Iona Prep Leaves No Doubt in AAA Title Game

By Matt Diano: IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!!

Last season, due to the restrictions imposed by Covid19, the Gaels of Iona Prep were deprived of their opportunity to win the school’s first AAA crown since 2008 (won AA in 2016)…Undefeated and punishing their foes to the tune of a 5-0 record that witnessed them outscore the opposition by a margin of 212-42, to say that it was inevitable that the gents from New Rochelle were well on their way to the hardware might be the grossest understatement in the history of sports..

That delayed privilege of celebration came tonight as the top-seeds lit up the scoreboard en route to a 49-15 triumph over #2 seed Monsignor Farrell in the nightcap of our Metro Catholic football championship triple-header!!

Nearly flawless on both sides of the ball for the full 48-minute duration, literally the only thing that stopped IP on offense was a time-management misunderstanding at the end of the 1st half; otherwise, the Maroon & Gold machine seemed to put up endless “6s” on every possession of the contest…

Spearheaded by one of the most remarkable performances you will see this year or any year forthat matter, junior “superman” Ajani Sheppard showcased the universal skill set could make him a unanimous choice for NYCHSFL AAA Offensive Player of the Year, if not the NYS POY!

Responsible for 362 yards and FIVE, FIVE, FIVE, FIVE, FIVE touchdowns of offensive production in the title game, the 6’2, 230-pounder completed 18 of his 21 pass attempts for 279 yards, while rushing six times for 62 yards and two additional scores!!!  For the season, he now has accounted for 35 total TDs (20 in the air, 15 via land) and is over 3,200 yards of territory claimed (2,256 throwing; 975 rushing)!

Not shockingly, the beast in the #3 shirt [Sheppard] was of course named the outstanding Offensive Player in the championship game!!!

But there was a laundry list of his peers posing serious arguments for their selection!!!

Scoring on their first four drives of the evening (to hold a 28-7 lead at the break), it was Sheppard drawing the first blood 2:30 into the first quarter when he cemented a strong opening series by calling his own number on a 3-yard keeper to put the Gaels in front, 7-0!

Delivering the ball to a variety of different targets like he was trying earn a promotion from Amazon Prime, Sheppard struck for the first of his two TD hurls in the 1st half when 6:00 later (3:17 to go in the 1Q), he connected with junior, Michael Senatore (5 receptions, 72 yards) on an 11-yard TD throw to double the cushion to 14-0!  The touchdown reception was the sixth of the fall for the Lincolndale resident [Senatore].

A beautifully thrown 66-yard, over the shoulder hook-up from Cristian Pinto (3-for-9, 81 yards) to Frank Esposito, in the last 20 ticks of the 1st quarter briefly put the Lions back in the conversation (14-7); but just as quickly as there was hope, the IP machine reasserted their dominance by responding for two more touchdowns during second quarter…

Pitted with 3rd & 3 just over 2:00 into the 2Q, Sheppard connected with his favorite partner this season, Justin Joly (6 grabs for 91 yards, 1 TD) on a 35-yarder down the Iona Prep sideline to restore the 14pt separation (21-7)…

 

Fast-forwarding to 2:26 to be contested before the intermission and it was Sheppard’s legs doing the talking when on another 3rd & short, he found space and cruised 26 yards for his second TD run in as many quarters…Earlier, it was junior, Zyian Moultrie-Goddard (11 yards rushing on a handful of carries) sustaining the possession when as the up-man, he converted a fake punt + run on 4th & 2.

Guaranteeing that he was not left out of the point party, senior WR, Mike Ryan (6 receptions for 69 yards) getting in the box score when at the intersecting part of the 3rd quarter, he hauled in a 32-yard strike for his third touchdown grab of his swan song to further put his school in control (35-7).

Having missed the first meeting (a 24-10 IP win on September 18th), junior RB, Colin O’Garro (72 yards on 11 hand-offs), sure made up for lost time, as it he added an 11-yard TD trek with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter (42-7).

Giving those in attendance some classic Percy Harvin vibes, Joly (52 yards on 4 carries) tacked on his second score of the night and the last of the bunch for IP on a 5-yard scamper with 9:52 to play in the 4th!

The outcome no longer in question, Messiah Burch (entered as the AAA rushing leader with 926yards), who was contained to a modest 35 yards on 13 tries, got into the end zone in the last 4:00 of the 4th on a 6-yard wildcat run to give him his 12th rushing score of an amazing junior year…MF then converted the 2pt try!

Moultrie-Goddard, who wrapped up the night with 9 tackles, took home the Defensive MVP as part of what truly a top-bottom collective effort from all Gael personnel!

Whereas our other two crown-winning programs (Holy Trinity/Chaminade) from today will retire their pads until next September, Iona Prep still has another trophy to seize!! They will seek the first state title in team history when they host Monsignor Martin League champs, St. Francis (Athol Springs) next Saturday at a time yet to be determined….Maxpreps presently has the Gaels and Red Raiders ranked as the #1 and #3 respectively in the entire Empire State!