By Matt Diano:
It just is not a proper Thanksgiving without one of the NYCHSFL’s grandest traditions, the annual Turkey Bowl contests between century-long rivals, Fordham Prep/Xavier, as well as the battle of the Bronx (Cardinal Hayes/Mt. St. Michael Academy)!
Both series renewed today after taking a one-year hiatus because of COVID19 restrictions, and no matter the final scores, it was a welcomed treat to literally kick off our morning by watching four groups of fine, talented, scholarly gentlemen put it all on the line in honor of their respective schools!!
Fordham Prep-27; Xavier-13
In the 98th rendition in of one of the nation’s oldest and greatest showdowns, the Rams and Knights went toe-to-toe at Jack Coffey Field, with the hosts from Fordham Prep prevailing by a score of 27-13!
Surrendering the initial touchdown of the game on 2-yard touchdown run by Knights’ senior, Nicholas Bruno (his 11th score of his swan song campaign), FP fought back from the 7-0 deficit by registering 27 unanswered points to pull away from their arch nemesis!
Getting the Rams even on the scoreboard with the first of his pair of 1-yard TD sneaks at the onset of the 2nd quarter was 12th grade field general, Jack Annicelli…Prior to the touchdown run, the 6’3, 190-pound, Bedford resident went
a perfect 4-for-4 in the air, with two connections to Jericho Ancheta, and one apiece to Edward Louis Moore/Tommy Gies…He also converted a 4th &1 with a short keeper up the gut!
Having recorded his first rushing TD of the year on the previous drive, Annicelli made it two in a row that he punctuated with his legs, as he followed up a long completion to Kevin Dosin and then a 14-yard hook-up to Gies (put the ball on
the Xavier 5), by powering his way across the line to give Fordham Prep the 14-7 advantage with 4:10 remaining in the half!
The Rams closed out the half when it was another of their star student-athletes suiting up for the last time, senior RB, Jack Wolf, striking from 4-yards out in the closing 10 ticks to send FP into the intermission with the comfortable 21-7
lead…The Wolf score (his 6th rushing TD of the year) was set up on the first snap of the march, as Gies, who played some QB at early stages of his scholastic career, tossed a perfect pass to a Keegan Doody for a huge gainer that moved the ball inside enemy territory (XR 32)!…Wolf was also on the back end of a 25+ yard exchange fro
m Annicelli that advanced the pigskin to the doorstep (opposing 4)!
Wolf picked up where he left off at the start of the 3rd quarter as he notched his second TD run of the morning on the Rams’ first possession of the 2nd half, punching it in up the middle from the 2-yard line to tack on some insurance (27-7)…Dosin was especially influential during the series, hauling in a 12-yard catch (to progress into the red zone) before adding a medium gain on a designed WR run!…Gies grabbed a nearly 40-yard reception that crossed over mid-field into enemy territory (Xavier 24)
Justin Axiak rounded out the scoring in the game, when he found a hole and willed his way to the promised land on a 5-yard TD run in the last 2:00 of the 3rd Q for Xavier!
With two touchdowns each to their names, Annicelli and Wolf shared Most Valuable Player accolades!!!
Now winners of four of the past five meetings (including last year’s 1st ever Virtual “Madden Challenge” version), today’s triumph improved Fordham Prep to 53-41-4 in the saga!
Cardinal Hayes-49; Mount St. Michael Academy-14
Tying the record for most points ever scored in the collision for Bronx borough bravado, C.J O’Neil’s Cardinals went on the road to the Phyllis and Angelo Mozilo Sports Complex (Rocco B. Commisso Field) and came away with a 49-14 victory against the Mountaineers in the 78th installment of this legendary narrative!
It was a day that the Cardinal & Gold faithful bid a fond farewell to one iconic brother [senior QB, Henry Belin IV], while rejoicing in the coronation of his successor/younger sibling, Rich [Belin]!
Combining to have a hand in five of the seven touchdowns posted today by Cardinal Hayes, it was “big bro” doing the damage early, while the “diaper dandy” branch on the family tree took care of business the remaining 2.5 quarters of
play!
Propelling his school to an early 14-0 edge, the Durham, NC bound [Duke University] field general [H. Belin] tossed the 16th and 17th touchdown passes of his senior year to Taifah Mason (50 yards on the opening snap) and Reid Jones (10-yard strike) to give the gents of Grand Concourse an immediate cushion!
That margin having doubled to 28-0 (end of the 1st ) courtesy of a 12-TD dash by Rex Roman (5th of the fall) followed by fumble recovery + return from Sophomore DB Raymond Cruz, as a last bow to his decorated varsity career, Belin scrambled 25 yards to pay-dirt on 4th & goal to add his 11th ground score of the season (28th overall) to increase the lead to 35-0 with approximately 9:00 to go in the 1st half!
Stepping in to fill the giant cleats of his brother midway through the 2nd quarter, freshman, Henry (had been playing WR during the season) took his turn at the helm and demonstrated why the likes of Syracuse (received his first recruitment letter from the Orange on Nov. 2nd ) are already on his tail!
Calling his own number (#17) on a 15-yard keeper in the last 2:00 of the 2Q, the 5’10, 177-pound 9th grader posted the first of what is sure to be a plethora of dual-threat touchdowns to account for the 42-0 tally at the break!
The 3rd quarter bared witness to his throwing ability, as he teamed up with fellow underclassman, Elijah Ford, on a 60 yard connection to balance out his full-range resume and make the score 49-8 with about 16:00 remaining in regulation!
Junior signal caller, Luis Ferran, hurled a pair of 2nd half touchdowns, including a 40-yarder in the 4th quarter to Jabril Carter to conclude the fall with 9 TD passes!
Cardinal Hayes has now enjoyed the sweetness of triumph eight straight outings!
The Mount however still hold an all-time mark of 47-26-5 in the dual!
Note: *Special gratitude is extended to both Fordham Prep (offered a live stream) and Mr. Henry Belin III (provided the rundown of all scoring sequences)!