Players of the Week – Page 2

2023 NYCHSFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK #2

September 20, 2023

Article by Matt Diano Week #2 (September 14th-16th, 2023) D’Angelo Cabrera (Sr.); FS – Mount St. Michael Academy Mountaineers Proof that the football gods do indeed have a sense of humor; after naming 30 combined student-athletes as focal points in our Double-A game of the week preview, naturally if was an individual overlooked by us that ceremoniously stepped up and emerged as the utmost standout in Mount St. Michael Academy’s 27-13 vengeance victory last Saturday against Xavier in a rematch of the 2022 NYCHSFL AA-2 title contest!! Donning the #2 jersey on September 16th, but leaving no doubt that he was “numero uno” in terms of essential personnel, the 5’8, 150-pound senior from the Bronx [Cabrera] was invaluable in a universal/aggregate exercise courtesy of the entire Mountaineer “D” that held the rival Knights to their lowest scoring output this far in 2023!!! Embracing the adjustment in assignment/responsibility from ball-hawking centerfielder

2023 NYCHSFL POTW #1

September 14, 2023

Week #1 (September 8th-10th, 2023) Marco Aruta (Jr.); QB/RB – St. Peter’s Eagles THE EAGLES ARE FOR REAL!!! After hailing the game as a match-up that would weed out “contenders” from “pretenders” in our GOTW preview, there is no “ifs”, “and”, or “buts” about the fact that the buzz on Clinton Avenue is legitimate as St. Peter’s defended the home soil last Saturday, knocking off the preseason #3 team in the AA-1 division, St. John the Baptist, 19-14!! Starting the season 2-0 for the first time since 2016, Eagles’ Head Coach, Mark DeCristoforo, showed no hesitation in identifying his junior jack-of-all trades [Aruta] as the main component in his program’s rise from the ranks of “disrespected” to “title sleepers” in a matter of weeks!! Most certainly an individual who would have been a worthy/deserving selection in week #0 when he accumulated 154 yards of total offense (91 on the ground;

2023 NYCHSFL POTW #0

September 6, 2023

Article by Matt Diano Week #0 (September 1st-2nd, 2023) Aiden Alvia (Jr.); OLB – St. Francis Prep Terriers A standout on what was an overall collective display of domination on both sides of the ball by the Terriers, the junior in the #31 jersey [Alvia] anchored a Terrier defensive unit that pitched a shutout (only opposing score was a fumble recovery + return) and surrendered a mind-blowing 10 yards of net offensive production in a 34-8 victory over Christ the King on Saturday afternoon!! Tying his career-highs in both total tackles (7) and stops for negative yardage (2) as part of the overall “blue swarm”, there were two very distinct plays that represented the level at which the 5’9, 180-pound outside linebacker was operating…. With SFP holding a 3-0 edge early in the 2nd quarter, he flew into the backfield and stuffed the Royals’ running back for a 5-yard loss

CHSFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK & POST SEASON MVP’S 2022

December 5, 2022

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK & POST SEASON MVP’S 2022 Week 0 Mattias Lighten (Jr.); WR/CB – Moore Catholic Sean Cannon (Sr.); WR/FS/Kicker – Kellenberg Shawn Keegan (Sr.); WR/DB/KR – Monsignor Farrell Will Currid (Jr.); QB – Archbishop Stepinac Week 1 Kameron Wheeler (Sr.); WR – Mount Saint Michael Gavin Gallagher (Sr.); 4-Back/KR – Xavier Ethan Cumming (Sr.); RB – Kellenberg Colin O’Garro (Sr.); RB – Iona Prep Charlie English (Sr.); RB/SS – Fordham Prep Korey Duff Jr. (Jr.); WR – St. Anthony’s Week 2 John Michalski (Sr.); QB – Moore Catholic Israel Centeno-Johnson (Jr.); RB/CB – Kennedy Catholic Jayson Zeva (Sr.); WR/Returner – St. John the Baptist JT Krivinskas (Sr.); LB – Archbishop Stepinac Marc Pearson Jr. (Jr.); QB – Mount Saint Michael Jameer Reeder (Jr.); RB/LB – Holy Trinity Zyian Moultrie-Goddard (Sr.); RB/LB – Iona Prep Week 3 Devin Page (Sr.); QB – Kellenberg Emir Yuksel (Jr.); ILB –

2022 TURKEY BOWL MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS

November 28, 2022

Article by Matt Diano Charlie English (Sr.); RB/SS – Fordham Prep Rams Singled-out for recognition for the third time this season (previously POTW honors in weeks 1 and 7) the 5’11, 175-pounder [English] will forever remember the final occasion in which he donned the Ram colors on the gridiron… Participating in the 99th rendition in one of the greatest traditions in scholastic sports (first meeting occurred in 1887) before taking his talents to Middlebury College next fall to play for the Panthers, English capped off a brilliant varsity tenure by shining on both sides of the ball in Fordham Prep’s 41-25 victory over rival/2022 AA-2 Champs, Xavier!! The victory, the fourth in the past five chapters for the Bronx based program, raised their overall lead in the saga to 53-41-4!!! Literally saving his finest showing for the very end on offense, it is not very often that a player

2022 Salute to the MVPS (Championship Weekend POTW)

November 23, 2022

AA-2 (Xavier Knights) Shane Zaletofsky (Offensive; Sr.; QB/2B) The on-field author of the “rags to riches” story that captivated the Metro Catholic football fan base from start to finish, in one year as the architect and/or conductor of Xavier’s vaunted single-wing ground attack, the 5’9, 150-pound hometown kid (resident of Manhattan), transformed a program that went 1-8 in 2021 into your 2022 NYCHSFL Double-A-2 titlists (7-2 record)…The crown was the first earned by the school since 2015! Regarded as the odds-on favorite (at least in my humble opinion) to be recipient of the Offensive Player of the Year award in the division, Zaletofsky entered the title contest as the leading rusher in AA2 and did nothing but further bolster those immensely impressive numbers, as he turned in a workhorse-like day, that saw him register 23 of the team’s 37 total carries, for 137 of their sum of 275 yards, and

2022 Players of the Week NYCHSFL Playoffs- Semifinal Round (November 12th, 2022)

November 17, 2022

Article by Matt Diano NYCHSFL Playoffs- Semifinal Round (November 12th, 2022) Isaiah Vanterpool (So.); OLB – Moore Catholic Mavericks They call the 6’1, 185-pound 10th grader [Vanterpool] “Ice” and that is exactly how he has played in helping the Mavericks reach Championship weekend for the fourth time since 2016… Cool and unshakable (ice water in his veins) by nature, after turning in a very solid regular season that witnessed him collect 41 stops (3 TFLs), the Staten Island resident has elevated his game even further during Moore’s two-game postseason, as he followed up a six tackle, 1 sack effort in the quarterfinals (35-7 win over St. Francis Prep) by registering a seven-stop, 2 sack, one interception performance this past weekend in the program’s 14-7 semifinal triumph over St. John the Baptist in a clash of 2021 Metro Catholic runners-up… A contest where points where obviously at a premium and

2022 NYCHSFL Playoffs Players of the Week- Quarterfinal Round (November 4th-6th, 2022)

November 11, 2022

Article by Matt Diano Patrick Bruno (Sr.); WR – Chaminade Flyers In the words of Australian singer/musician, Luke Hemmings, “Luck does not happen twice.”…So by default, we must say that the 6’1, 175-pound, senior wide-out out of Rockville Centre [Bruno] just might be the ultimate game-changer and/or clutch performer… Not an individual whose stat line (9 catches for 149 yards, 2 touchdown receptions) this season is going to cause your “eyes to pop out of your head”, the value of the young man wearing the #82 jersey in Crimson & Gold is that he shows up when the stakes are highest and the moment knows no equal…. A hero for the second time in a matter of three weeks, just as he did in the comeback victory in week #7 over Holy Trinity (38-yard TD grab in tight coverage to end a 19-game winning streak for the Titans, 10-7), it

2022 Players of the Week – Week 8

November 4, 2022

Article by Matt Diano Week #8 (October 28th-29th, 2022) Dylan Page (Sr.); Two-Way Lineman – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds Horace & Harvey Grant (NBA), Daniel & Henrik Sedin (NHL), Mike & Bob Bryan (WTA), Ronde & Tiki Barber (NFL), Morgan & Paul Hamm (U.S. Olympic Gymnastics), Tom & Terry Brands (U.S. Olympic Wrestling), and so forth…. All throughout the history of sports have come miraculous stories of how one “egg” managed to produce two superstars!!…And that notion could not be any more valid than in the case of the 6’7, 290-pound, Cornell bound two-way lineman [Dylan Page] and his twin brother, returning All-Catholic field general, Devin!!! Both two-year starters and each on his way to the Ivy League next fall (Devin is committed to the University of Pennsylvania), today marks another shared experience as Dylan has officially joined his “splitting image” as a NYCHSFL POTW recipient (Devin has been named

2022 Players of the Week – Week 7

October 27, 2022

Week #7 (October 21st-23rd, 2022) Article by Matt Diano Charlie Battaglia (Sr.); LB – Chaminade Flyers In a clash of defending Metro Catholic champions (Chaminade in AA-1; Holy Trinity in AA-2) that featured a returning NYCHSFL Defensive Player of the Year (Jameer Reeder), three reigning All-Catholic selections (all on the Trinity sideline), multiple NCAA Division I commits and/or prospects, as well as a pair of on-going winning streaks (HT-19, CHS-3), it was the 6-foot, 220-pound senior LB in the #49 jersey [Battaglia] that showed himself to be the best player on the field on Saturday October 22nd!! Pegged as a defensive affair where points would absolutely be at a premium, the contest itself lived up to its billing/reputation as the two Long Island programs that entered averaging a combined tally of 57.6 managed to muster just 17 in the Flyers’ 10-7 matinee triumph on visiting soil!!! And through no

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