The 2015 NYCHSFL AA and AAA playoffs would get underway last weekend with seven of the eight higher seeds successfully advancing to the semifinal round.
In one of those odd coincidences that we could not invent even if we tried, there would be some elements of déjà vu on the list, as three of our five selections just happened to have been among the players chronicled in the 2014 championship round of 8 games.
Another of our picks has the rare distinction of being the first offensive lineman of the season to be singled out and praised for his work in the trenches, as he opened up a plethora of holes in aiding his team in a 500+ yard game on the ground.
Our final student-athlete plays for the lone team to pull an upset last week, as it would be his steady defensive play throughout and his spectacular play (on both sides of the ball) in the final 6:00 of the game that made it possible for his team to avenge a one-sided loss from earlier in the year.
Recognized for their impeccable play during the weekend of November 7th-8th are:
Anthony Pugliese; TE/DE – Xavier Knights
For the second straight week, it would be Coach Chris Stevens’s impenetrable run defense that would make all the difference between sweet victory and bitter defeat. A week removed from holding Holy Trinity to negative yards rushing during the second half of the regular season finale, the Knights’ “D” would do one better last Saturday night, keeping the ground attack of visiting Kellenberg Memorial in the red (-21 yards on 14 attempts) all night on their way to a 29-14 quarterfinal victory…Providing the foundation to this shutdown effort would be the 5’11, 185-pound Staten Island resident, Pugliese, who posted a game-high 10 tackles, including four sacks in helping his team to toss up a defensive goose-egg in the last 24 minutes of the game, as a narrow 15-14 edge at the half would grow to a much more comfortable final margin…For the season, Pugliese, who is one of only a handful of Knight student-athletes that plays ironman football (he also caught a 7-yard pass from his tight end position), would raise his team-leading sack total to 7.5; he now has 55 total tackles (13 of which came for a loss of yards)…With a semifinal date against St. John the Baptist’s foremost rushing attack on the horizon, Stevens will need for Pugliese and the rest of the front-7 to maintain this superior level of intensity as they try to erase the memory of their 2014 playoff loss to the Cougars.
Nicholas Cipolla; RB/CB – St. John the Baptist Diocesean HS Cougars
After being named a player of the week in the final regular season game of his scholastic career, the 6’0, 180-pound captain of the Cougars would elevate his level of play to an entirely unseen level in the first round of the playoffs, setting career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns scored to lead SJB to a 67-40 victory over St. Joseph’s by the Sea…Held to a very modest 35 yards on the ground in the first meeting (Week #1) of the season between these two programs, Cipolla would attack every opening like a man with a message to send this past Sunday afternoon, racking up an unbelievable total of 311 yards on 25 carries (12.4/per carry) and six touchdowns. He would also run in a two-point conversation in the fourth quarter to account for 38 total points…Finding the end zone at least once in every quarter, Cipolla would commence with his historic scoring day when he broke free from eight yards out to put up the second of his team’s four opening quarter touchdowns to give Ralph Carusillo’s squad the early 14-0 lead…Still leading by multiple scores at the time (28-14), the East Islip resident would punch in the lone TD of the second quarter on a 12-yard dash…As well as he had played in the initial 24 minutes of the game, Cipolla would show himself to be even more uncontainable in the second half, scoring on TD runs of 17 and 15 yards in the 3rd chapter before putting an exclamation mark on the day by racing for a pair of (26 and 25 yards respectively) scores in the 4th…He will now head into next weekend’s AA semifinals with 1,344 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015…Team wise, the Cougars, who are on pace to shatter the 4,000 yard mark in ground production this season, would combine for 505 yards rushing against SJS, including a solid complementary effort by Jerome Brooks III who ran for 140 yards (16 carries) and his 17th TD of the year. Brooks would also have an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, to extend his multiple TD game streak to five in a row.
Matthew Valecce; QB – Fordham Prep Rams
For the second this season it would be the golden rifle possessed by the Rams’ sophomore field general that would serve as a weapon of mass destruction against Holy Trinity, as Valecce matched his week #5 performance by throwing four touchdown passes in a 27-21 victory last Saturday night that procured the sweep of season series and secured a berth for FP in the AA semifinals…A strong candidate for POTW honors when he threw for 212 yards on 15-for-25 to seize a 39-22 road victory on October 10th against his Hicksville based foes, the 6’4, 185-pounder, would be even more outstanding in the first round of the playoffs, completing 15 of his 29 attempts to finish with 293 yards in the air…Adding to the utter amazement of his overall showing is the fact that he spread the ball around like a seasoned professional. Much like he did in that aforementioned week #5 game, Valecce would hit four different receivers on his TD strikes. He has now tossed 24 touchdowns passes (versus only 1 INT) this season while maintaining a 63 percent completion percentage and compiling 2,083 aerial yards…Valecce, who was offensive Most Valuable Player of the 2014 Division A title game as a freshman, has continued to shine on the biggest of stages. With his team trailing by a field goal (3-0) after the first quarter last weekend, it would be him stepping up and answering the call to action, throwing a trio of touchdown passes (to Jack Casella, Rory Allen, and Will Loffredo) in a four minute span to send the Rams into halftime with a 20-10 lead…After a botched field goal in the third quarter resulted in a HT touchdown, the young man who is poised beyond his years would put forth some more heroics in the final minute of the contest, putting the “w” on ice by connecting with Thomas Natkin for the backbreaking score.
David Harris; OT – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
Saying that it was about time that his strong offensive line received the attention they have earned this season, Crusader Head Coach, Mike O’Donnell would incorporate some “out of the box” thinking in nominating his 6’3, 305-pound tackle…Doing his best Orlando Pace impression, Harris would dominate in the trenches this past Sunday afternoon, opening up not just holes, but in some cases, craters in enabling top-seeded Stepinac to pile up over 700 yards (511 passing, 200 in the air) of total offense in their 50-3 win over visiting Chaminade…Behind the behemoth senior, the #1 ranked team in New York State has averaged approximately 266 rushing yards/game (2,398) and just under 200 yards passing per contest (1,750)…Because of the consistent and commanding demeanor of his play in 2015, it came as a surprise to no one to learn that Harris has already been offered a scholarship from Delaware State. As he continues to pulverize anything and everything that stands in the way of Crusader touchdowns, you can expect more NCAA program to get in the race for his services.
A.J. Mistler; TE/S – St. Peter’s Boys Eagles
After falling to their crosstown rivals, 33-8, during the regular season, I am not sure how many people would have predicted that the Mark DeCristoforo molded Eagles would win last Saturday afternoon. However, for the second time in as many years (won 28-7 in a 2014 AAA quarterfinal game), playoff bragging rights belong to the student-athletes on Clinton Avenue, as the Eagles would utilize a 14 point fourth quarter to emerge with a come-from-behind 22-21 triumph over Monsignor Farrell…While it would be their senior workhorse, running back, Bobby Wing, accounting for the majority of his team’s offense (152 yards on 49 carries; scored a pair of two-point conversions, including the game winning point), we opted to give the nod to the junior tight end/safety, Mistler, because of the timing of his two game-deciding plays…With the visiting Eagles trailing 21-14, it would be the 6’0, 185-pounder making the most significant pass reception of his career, snatching an 18-yard touchdown pass off of a skinny post from quarterback, Joe Mazziotta, to cut the deficit to a single point (21-20) with 5:51 remaining in the game. As noted above, Wing would then plunge the ball over the goal line to put Peter’s Boys back in front…Mistler, who along with his D-unit teammates, would limit Farrell RB, Stephen Viegas, to only 64 yards on 17 touches (ran for 179 in the first meeting on October 17th), would not only set up the game-winning score by making that clutch grab, he would later put the nail in the proverbial Farrell coffin, as he picked off Lions’ QB, Michael Cloppse, in the final minute of the game to halt the opponent’s last ditch attempt at an 11th hour steal.