Iona Prep (10-1; NYCHSFL) vs. St. Francis (7-3; Monsignor Martin)
When: Saturday November 27th, 2021 @Noon
Where: Wellington T. Mara Field on the campus of Iona Prep 255 Wilmot Rd, New Rochelle, NY 10804
How They Got Here:
-Iona Prep defeated Monsignor Farrell, 49-15 on November 20th in the NYCHSFL title game
-St. Francis was a 21-10 victor against Canisius on November 13th in the Monsignor Martin championship contest…
By Matt Diano:
Synopsis: The clash of champions is upon us as two of the state’s top-3 ranked programs will square off this Saturday in a clash of regional, Catholic supremacy…In one corner, will be the host/NYS top-ranked Gaels of Iona Prep, who after dropping their first appearance of the fall to NJ powerhouse, Don Bosco Prep, have gone on to string together 10 consecutive victories, with most of those wins being accompanied by a rather comfortable margin (average score of 38.7 to 16.9)…Opposing them will be the squad with the #3 next to their names in the Maxpreps polls, the mighty Red Raiders of St. Francis. SF, who we know will enter incredibly battle-tested after playing half of their 2021 schedule against out-of-state opponents from talent-rich locations such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, are in the midst of their own mini-streak, with triumph coming in their previous three outings (highlighted by the aforementioned 21-10 win in the Monsignor Martin finals to dethrone two-time defending kings, Canisius). Despite playing a rigorous/challenging schedule, the visitors from Hamburg have staked their claim on the backs of a stout defense that has allowed just 14.7 points a game this season, while the offense scored at a rate of 23.1/per…Both schools will be in pursuit of their first Catholic State crown, as this weekend will mark the debut of IP in the “big dance”, while St. Francis carries an 0-2 record, with respective 42-28 and 49-7 losses to Archbishop Stepinac in 2015 and 2018…Among the four combined losses sustained by the two teams, NONE have been suffered at the hands of a fellow Empire State foe…The one common opponent this year was NYCHSFL quarterfinalists, Kellenberg Memorial, who St. Francis upended 24-21 on September 11th; Iona Prep later knocked off the Firebirds by a tally of 35-6 on October 9th…In the six-year history of crowning a unified Catholic State titlist, there has been a 3-3 split between downstate and Monsignor Martin, with Canisius (2014, 2016, 2019) and Stepinac (2015, 2017, 2018) serving as the only winners on behalf of their respective regions!
Out of fear of being redundant, it need not be said that the Gaels’ will again be looking to pile points on the board behind a vaunted 11-man murder’s row where top to bottom every individual at a skill position is capable of beating you for “6”…Acting in the role of maestro of this symphonic artistry is of course 11th grade gem, Ajani Sheppard (125-for-235; 2,228 yards, 20 touchdowns throwing; 985 yards and 15 touchdowns on 128 carries). The Offensive Most Valuable Player of the NYCHSFL championship last weekend (18-for-20 throwing for 251 yards/2 TDs; 72 yards and additional scores on the ground), the Bronx resident steps on the field with a chance to make history. If Sheppard runs for 15 or more yards, he will become the first student-athlete in Westchester County to ever boast a 2,000/1,000 season. Furthermore, with even typical effort, he is on pace to conclude 2021 with the rare feat of sweeping every major passing/rushing category among all triple-A personnel…Assisting Sheppard in his hunt to re-write the record books will be a receiver corps that has no equal anywhere in New York State. In the finals win a week ago over Farrell, three different targets
caught TD passes (and a fourth individual multiple catches)…Justin Joly (59 grabs for 958 yards, 8 touchdowns), Mike Ryan (36 catches for 437 yards, 3 touchdowns), and Michael Senatore (27 receptions for 392 yards, w/6 scores) all caught five or more passes in the downstate finals, with Ryan (6 for 101) earning top billing this past Saturday. After making just three grabs during the regular season, Anthony Turner (9 catches for 94 yards) has emerged as a serious weapon in the aerial attack as well. In two playoffs games, he has amassed six receptions for 53 yards…And you can never sleep on a prodigy like Ellis Robinson IV (15 catches for 161 yards, 2 touchdowns). He was not credited with any snatches in the finals, but is such a bona fide stud and pure athlete that any time the ball finds its way into his hands, there is potential for huge things to erupt…After literally hurting (injuries at the onset of the fall) at the position initially, the Joe Spagnolo guided Gaels are not suffering much in the backfield at the moment thanks in large part to the emergence Colin O’Garro (383 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing on 67 carries) and the steady, short-yardage dominance of Zyian Moultrie-Goddard (43 handoffs for 320 yards, 9 scores). Posting a team-best 79 yards/1 TD during last week’s NYCHSFL title contest, the hometown kid [O’Garro; New Rochelle] 
is averaging 71.5 yards per game in the postseason; Moultrie-Goddard, who extended a drive with a successful fake punt + run on his lone carry last week, has registered two or more touchdown runs on four separate occasions during his junior campaign. He possesses that BIG BACK strength and attitude that naturally serves as the perfect complement to all of the breakaway speed elsewhere…Joly (312 yards and 2 TDs on 30 attempts) gives Iona Prep yet another dynamic play-maker out of the backfield. Operating in the mold of Cordarrelle Patterson, When the Delaware bound senior is not torching teams with his hands, he has demonstrated a fondness for chewing up yardage with his legs. Last week, he came just one yard short of tying his season-best, finishing the AAA finals with 73 yards/1TD on just five carries…Underappreciated and not getting the recognition they have earned in past previews are the gentlemen of the offensive line. Anchored by
future Princeton Tiger, Scott Becker (LG), it was beasts such as Justin Federico (LT), Tomas Schultz-Langendorf (C), Jorge Ruiz (RT), and John Packes (RG) that have done the brunt labor in the trenches to facilitate nearly 4,500 yards/51 touchdowns of total offensive production…Moultrie-Goddard (Defensive MVP of the AAA title game) is joined by Christopher Foster, Capri Martin, Jayson Vavrica, Kaloni McIntyre, Scot Mackie, and Darryl Reaves comprise an imposing front-7, while the blue chipper/#4 overall 2024 prospect in the nation, Robinson IV (8 INTs) commands up a quartet of air traffic controllers—Kieran Connolly, Terrance Walden, and Terron Johnson—that are young, but gifted!!!
While perhaps not loaded in terms of their offensive artillery, HC Jerome Smith’s Red Raiders certainly possess a game-changer or two when they have the pigskin…The Grand Marshall of this parade is no other than 5’11, 195-pound junior tailback, Ricardo Kidd (1,054 yards and 8 touchdowns on 200 attempts). Denied entry to the promised land for just the second time this season in the Monsignor Martin championship game (still ran for a team-high 89 yards on 20 carries), the standout in the #2 jersey is going to be running with purpose and with a chip on his shoulder. Kidd has surpassed the century mark in six of 10 outings this fall, including efforts of 101 (2 TDs) and 155 (1 score) yards in his last two appearances of the regular season. Hence, the Gael front-7 are going to need to be ready and “on their toes” since they are sure to see a healthy dose of the 11th grader from Buffalo…Identical to the manner in which IP utilizes Moultrie-Goddard, St. Francis has their own “horse” in the person of 
250-pound Jimmy Scott (89 yards and 5 touchdowns on 26 tries). Regarded nationally for his prowess on the other side of the ball, the 247 Sport 3-star ranked/University of Pittsburgh committed DL is so strong that it is almost possible to stop him from ramming his way across the goal line. In the November 13th league-title-clinching victory, he carried the ball only three times and gained a modest 5 gives; but two of these attempts landed him in the end zone…Senior RB, Kimal Clark has risen to the occasion down the stretch, as 118 of his 194 yards accrued this season occurred during the past two games (25 yards on 5 carries in the MM finals)…Junior, Steve Otremba (90-for-176, 989 yards, 7 TD throws) will be the man taking the snaps. Fresh off a disappointing display in tough weather conditions, in the upstate championship (1-for-10, 13 yards), the 5’11, 180-pounder will need to play a clean game on
Saturday. A little inconsistent this year, when he is “on”, he is a very potent field general, which he proved when he burnt the [Kellenberg] the Firebirds for 177 yards (155 in the air, 22 on the ground) and three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 hurling). Unfortunately, he has not been his sharpest lately, as suggested by the streak of three straight games throwing an interception (14-for-37, 195 yards, 2 TD passes in his last three efforts). Up to this point, SF has been able to win despite their QB not be flawless; that task will be difficult to repeat against a Gael foe that seems to score upon request!…Should Otremba rediscover his early-season mojo (45-for-83, 413 yards, 4:1 TD to INT ratio in September), then 6’4, 200-pound match-up nightmare, Logan Reaska (30 receptions for 445 yards, w/3 TD grabs) is destined to have a banner afternoon! While quiet on 11/13 due to the weather and the struggles of his “tag team partner”, Reaska has hauled in four or more grabs four times this fall. If it materializes, the one-on-one showdown between him and Robinson IV will be epic!…Clark (20 catches for 173 yards, 1 TD) is an option out of the backfield to enhance the vertical attack…Senior specialist, Luke Nowak (5-of-9 on FG; 24-for-26 on PATs) has 50-yard range (season-long of 48)!….Defensively, it has already been established that Scott (38 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5 sacks) is the trend-setter. However, he finds himself in the company of many adept stoppers…Linebacker, Gavin Calkins (88 tackles) continued to lead all Red Raiders in stops when he made 12 of them in the Monsignor Martin championship…Hayden Marling (55 stops, 2 fumble recoveries) was among the top-hitters this season and is fresh off of a five-tackle showing versus Canisius…Nathaniel Henrich (53 tackles, 2 sacks) posted a double-digit (10) tackle/1 sack exhibition on November 13th… Quintel Turner (47 stops, 2 sacks) has himself been a force on the DL; he had 5 tackles and a pass break-up in the MM title dub… Balaam Miller (29 stops, 3 sacks) harassed the Canisius quarterback so ferociously (6 hurries) that a restraining order might have been the only thing that kept him from spending all day in his opponent’s face…Clark (61 stop, 3 picks), Reaska (19 tackles, 4 INTs), Dylan Walker (39 stops), and Aaron Roseboro (23 stops, 3 interceptions) will be given the burdensome mission of locking down IP’s heralded group of receivers…Both Roseboro and Reaska logged two interceptions each in the MM finals; the latter [Reaska] took it all the way to the house for his second pick-6 of the year! Sophomores—Connor Miller (LB) and Kynan Ulanga (DB) have also been impressive when it mattered most and should be considered as significant factors for the Red Raider bread-and-butter “D”!