When: Saturday September 30th, 2023 @1:30 pm
Where: Aviator Sports Complex (3159 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11234)
Players to Watch (Xavier)
*Mehdi Merah (Sr.; RB/FB)— Fresh off of a 29-carry, 220-yard, 4TD evening that garnered him NYCHSFL POTW honors during week #3, the Rugy player turned football phenom vaulted himself into the team lead for both yardage (386) and TD runs (8)…And the last thing any opponents wanted to see was Merah getting into a groove!
*Jeremy Kuharski (Jr.; RB)—Notching century-mark performances in two of his first four games of the 2023 season, if you focus too much on Merah, then Kuharski is more than happy to take his turn beating you….Prior to his teammate’s [Merah] monster effort last week, it had been the 6’1, 185-pounder out of Staten Island that seemed well on his way to a Knight rushing triple crown….He enters this weekend having averaging 94.5 yards per game (378 on 75 carries)!
*Joshua Paduani (Jr.; RB)—A third trusted option as part of the single-W formation run by Xavier, Paduani was quiet in week #3 (5 yards on 2 attempts), but has already demonstrated how good he can be when called upon…Opening up the season with a 102-yard effort, he added a 78-yard outing in week #2….His 6.8/carry average is the highest on the team, as he has complemented the aforementioned by pitching in with 212 yards and 2 scores (31 hand-offs)….Xavier does not throw the ball much, but when they do, he is your leading candidate to be on the back end of that exchange, as he is the only player to record more than one grab thus far this fall!
*Daniel Edwards/Michael Mioduszewski (O-Line)—The muscle behind an offense that is putting up 244.5 yards per appearance on the ground this season, with this duo setting the tone on the OL, the Knights have found paydirt on 13 separate occasions
*Emir Yuksel (Sr.; LB)—The heartbeat of the Knight “D”, Yuksel has tallied 26 stops and 2 sacks during the first four games of his swan song to rank either 1st or 2nd in each category…With his school in full control last week versus Xavier, he was not asked to do as much, finishing with just 3 tackles…But you can bet he will show up when the moment calls for it!
*Evan Tarozzi (Jr.; LB/S)—On an absolute tear since the opening-week of the season, the 11th grader from Manhattan has registered no fewer than 5 tackles or .5 TFL in any of his four previous outings….He was especially dominant in week #3, making 8 stops (3 TFLs) and adding a sack to propel the program to the shutout!!…His 28 cumulative tackles sits atop the totem pole, and his 5 TFLs ranks 2nd!
*John Ratigan (Sr.; DE)—A young man that we are going to start calling the “Developer” since he owns so much properly in opposing backfields, the 6’1, 205-pound Manhattan resident currently owns the team-lead in both TFLs (6) and sacks (3). He has produced at least one hit yielding negative yardage in every appearance of the fall…Overall, he is 5th on the squad with 18 total tackles!
*Eoin McBride (Sr.; DE)—Yep another immensely active presence on the DL, McBride is fresh off of a 5-tackle display in the win over Xavierian to bring his season total to 20 stops (4th on the team)!
*Liam Travis (Sr.; DB)—After games of 7, 5, and 6 stops during the first three weeks of the year, Travis was finally allotted a brief rest, as the 3 tackles he banked in week #3 raised his total to 21!
*Tomas Diaz (Sr.; FS)—Not appearing on the stat sheet for week #3, if there is injury, we hope it is minor because Xavier is going to need their polished senior “centerfielder” at his best to stop a solid air strike from Moore Catholic. During the first three weeks of the game, he notched efforts of 3,4,5 tackles…That must mean he is due for a six-hit afternoon on the 30th!
*Benedetto Loria (Sr.; CB)— Making 11 taking during weeks #0 through 2, Diaz continues to bring senior leadership to the secondary…He could be the man that draws the critical assignment of covering heralded Mavericks’ WR, Mattias Lighten, on Saturday!
Players to Watch (Moore Catholic)
*Thomas Zeh (Fr.; QB)—Originally listed on the junior varsity roster for the 2023 season, the 6’0, 175-pound freshman was inevitably promoted to the big squad and has held his own in two appearances, connecting at a 56.5 success rate (13-of-23) for 272 yards and 3 TD tosses!!…
*Matthias Lighten (Sr.; WR/CB)—Named to both the All-Catholic and the All-State (4th Offense) squads, the West Point bound superstar is quite determined to complete his four-year varsity career in style as he has continued to be a major factor on both sides of the ball, posting a team-leading 11 receptions (155 yards) on offense, while adding 12 stops and a sack on “D”…
*RJ Pacheco (Jr.; RB)—Proclaimed by the Maverick coaching staff as the best RB in the Metro Catholic League and one of the finest in New York State as a whole, the gentlemen with offers from the likes of Maryland, Buffalo, UMass, Temple, Toledo, and Bowling Green among others, was out of the line-up at the beginning of the fall, but has since returned and is quickly working his way back into top form….He is averaging 5.2/per carry to give him 135 yards on 26 touches this year (1 TD)….The 11th grader has also produced out of the backfield, tacking on an additional 92 yards on 5 catches (1 TD)!
*Boakai Veikai (Sr.; WR)—Going out with a bang in his senior year, the 6’4, 210-pounder is currently leading 2/3s of the receiving categories for MC, as his 10 grabs is second only to Lighten, but the yardage (187) and TD hauls (4) both rank atop the leaderboard…Veikai has caught at least one TD pass in three of four appearances and has emerged as a difference-maker!
*Jayden Melendez (So.; WR)—Prep Red Zone rated him as the #3 overall receiver in New York State among the 2026 class during the preseason and he is demonstrating why the hype is for real….The youngster on a senior-laden WR corps, he has managed to register 9 catches for 85 yards, while also showcasing his versatility, as he has two long runs that yielded him 129 yards and one score!
*Aqil Meredith-Smith (Sr.; OT/DE)—Committing to Bowling Green University at the end of July, the 285-pound mountain of a man is the bedrock of an OL that is doing their part to facilitate 278.5 yards of total offense per game (151.5 in the air, 127 on land)…A definitive Lineman of the Year contender, he has made some noise on “D” too, as he is credited with 12 tackles heading into week #4
*Isaiah Vanterpool (Jr.; LB)—A “do everything linebacker” that does not leave a single box on the stat sheet blank, Vanterpool has earned the love that is being shown to him by a plethora of FBS schools…Coming of age and breaking out as a sophomore last year, all of that momentum has carried into junior year, as the 26 stops/4 TFLs/and 1.5 sacks put him well above his pace from 2022!!
*Michael Herbert (Jr.; LB)—After ranking 2nd on the team in total tackles (85) in 2022, there has been no slowing the junior in the #54 jersey down, as he has racked up 22 stops, including 10 in the past two weeks!
*Elijah Jones (So.; LB/RB)—Further bolstering a deep LB corps, the 6’2, 195-pound 10th grader has tallied 15 stops (3 TFLs) and a sack in his first year on the varsity…Early on in the year, he saw some time on offense as well, making the most of his limited opportunity by gaining 52 yards and scoring once on just nine hand-offs!
*Omar Mendez Jr. (So.; LB/DE)—A combination Linebacker/End, scouting reports we came across were decisive in stating that the passing rushing abilities of the rising 10th grader is game-changing. Those evaluators were SPOT ON, as Mendez Jr. Has repeatedly flown into the opposing backfield to post Maverick-highs in TFLs (5) and sacks (2) to go along with 18 total stops!!! The bulk of his stats came just last weekend, as he accrued 13 hits, 4 TFLs, and both of his QB bags in the loss to the Lions!
*DJ Stewart (Sr.; DB/WR)—-Holding offers from Sacred Heart University, Fordham, etc., with Lighten at one corner and Stewart at the other, you can best believe that the “no fly zone” has be in full effect in 2023 on the red turf….Stewart’s numbers on “D” have not been overwhelming thus far (7 total stops, 1 sack), but we know that need be, he is always going to be there to make the key play….The Ramsey resident has discovered his niche on offense as well in his senior year, as his hands have enabled him to haul in 3 balls for 52 yards to give the opponent yet another weapon with whom to be concerned!
*Gerald Green (Jr.; DB/RB)—Refusing to be overshadowed by elder teammates, the 6’1, 175-pounder from S.I. has contributed on both sides of the ball; but the majority of his impact has been on “D”, where he presently owns the team-lead with 27 tackles, including three for negative yardage (tied for 4th)….He too has emerged as a RB option to boot, rushing for 56 yards on 15 carries (1TD)
*Glenn Shepperd (So.; SS)—An agile athlete who is a long jumper and/or triple jumper on the track & field squad, Sheppard has thrived in his debut year on the gridiron, as he is among the team-leaders in stops (23; 3rd), TFLs (3; tied for 4th), and INTs (1; tied for 4th)!!…In the week #3 loss to Farrell, he had his most productive effort, making a career-best 9 tackles (2 TFL)!
Synopsis
Both participants a season ago during Championship Saturday, the Xavier Knights walked away with the AA-2 crown, while the Mavericks of Moore Catholic were forced to settle for bridesmaid distinction for a second consecutive November!!
Elevated to AA-1 status in 2022-2023, the Knights have been a little Jekyll & Hyde thus far, as they looked good in wins over Holy Cross (28-26) and Xaverian (35-0),and were even decent in a loss to Triple-A member, Holy Trinity (28-14)…However, the 27-13 loss to Mount St. Michael in a rematch of last year’s title game did leave a little something to be desired!!
A squad that knows exactly who they are and what they need to do to win, the gents from Manhattan are well aware that the key to pulling the “upset” this weekend is to get all of their ball-carriers off to good starts, as their ability to control both possession and clock will go a long way towards negating what is probably a naturally more athletic and/or explosive contingent from MC!
Rushing for 976 yards and 13 touchdowns among themselves, Mehdi Merah, Jeremy Kuharski, and Joshua Paduani are certainly the horses for the job!!….And while Coach Stevens would likely prefer to never have to throw the ball, Kuharski has shown that he is capable of handling those responsibilities, going 5-for-8 for 89 yards during the loss to the Mount (Week #2)!
Defensively, it will be up to the front-7 comprised of Emir Yuksel, Evan Tarozzi, John Ratigan, and Eoin McBride among others (92 combined stops, 14. TFLs) to stuff the run and harass the opposing rookie signal caller!!!
Liam Travis, Tomas Diaz, Benedetto Loria have the honors of trying to slow down one an extremely athletic and fast Mav WR group that can toast you if you grow careless…All seniors, this trio will lean on their experience to come up big!
With regard to Moore Catholic, let’s just address and throw out the elephant in the room!
Their record may read as 1-3, but that is more of a byproduct of playing an extremely aggressive/ambitious schedule at the onset of 2023!!
Winning 44-6 in the only contest they played against a fellow AA-1 school (Christ the King during week #3), the Red & Black should absolutely not be written off as we still foresee them earning a third straight berth to the ‘ship when November rolls around!!
The only unknown/question on offense being how will freshman QB, Thomas Zeh, handle the intense pressure that the Knights are sure to bring on defense?, every other skill position is manned by an upperclassman with the potential to be heroic!
Junior RB, RJ Pacheco, got off to a late start to his 11th grade campaign, but already has registered a century-mark effort in one of his two appearances. And as he further returns to his “A” game, you can expect his numbers to skyrocket!
Mattias Lighten has been every bit the stud that we have come to expect, but what should terrify opposing DBs is the notion that at the moment, he is not even the best wide-receiver on the team, as Boakai Veikai has jumped levels and has impacted every game he has played in….And don’t rest on super sophomore, Jayden Melendez, who after being a bit of a forgotten man in 2022, has asserted himself and shown that he is the future of the WR position on Merrill Avenue!!
Flipping sides of the field, it is not going to be easy to run on the Mav defense as their linebackers—Isaiah Vanterpool, Michael Herbert, Elijah Jones, and Omar Mendez Jr., are as gifted as they come, unifying to make 81 stops and 16 TFLs…
Making matters worse is the fact that since they know that they likely do not need to fear the pass, Coach Giannatasio will have the luxury of “cheating” with his defensive backs, stacking the box with individuals such Gerald Green and Glenn Shepperd, whom themselves are quite adept at dragging you down for minus yardage (combined 6 TFLs)!!
On paper, we feel that Moore has a slight edge; but one thing about Xavier is that historically their toughness enables them to defy odds…So “upset alert” is never far from our thoughts!