Article by Matt Diano
Week #0 (September 2nd-3rd, 2022)
Mattias Lighten (Jr.); WR/CB – Moore Catholic Mavericks
A returning All-Catholic selection on offense at WR following a sophomore campaign that witnessed him haul in 37 balls for 655 yards and 4 touchdowns, Lighten if off to the kind of fast start that has us thinking that shattering his previous bests is not a question of “if” it will happen, but rather “how quickly” he is able to surpass his impressive stat line from a season ago!
Pitted against an Eagle defense that features one of the top defensive backs in the AA-1 division this season [Elijah Campbell], Lighten would record the fourth 100+-yard receiving game of his career (accomplished the feat three times last year), as he was on the back end of four of teammate/fellow 2021 All-Catholic selection, John Michalski’s (6-for-10 passing; 145 yards, 2 TD tosses) six completions, including both touchdown hurls to emerge with a 108-yard afternoon!
The returning AA-1 runner-up Mavericks holding a 14-7 advantage late in the 1st half of the season-opening contest against St. Peter’s, it was the stud in that #7 jersey he is making famous, being the one to take over the game and give his school a cushion!
Responding to an Eagle TD pass moments earlier, Lighten restored the previous two-score advantage when he took a screen pass from Michalski and out-raced the “D” to the tune of a 55-yard TD grab…And he was not done yet!!
A defensive stand yielding a punt in the last half minute of the 2nd quarter, Michalski wasted little time going back to the well, as he hit Lighten with a 34-yard strike in the end zone on the first play of the series to send the “Merrill Avenue machine” into the locker room with a commanding 27-7 edge!
Flipping the page from pass-catcher to air traffic controller, Lighten needed exactly one outing to match his 2021 season total for interceptions, as he picked off the first of what is likely to be many passes in his direction this season…In addition, for the second straight occasion, he recorded a double-digit tackle effort against STP, tying his career-high of 10 stops, including 6 solo hits!
As much of a gem in the classroom as he is on the gridiron, Lighten currently carries a 3.7 grade point average!!
Sean Cannon (Sr.); WR/FS/Kicker – Kellenberg Memorial Firebirds
Making his second career appearance on the POTW log (previously week 4 in 2021), the “Amityville Horror” haunted Section I powerhouse, Arlington, in every possible way as part of the Firebirds’ 34-16 victory on September 3rd!
Doing more than his fair share to kick off (in his case literally as well as figuratively) the “Meisse Era” of KMHS football, as his head coach stated, “Cannon did it all” during the course of a 48-minute display of pure versatility and skill set…
Accounting for just about every moment of the 2,880 seconds that welcomed the beginning of his swan song in Blue & Gold, Cannon had a direct hand in 22 of the program’s aforementioned 34-point collective effort, as he recorded a receiving hat trick, scoring on three of his 10 total grabs to establish new personal bests across the board—-Receptions (10), yards (201), and touchdowns catches (3)!!!
Already surpassing his TD output from last season (2), Cannon now has eight more games + playoffs to rewrite his personal record book…He needs only 12 more receptions and 107 additional yards to match his 2021 accumulation in those categories!!!
The Berg trailing 16-7 late in the 1st half (under 1:00 remaining), Cannon struck for the first of his trifecta when fellow senior, Devin Page (18-for-21, 296 yards, 3 TDs), hit him on a 75-yard hook-up down the Firebird’ sideline to cut into the deficit (16-13) at the break.
The momentum built at the conclusion of the 2nd quarter would only magnify during the last 24 minutes of play, as approximately 4:00 into the 3rd quarter, #11 in Blue hauled in a short pass on his own 40, made a man miss, and then cruised the 60 yards untouched to the promised land to finish off a 65-yard home run that vaulted the Uniondale based school in front (20-16) for good!
Like the immensely gifted “Devil” that he is, Cannon’s third “6” in a row came on the first snap of the 4th quarter, as Page found him over middle from 15-yards out to tack up some insurance (27-16; 11:56 to go in regulation)…
His offensive contributions alone worthy of POTW distinction, the 4.0 student-athlete was compelled to also show why he was named an All-Catholic defender as an 11th grader, as he added to his career-day by tying his personal-highs for tackles and pass break-ups in a single outing with 12 and 2 respectively!
Setting the example for the entire defensive backfield, Cannon was part of a cohort that limited [Arlington] Admirals QB, Michael Rescigno, to 8-for-16 in the air, for a modest 75 yards and two interceptions (Owen Fitzgerald, Patrick Conroy)….
Having starred in every other aspect of the game, why not dominate special teams to boot….
Acting as a place-kicker, Cannon went 4-for-5 on PAT tries (dropped snap on 1st attempt)….Furthermore, he dictated opposing starting field position by serving as the punter….And as a punt returner, he rounded out his well-balanced senior debut by finding the energy to tack on 34 more yards!
If I am tired just writing about all of this activity; imagine the fortitude required to actually DO IT!
Shawn Keegan (Sr.); WR/DB/KR – Monsignor Farrell Lions
Less than two full days into the 2022 season and already we had the privilege of seeing the caliber of heroism that could put an ear-to-ear smile on the face of 80s singing sensation, Bonnie Tyer!!!…
The Lions trailing four-time defending Rhode Island State titlists, Bishop Hendricken, 27-24, with under 1:00 remaining in the 4th quarter of their Saturday afternoon melee, it was the 5’7, 160-pound three-year varsity starter out of Staten Island [Keegan] putting the team on his back and refusing to accept defeat…
With just the 47 ticks flashing on the scoreboard separating host, Monsignor Farrell, from starting out the new season 0-1, Keegan fielded the ensuing kick-off (following a TD pass that gave the visitors from The Ocean State the 3pt lead) at his own 32-yard line, sprinted down the middle, and then cut to the sideline where he turned on the burners all the way to the house for the impractical 68-yard game-winning touchdown that sent the SI faith home on a happy tune and handed 1st-year Head Coach, Rocco Del Prior a victory in his debut at the helm, 31-27!
The 11th hour touchdown, which was the second of the game registered by Keegan, is the one that will forever be remembered; but it could be argued that it was a sequence earlier in the 4th that was equally, if not more so, of a game-altering moment…
The boys from Amboy Road trailing 20-10 with a little over 5:00 remaining in the contest after being victimized by a B.H. pick-6, if not for Keegan’s immediate response (a 28-yard TD grab from junior QB, Cristian Pinto) a mere 36 seconds later, doubt may have set in and hope could have potentially been lost!….Instead, he lit a fire under his teammates and the 2021 NYCHSFL AAA runners-up actually surged ahead (24-20 on a 5-yard run by John Caufield) before the crazy exchange of dramatic scores in the final 120 seconds!
Kept out of the end zone all last year as a wide receiver, not only did Keegan notch his first TD catch, he also exceeded his yardage totals from all of 2021, as his 5-catch, 115-yard display put him on pace to completely obliterate the 12-grab, 101-yard campaign he posted as an 11th grader!
Hailed by Coach Del Priore as a “Three Phase Gem”, not lost in the madness of his offensive/special teams valor is the fact that the captain also played outstanding “D” from the secondary, racking up 4 tackles, while simultaneously smothering anyone to whom he was assigned!
Will Currid (Jr.); QB – Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders
Like riding a bike, when it comes to the 6’2, 188-pound junior signal caller from Cross River [Currid], there is no more natural of an act than the art of slinging the pigskin all across the gridiron…
After serving as QB1 in his freshman year for the entirety of the 2020 Spring season, Currid proved himself to be a model teammate and selfless human being when he willing accepted a backseat role last fall as a means of allowing James McCauley (who returned to the Crusaders as a senior after spending the previous year in Georgia) to complete the career he started at Archbishop Stepinac!
This past Saturday, karma paid him in full and then some as he was absolutely stellar in his return to starting duties in the Crusaders’ 51-28 conquest at home over their guests from Middle Village, Christ the King!
Establishing new personal-bests in total completions (25-for-32) and passing yards (404) in a single outing, Currid fired three touchdown passes in the first half to propel the gents from White Plains to a 42-6 halftime lead…
Drawing initial blood approximately 3:00 into the 1st quarter, he connected on a 35-yard dump over the middle to returning All-Catholic receiver, Gjok Dedvukaj (7 catches for 162 yards) for the first of their two TD hook-ups to give AS a quick 7-0 advantage…
Less than four minutes (the score now 14-6 in favor of the Crusaders), the tandem struck again, as a scrambling Currid found Dedvukaj on an out pattern, with the latter joggling the ball for an iota before securing it, turning up field and sprinting 71 yards to the “holy land” to increase the lead to 21-7 with 5:48 still remaining in the opening stanza…
Even when he was not personally responsible for the touchdown-yielding sequence, Currid was the catalyst behind the eventual “6”, as his 20-yard bubble-screen to Serge Lagardere (4 grabs for 38 yards) advanced the ball to the 3-yard line and set up Jordan Osbourne’s (8 carries, 95 yards, 2TDs) short trek to the end zone that made the score 28-6…
He then found Lorenzo Robinson (4 rushes for 44 yards, 2TDs; 3 receptions for 27 yards) on 9-yard screen out of the backfield to move the ball inside the 2 as a precursor to the latter’s touchdown run on the next snap to further pad the lead (35-6).
Currid polished off the hat trick with 2:54 to go in the opening half when he launched a perfect bomb over the shoulder of a waiting Jahi Gary (3 catches for 88 yards, 1TD) for the 59-yard TD version of pitch-and-catch!
He’d exit late in the 3rd quarter with AS in control (48-6)…
Currid is now a two-time NYCHSFL POTW honoree…His first selection came in week #3 of the 2020 Spring when he hurled SIX touchdown passes in a win over Kellenberg!