Article by Matt Diano
#1 St. Anthony’s (9-1) vs. #2 Iona Prep (9-2)
When: Saturday November 19th, 2022 @5pm
Where: Mitchel Athletic Complex (1 Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Uniondale, NY 11553)
Previous Meeting: 48-42 St. Anthony’s on October 1st (Week #4)
How St. Anthony’s Got Here: Propelled by what might be their greatest assortment of offensive talent in the storied history of the Friar program, the 14x NYCHSFL AAA titlists out of South Huntington have been treating the home audience to an absolute spectacle rivaled by nothing, including the Rockettes….A balanced attack that is nearly impossible to slow down, in two postseason outings thus far, the Black & Gold machine has amassed 98 points and collected 1,098 yards of total yardage….A tale of two different ways to “skin a cat”, in STA’s quarterfinal victory (57-42 over Christ the King), it was the passing game (369 yards/5TDs in the air vs. 162/2 scores on the ground) that was featured; one week later, a 41-16 semifinal triumph against rival, Chaminade, fortunes were reversed as land gains surpassed aerial strikes to the tune of a 319 (3 touchdown)-248 (3 touchdown) edge….Shining as he always does when he steps foot on the gridiron was Fordham bound, senior signal caller, Dante Torres, who has tormented his opponents with both a big arm and turbo legs…Boasting a 79.5% connection rate (31-of-39), the future Ram has hurled for 617 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also scrambling for 98 yards and 3 additional scores on 16 keepers…Blessed with an embarrassment of riches among the WR corps, five different receivers have made his impact felt, as it was Tim Longo and Alex Menghi going off for 8 (97 yards, 2TDs) & 5 (72 receiving yards) in the round of 8 versus the Royals, while KJ Duff Jr., and Ian Strong stepped to the plate in the semis and delivered outings of 5 for 114 (1 TD) & 3 for 56 (1 TD)…Not lost in the crowd has been Nicholas Matos, who has made two catches in each game for a total of 122 yards and two touchdowns (1 in each contest)…In similar fashion of how the wide-outs have alternated in being the superstars, such is also true of the two-man senior backfield—Frank Ruta & Darius Morant…Both approaching 200 yards rushing this postseason, the former had his banner night in the quarterfinals, accumulating 108 yards on 14 carries (91 yards on 10, 1 score in the semis); on the contrary, Morant (41 yards on 12 carries in the 1/8s) chose the semifinals to post a career-best 143 yards (1 TD) on 20 carries against the Flyers…On “D”, Joseph DeChiaro (8 stops, 2 TFLs, 1 sack), Thomas Mackell (4 tackles, 2 stops for negative yardage, 1 INT), Griffin Goldstein (4 tackles, 1 sack), Kenyon Miles (5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 punt block), Jayden Platt (team-leading 11 stops), Vincent Spina (7 tackles), and Strong (6 tackles) were all outstanding last weekend!!!
How Iona Prep Got Here: Bestowing credit where it is due, the offense for our defending Triple-A League and State champions Gaels has been every bit as high-powered and prolific as the Friars, as IP enters Saturday’s festivities having scored 83 points and generated 940 yards of production…Themselves captained by an All-State (perhaps all planet) dual-threat QB in the person of reigning League and NYS Offensive POY, Ajani Shepphard, the boys from New Rochelle are going to stretch the STA defense by coming from all angles….Sheppard, whose future rests in Norfolk, VA at Old Dominion University, has put all of his tools on full display as he approaches the horizon of his scholastic career. Throwing for 200+ in both of his 2022 playoff appearances, the standout donning the #3 has habitually been #1 in terms of filling up the stat sheet…Accounting for six touchdowns already this postseason (3 throwing, 3 rushing), Sheppard followed up a 9-for-15, 244 yard passing (2 TD)/33-yard/1TD rushing effort in the quarterfinals (56-13 against Cardinal Hayes) by torching Archbishop Stepinac (41-28) one weekend later by completing 19 of 25 attempts for 217 yards (1TD), while simultaneously chewing up 146 yards (a pair of touchdowns) on 17 keepers….Providing that second wave of “thunder & lighting” ground control is senior running back, Colin O’Garro, who extended his streak of 100-yard efforts to six behind an 8-carry, 128 yard (2TD) performance in the quarters, and a 16-carry, 112-yard (2TD) display in the semis. College scouts are definitely taking notice of the 210-pound senior RB, as on the heels of an offer from Bucknell, Dartmouth joined the party within the past seven days…Illustrating their own immense depth at the receiver position, Isaiah Bennett (3 for 66) & Jared Evans (2 for 77, 1TD), combined for 5 catches for 144 yards versus the Cardinals before Michael Senatore (6 for 43), Ethan Acevedo (5 for 59), and Dylan Iorgoveanu (4 for 77, 1 TD catch) were stellar in the semis against the Crusaders…As an added bonus during the ongoing postseason journey, the Gaels have also managed to turn “D” into “O” on back-to-back weekends, as Declan McCauley & Terron Johnson registered pick-6s in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds…
Synopsis: Forget “Round 2”…We’re going call this war “round 4” since every time that these two programs have locked horns during the past two seasons, it is has been an epic fight to the finish where the margin has been no greater than seven points and more times than not, the team with possessed the ball last ended up stealing the “w” in dramatic fashion…After losing twice in 2021 (including a 35-28 double overtime game in the semifinals), the top-seeded Friars got their revenge in week #4 of 2022 when Torres punched it in from 1-yard out on a keeper (3:30 to go in regulation) to break a 35-35 tie…The game-winning sneak was one of SEVEN total touchdowns in which Torres played a role, as he scored three times on five carries (30 yards in total) with his legs, and went “bombs-away” in the sky, connecting on 28-of-38 throws for 530 yards and four touchdowns…All five of WRs cited above aided their field general, as Strong earned POTW honors with 13 receptions for 236 yards (3 touchdown grabs), Duff made 6 catches for 77 yards (1 TD), Longo (whose catch on the 1-yard line was a precursor to the winning score) delivered a 4-snatch, 94-yard evening, and Matos/Menghi each were credited with 2 catches apiece for totals of 79 and 26 yards respectively…The running game not being emphasized, Ruta still mustered 50 yards on 13 hand-offs….Turning our attention to the other sideline, despite coming up on the short end of the proverbial stick, one could not help but rave about Sheppard’s overall body of work, as he racked up 435 yards of total offense, connecting on 14-of-22 passes for 329 yards (5 touchdowns), complemented by a 106-yard evening on the ground….Acevedo (5 receptions for 173 yards, 3 TD hauls), Senatore (4 grabs for 68), and Iorgoveanu (2 catches for 33 yards, 1 TD) were all prominent targets….Rushing for 72 yards on 9 carries, week #4 was the last occasion in which O’Garro did not surpass the century mark; so it need not be said that he is coming with extra motivation….With absolutely no disrespect intended to either defense—Spina (10/2), Mackell (10/1), DeChiaro (9/1), and Dante Vardaro (7/1) combined for 36 tackles and 5 sacks for STA; Jaden Codrington recorded an interception for Iona Prep—-anticipate a 48-minute shootout where the hardest working guys in the building might be the statisticians trying to crunch the mega-numbers that will be flying fast and furious!!