By Matt Diano: It would be a weekend of senior leadership as all five of our selections would be taken from the class of 2016. With at least one representative coming from each division, four of the young gentlemen being recognized today would show themselves to be invaluable as they aided their schools in remaining atop the standings; the fifth stud becomes the first player this season to garner this distinction for a second time.
In celebration of their stellar performances during the weekend of October 9th-Octber 11th, your week #5 Players of the Week are:
Robert Massucci; LB – Xaverian Clippers
While a balanced ground attack would witness four different players find the end zone on offense (highlighted by a pair of rushing touchdowns by senior QB, Phil DePaulis), it would be the defensive effort by Head Coach Mike Jioia’s squad that proved invaluable in their 36-8 victory over Cardinal Spellman on Saturday afternoon…Standing out on “D” for the returning Division A runners-up from Brooklyn would be the senior linebacker, Massucci, who posted a team high 13 tackles (all solo), which included two that were registered for a loss in helping his school to become the last of the unbeatens in league play for the “A” Division as Xaverian would lock up the top seed in the playoffs by improving to 4-0 (4-1 overall). The Spellman Pilots, who fell to 3-1 in the league (3-2 overall) entered the game averaging just under 35 points per game in A contests this season (29.25 ppg overall), so to hold them to a single second quarter touchdown was a remarkable accomplishment for Massucci and his teammates.
Mike Chiarovano; RB – Xavier Knights
Drawing comparisons to the likes of Knights’ legendary single-wing backs of yesteryear, Tre Solomon (2x All-State/2012 First Team; currently playing collegiately at the University of Pennsylvania) and Seamus Kelly (ran for 2,700 yards and 47 touchdowns his senior season in 2009; 4x Rugby All-American for the University of California-Berkley; Presently is a member of the USA National Rugby team), Chiarovano would post his fourth straight 100+ yard running game on Friday night, carrying the ball 34 times for a season high 291 (of the team’s 465) yards and scoring all five of his team’s touchdowns in their 36-20 victory on the road against Kellenberg Memorial High School…The 5’8, 175-pound senior from Queens has now tallied 683 yards and 13 touchdowns on 99 carries in 2015, as he has been the main reason that Xavier and their Head Coach, Chris Stevens, are off to the program’s first 5-0 mark since 1959 (only the second time in the 125+ year existence of the team)…With their captain, Chiarovano, sitting at the head of the table, the Knights find themselves in possession of 1st place in the AA standings as they prepare for a week #6 battle against fellow unblemished Christ the King On Oct. 17th.
Jerome Brooks III; RB/DB – St. John the Baptist Diocesan HS Cougars
The first repeat selection of 2015, Brooks III continued to shine on all sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, rushing for 150 yards and a trio of TDs on 10 carries in propelling the Cougars to the 35-19 victory over Mount St. Michael Academy…The returning All-Catholic player from a season ago is well on his way to earning that honor again in his senior campaign as he has totaled 649 yards and seven touchdowns in his team’s five games (3-1 in conference; 4-1 overall)…Having already scored on touchdown dashes of 28, 22, and 15 yards to give John the Baptist the 21-7 lead at the half, Brooks III would record his fourth touchdown of the day (in response to a Mount TD earlier in the third quarter) when he fielded a punt and brought it back 70 yards to reestablish a 14pt advantage…When he was not scoring himself, the 6’1, 182-pound captain would play the role of facilitator as Head Coach Ralph Carusillo would commend the selfless blocking of Brooks III that enabled two of his teammates, Nicholas Cipolla (18-140-1) and Patrice Legagneur (13-105-0) to also have huge days out of the backfield…This jack of trades would also lead SJB in tackles with 12 (2 for a loss).
Tyquell Fields; QB– Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
What a week it was for the senior quarterback from Yonkers. Just days after receiving a scholarship offer to play at Stony Brook University (he also has a standing offer from Delaware State), the 6’3, 180-pound field general for the returning AAA titlists would provide further evidence to support the argument that he among the finest dual-threat quarterbacks in all of the Empire State, running for two scores and finding teammates Brandon Gasparre and Jesse Brown on touchdown passes of 6 and 15 yards respectively in spearheading Stepinac’s 43-21 win on Saturday afternoon over Cardinal Hayes…Fields, who through five games (5-0) is throwing at a 62% percent completion rate (79-of-127) for 855 yards and seven touchdowns, raises his career total to 22 TDs (17 passing, 5 rushing)…Just like he’d ask of any senior captain, Head Coach Mike O’Donnell would lean on his signal caller [Fields] and would be rewarded for it as Fields would answer a 6-0 deficit by punching the ball in from nine yards out for the go ahead score with 9:43 remaining in the opening half to give A.S. a 7-6 edge…The White Plains, NY based program would extend the lead to 21-6 at the break when Fields made it three straight successful drives by firing his two aforementioned TD passes (the one to Brown coming with only 43 seconds on the clock)…With Hayes showing no quit and trailing by only three points (24-21) at the start of the fourth quarter, it would be a Fields 1yd QB keeper for the touchdown that would give the Crusaders some much needed breathing room, as they would tack on two additional scores to make the game seem more one-sided than it truly was…For the day, Fields would finish 12-for-22 in the air for 122 yards, while also running for 36 yards on 10 carries. He [Fields] will need to be even more outstanding this upcoming weekend when Stepinac goes to war with the Friars of St. Anthony’s in a game that will in all likelihood determine who earns the top seed for the AAA playoffs.
Jordan Williams; RB- St. Anthony’s Friars
Chaminade at St. Anthony’s Homecoming under the lights on a Friday Night, the stage doesnt get much bigger on Long Island than this and Jordan Williams used the moment to shine as bright as he could. Using his big play ability Jordan Williams would need only 7 rushing attempts to rack up 104 rushing yards along with 1 catch for 29 yards. If the 16 Yards per Touch isnt enough to turn your head and notice the explosive ability it is also equally impressive that 3 of Jordan’s 8 touches ended up in the End Zone against rival Chaminade. One 29 yard TD run would see Jordan breaking 5 tackle attempts from the Flyers Defense and a spin on another would be tackler en route to the end zone. Jordan’s impressive performance helped put the game in safe hands for the Friars as Jordan would amass all of these stats in Just 2 and a half quarters of play. Most important of all the performance helped move the Friars to 5-0 on the season and remain tied atop the AAA Standings with Archbishop Stepinac going into this weekends clash of the undefeateds.