | 1 | 16 | 3.6 |
Passing
| Name | Att Cmp Int | Yds | TD | Long |
| #1 Christian Anderson | 28 14 1 | 357 | 4 | 77 |
| TOTALS | 28 14 1 | 357 | 4 | 77 |
Receiving
| Name | # | Yds | TD | Long |
| #6 Lucas Nunez | 4 | 133 | 2 | 75 |
| #12 Shameen Jones | 3 | 53 | 1 | 64 |
| #11 Emmanuel Oliver | 3 | 33 | 0 | 21 |
| #17 Elijah Jones | 2 | 100 | 1 | 77 |
| #8 Carlos Fernandez | 2 | 38 | 0 | 25 |
| TOTALS | 14 | 357 | 4 | – |